⭑ This fat burns your brain, you need to reduce it ✔ Omega 3 helps
⭑ How protein can lead to more inflammation as we age ✔ Here's what to do
⭑ You healthy gut is responsible for feeling good ✔ The gut brain connection
⭑ This exercise stimulates your gut to release serotonin ✔ Feel happy

All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

Hello,

I trust you are well and active.

Preparing this week's newsletter took an unexpected turn.

A Youtube caught my attention. Since Covid - when we were restricted to home - I turned my garage into a poor man's gym. Now, as I exercise each morning I also watch Youtube.

It sounded promising: "Every so often, a piece of research comes out that is so straightforward and powerful, I’m shocked it isn’t front-page news. This is one of those times.

A massive, four-year study involving 25,000 adults was just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and its findings are, frankly, earth-shattering for anyone over 50 who wants to protect their brain and body.

It’s not about some expensive new drug or complicated protocol. It's about a simple vitamin."

Whoa! Ok I will watch this one later to get the details.

The study was a four year clinical trial of 25,000 adults in the US. "The results for taking Vitamin D3 were stunning. The group taking it effectively slowed their rate of biological aging. For every four years that passed chronologically, their cells had only aged by the equivalent of about one year."

Kind of casually, as was piecing together the usual 4 articles, I researched for second opinions on the conclusions from Youtube.

"The video, while engaging, is built on a foundation of sensationalized claims that do not hold up to scrutiny against the broader body of systematic research. It misleads the reader by presenting findings from a single study as definitive truth and by conflating association with causation."

Uh!

Back to the drawing board. Here are four alternative, evidence-based recommendations that I hope will be valuable for you.

Item #1: The industrial food we eat is overloaded with Omega 6 which damages our brain. We need to cut back.

As we age the harmful byproducts of protein digestion linger. We need B vitamins to help eliminate them - see item #2.

The wrong foods lead to bad bacteria in our gut which, amazingly, severely reduces the chances of our brain feeling happy. I explain why in item #3.

Then, in item #4, doing this exercise stimulates the health of our gut and it's connection with our brain, and the release of serotonin (feeling good).
​

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01 The Fat That Builds Your Brain (and the One That Burns It)

The problem is, our modern diet has replaced these healthy fats with a tsunami of Omega-6 fats, primarily from industrial seed oils like soybean, corn, and canola oil. Our ancestors ate a ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 that was close to 1:1. Today, ours can be as high as 20:1.

⇒ This isn't a small problem.

Systematic reviews consistently show that this imbalance promotes the kind of chronic, low-grade inflammation that is directly linked to neurodegeneration and a higher risk of dementia.

While Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, an excess of Omega-6s does the opposite, creating a hostile environment for your brain cells.

What This Means For You…

This isn't about eliminating fat. It's about a simple swap to give your brain the right building materials.

1. Audit Your Oils: The single most effective step is to remove industrial seed oils from your kitchen. Use olive oil, avocado oil, or butter instead. Check the labels on mayonnaise and dressings - most use soybean or canola oil.
2. Prioritise Fatty Fish: Aim for at least two servings of salmon, mackerel, or sardines per week to boost your DHA and EPA levels.
3. Consider a Supplement: If you don't eat fish regularly, a high-quality fish oil supplement can be an effective way to rebalance your ratio and protect your brain.

⇒ By making this one change, you directly lower inflammation and provide your brain with the essential fats it needs to stay sharp for decades to come.

Related: ​​​​​​Too Much Omega-6 Can Harm Us, Unless We Eat More Omega-3​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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02 The "Cleanup Crew" for Your Brain

Every time our body processes protein, it creates a potentially toxic byproduct called homocysteine. In a healthy system, a dedicated "cleanup crew" of B vitamins - specifically B12, B6, and folate - quickly converts this homocysteine into harmless substances.

The problem?

As we get older, our ability to absorb B12 from food declines due to lower stomach acid.

