The Importance of Brain Health
How is your brain doing these days? Given the prevalence of dementia, I have found one physician’s approach particularly interesting.
Dr. Daniel Amen, a double board-certified adult and child psychiatrist, clinical neuroscientist, brain imaging specialist, and multiple-times New York Times best-selling author and teacher, is the founder of the Amen Clinics, with six locations across the United States. He is best known for his work using SPECT (Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography) scans to assess and diagnose. The Amen Clinics have scanned the brains of over 225,000 people, including many professional football players.
These scans demonstrated that a large number of players, many of whom were retired, showed significant brain damage from traumatic brain injuries sustained during their football careers. The same was true of the brains of people with alcohol use disorder, smokers, people with sleep apnea, and many other disease processes that were literally damaging and aging their brains prematurely. The exciting thing was that he also demonstrated the potential for rehabilitating the brain through a combination of healthy lifestyle changes, diet, exercise, and supplements. Before-and-after images of the same brains were combined with patients' and families’ personal testimonies. When the SPECT scan improved, so did the patient. I found the images from the scans (before and after) fascinating, but the patient stories of profoundly improved and transformed lives were the icing on the cake.
SPECT scans assess blood flow and brain activity and, according to Amen, often detect problems before an MRI or CT scan would. QEEG (quantitative electroencephalogram) is another useful tool because “Functional problems almost always precede structural ones”. (Memory Rescue, Amen, 2017)
He developed the BRIGHT MINDS formula to support and maintain brain health. This is an acronym.
B is for Blood Flow, which is key to brain health.
R is for Retirement and Aging, not learning new things or being less active, which is not good for the brain.
I is for Inflammation, such as gum disease, high homocysteine or C-reactive protein levels, or low omega-3 fatty acids, which can destroy our brains if left unchecked.
G is for Genes, which, according to Dr. Amen, “load the gun but behavior pulls the trigger.”
H is for Head Trauma, which Amen says is “a silent epidemic.”
T is for Toxins such as alcohol, drugs, environmental toxins, and chemotherapy, which can literally poison our brains.
M is for Mental Health, such as chronic stress, depression, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, because dealing with those issues is also key to optimal brain function.
I is for Immunity/Infection Issues because by strengthening our immune system and taking care of any underlying infectious diseases, such as Lyme, Epstein-Barr Virus, West Nile Virus, Toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, that can affect our brains, many have reported feeling like they “got their lives back.”
N is for Neurohormone Deficiencies, such as overactive or underactive thyroid, adrenal fatigue, low levels of estrogen or testosterone, and a few others.
D is for “Diabesity.” Obesity, high BMI, WHtR (waist to height ratio), high blood pressure, insulin resistance, basically metabolic syndrome, is a brain function killer.
The good news is that changing even just a few habits, like adding nutritious foods to your diet, starting regular exercise, addressing sleep apnea when present, and losing even a little weight (if you are overweight), can help heal your brain and profoundly improve your mental health and quality of life. Dr. Amen’s practice addresses all of the above conditions, habits, and lifestyle choices. He offers many solutions, such as dietary modifications and the formation of healthy habits, that can have a significant impact on people’s lives. He also advocates proactively for his patients to lessen harm to their brains.
Although medications that slow down the progression of some types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, are available and helpful for a while, I like the idea of taking steps to reverse the process altogether wherever possible. If you get a chance, take a look at one of the many books, articles, podcasts, or TV shows where Dr. Amen discusses his findings. The lifestyle changes he recommends are sound and achievable by the average person. Some have criticized his practice of using SPECT scans in his diagnostic process, but to me, his work is quite revolutionary and extremely hopeful.
