Nutritional Neuroscience

Let Talk About Memory Loss

Welcome to the very first column on the topic of Nutritional Neuroscience. This is an exciting subject that we hope will educate, enlighten, and expand discussion and knowledge. What foods and nutritional products really can enhance our brain function? We will try to be as objective and scientific as possible regarding what will really help improve your brain performance. We will try to debunk myths and allow you to sort out fact from fiction.  As you will also see, what is frequently delicious can also be nutritious!

The human brain contains over a 100 Billion neurons. That's a lot of cells! Each and every one needs proper oxygen, fuel, and nutrients for metabolism. The neurons need nutrients and energy to function properly. Improving the intake of nutritional foods and supplements can maximize the efficiency of the neurons. Many foods contain the "building blocks" of the chemicals that make the nerve cells function. Many other foods and supplements can provide supportive and protective care of these brain cells. Just as your car needs proper fuel to run efficiently, so too does the brain need the right ingredients to maximize its highest level of functioning.

There was recently a T.V. news story on a national network channel about an unfortunate patient with a Traumatic Brain Injury. The mother of the patient asked the interviewer several questions about what foods would help her daughter to recover and what should she be eating to make her brain well. She questioned why the doctors had not made any recommendations or come up with a diet to help her daughter's brain heal and work better. As I watched the story, I thought, "The mother is right!" She should be presented with a detailed nutritional plan to help her daughter improve.  The medical team should be involved with a proper balanced diet to help the brain in its healing processes. This sad mother was crying out for help and direction and guidance.  I think the medical profession needs to pay more attention to individualized and customized diets to help those with brain impairment.

Before we get to the main course (pun alert!) of the first food we will discuss to improve your brain performance, let me state two of the most obvious and important facts that everyone needs to know. The first is that since the brain is between 70 to 80 percent water, proper hydration of the body is vital. Drink as much water as you can! This is particularly important for the elderly who rarely keep up their proper fluid intake. This is also essential for those who live in warm weather environments as perspiration can quickly cause dehydration. Finally, many patients who take prescription medications can actually have increased concentration of their medicines in their body because of the lack of water. So right now, put the magazine down and go get a large glass of water and drink it down! Proper hydration is critical to having your brain function at its highest level of alertness.

After hydration, the second fact to help your brain is to discontinue smoking. I implore the reader to realize that cigarettes contain poisonous chemicals that will decrease the health of the neurons as well as decrease the circulation to the brain. The neurons need oxygen, and smoking  is ruinous to the brain. In my office I regularly challenge myself with a mental game to see how old a person looks from their appearance compared to their chronological age. The non-smokers always look much younger and healthier than the smokers. The skin glows more and has a healthier complexion than the smokers. This is also true of the brain. The toxins and chemicals from cigarettes will greatly decrease your mental powers in the long run. A study this decade from the American Journal of Public Health concluded that smoking is associated with cognitive decline and memory loss. Furthermore the study showed that smokers who survived into later life were at risk of clinically significant cognitive decline. Please, put out the cigarette!

Now let us indulge in the first food that will help your brain, and it may come as somewhat of a surprise, but we are talking about Cheese! Yes, cheese is an extraordinarily rich source of proteins and amino acids that are critical to proper brain functioning.  Your author had the privilege of being interviewed for a wonderful book entitled "Mastering Cheese" published in 2009 and written by Max McCalman and David Gibbons. Mr. McCalman is a world authority on cheese and one of the true cheese "gurus" in the country. At a cheese tasting seminar presented by Mr. McCalman there began a conversation about the high content of an amino acid called Tyrosine in cheese whereupon I commented on the relation of Tyrosine to many of the neurotransmitters in the brain. The body does not produce Tyrosine so it must be obtained from outside sources, of which cheese contains very high concentrations. We quickly began to realize that cheese is one of nature's perfect foods for the body and for brain functioning! Furthermore, the pleasure of eating cheese in its multitude of varieties is not just for the sensuous pleasure of taste and smell, but actually has nutritional importance that will help the neurotransmitters in  your brain. Cheese not only  supplies  calories for metabolism as well as being an excellent source of Calcium, but contains proteins and amino acids that are intricately associated with manufacturing many important brain chemicals.