This, compounded with common medications like metformin or acid blockers, this can leave us deficient. When the B vitamin crew is understaffed, homocysteine levels rise, creating inflammation that damages blood vessels in the brain.

High homocysteine is now a well-established, independent risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia.

⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Strikingly, a landmark Oxford University study found that supplementing with these three B vitamins slowed brain atrophy by up to 50% in people with mild cognitive impairment.

What This Means For You…

Protecting your brain's processing power is being proactive. Here’s a simple plan:

1. Get Tested: This is important. Ask your doctor for a simple blood test to check your homocysteine and Vitamin B12 levels. Knowledge is power.
2. Eat Your Bs: Boost your intake of folate from leafy greens like spinach and B12 and B6 from high-quality sources like eggs, meat, and fish.
3. Supplement Smartly: If your tests show elevated homocysteine or low B12, a B-complex supplement can be one of the most effective and affordable insurance policies for your long-term brain health.

Related: ​How Bananas Benefit Your Bones - And Brain​​​​​​

@Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life

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03 The Conversation Between Your Gut and Brain

Inside your gut live trillions of bacteria, collectively known as your microbiome. This isn't just a passive digestive system; it's an active chemical factory. These microbes communicate directly with our brain via a superhighway called the vagus nerve.

Astonishingly to me, our gut bacteria produce over 90% of our body’s serotonin, the "feel-good" neurotransmitter, along with other critical brain chemicals. When this "inner garden" is healthy and diverse, it sends calming, anti-inflammatory signals to your brain.

The problem?

Our modern diet—high in sugar and processed foods, and low in fibre - starves the good bacteria and feeds the bad ones.

⇒ This can lead to a "leaky gut," where the gut lining becomes permeable, allowing inflammatory particles to enter our bloodstream and travel directly to the brain, contributing to brain fog and long-term damage.

In fact systematic reviews now link unhealthy gut patterns directly to a higher risk for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

What This Means For You…

Tending to your gut microbiome is one of the most direct ways to manage inflammation and support your brain.

1. Feed Your Good Bacteria with Fibre: Your healthy gut microbes thrive on diverse plant fibre. Aim for the "30-a-week" challenge: try to eat 30 different types of plants each week (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes).
2. Add Probiotics: Incorporate fermented foods rich in beneficial bacteria, like plain yogurt, kefir, kimchi, or sauerkraut, into your diet.
3. Starve the Bad Bacteria: Minimise sugar and highly processed foods, which are the favourite fuel source for inflammatory gut microbes.

⇒ By focusing on your gut health, you're not just improving digestion - you're investing in a clearer, sharper, and more resilient brain for the long haul - improving your healthspan!

Related: ​​​​​​​Energise Your Golden Years: Boosting Your Desire to Exercise with Gut-Healthy Foods​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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04 10-Minute Tai Chi Fires Up Your Serotonin

Our exercise of the week is ... beginners Tai Chi.

You might wonder how, but Tai Chi connects to today's themes of inflammation, vascular health, and the gut-brain axis.

This is an eye-opener for me.

It turns out that Tai Chi's combination of slow, mindful movement and deep, diaphragmatic breathing directly stimulates the vagus nerve. This strengthens the gut-brain axis, helps lower the chronic, systemic inflammation linked to both cognitive and vascular issues as we age, and releases serotonin to make us feel happy!

What this means for you: A healthier gut, feeling happy, and as a bonus it also improves our balance and circulation!
​
See this video which in 8 minutes gets you set for a happy day..

Related: ​How Many Pistachios Should I Eat For Sleep and When?​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Thanks for reading!

>> My Latest Blog Post: Energise Your Golden Years: Boosting Your Desire to Exercise with Gut-Healthy Foods​

About the newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Want to share about the time you met Chris Hemsworth, or your questions about how to live longer better? Send those thoughts and more to me at walter@walteradamson.com

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