Cheese can make people happy. Why? It starts with Tyrosine which is a building block for many of the neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain. It can improve mood and well-being particularly during times of stress.  Tyrosine is a substrate of many well known neurotransmitters including adrenaline, norepinephrine, and dopamine.  Cheese may be one of the basic primordial foods that improved the performance of our brain, with deep connections from the olfactory bulb to the parts of our brain responsible for memory and emotions. Cheese may just be the perfect food to capture the nutritional-emotional duality that our bodies and brains need!

Cheese contains high levels of casein which is the primary protein found in milk. As casein is broken down and digested it is converted into Tyrosine. Casein is also broken down into the chemical casomorphin, an opioid molecule in the same family as morphine. This may explain some of cheese's addicting qualities!

There are many receptors for the Tyrosine molecule in the olfactory bulb where our sense of smell courses through the Central Nervous System. The tryrosine in cheese is broken down  into several chemicals. One of them is epinephrine (adrenaline) which has many positive physical and mental effects to make us more alert. Epinephrine also increases the flow of oxygen and glucose to the brain and muscles which elicits the "Fight or Flight" response to stressful or dangerous situations. Norepinephrine helps fight off depression and can improve our attention and concentration skills. Dopamine is a powerful neurotransmitter involved in mood stability and accounts for pleasurable feelings and activation of the brain's reward systems. Tyrosine is also a precursor to levodopa which is used to replace deficiency of Dopamine in Parkinson's disease. Finally, Tyrosine is also a precursor to Melatonin, the skin pigment that protects us from ultraviolet sunlight damage but is also associated with insulin production which regulates blood sugar levels.

As you can see, Cheese may very well be one of Nature's most perfect foods to supply energy, protein, and high amounts of Tyrosine that are critical for proper brain performance and memory retention. Eating cheese will not only make you feel better and improve your mood and sense of well-being, but can also supply the brain with many of its essential building blocks to supply the brain with its extremely important chemical messengers.

So to summarize this first column for Nutritional Neuroscience, throw away the cigarettes, start drinking water regularly and as often as possible throughout the day, and head to the cheese department at your local food store and explore the vast variety of smells and tastes of cheese. Your brain will get smarter!

Thomas C. Morell, M.D.
Dr. Morell is a neurologist in Lee and Charlotte counties and can be reached at www.neurologyandspinecenter.com 

Many people believe that getting older means losing you memory. Not true.
Normal aging does not mean memory loss.  That being said, many older adults do experience memory loss.  What does it mean?  What can you do about it?  Read on......

What causes memory loss?
Many life experiences can contribute to memory loss such as repeated head injury, exposure to significant percussion, exposure to toxic substances or prolonged exposure to loud noises that lead to hearing loss.

Many medical conditions can also contribute to memory loss such as diabetes, high blood pressure, difficulty with blood clotting, cardiac conditions such as irregular heart rates or heart attack, stroke, mini-strokes, alcoholism, vitamin deficiencies, depression or otherwise.

When memory loss is so severe it interferes with your ability to preform your normal daily activities it is called dementia.

What can you do about it?
The best and most important thing you can do regarding your memory is to get checked.

It's important to know if there is some undiagnosed medical issue contributing to memory loss and you should be checked to be sure this is not occurring.

You may need some tests to evaluate for these conditions and have you memory checked to see how you compare to others in your same age group, gender and level of education.  Additional testing can be done to determine exactly what type of difficulties you are encountering on a day to day basis.

Who do I see if I am concerned?
Memory loss can be treated in many different way including anything from observation, nutritional counseling or supplementation, medications, rehab or involvement in clinical research trails.  Dr. Morell will know which treatment is best fo YOU- everyone is different.

Bottom line.......
If you suspect you are having problems with you memory or if other who know you are telling you they notice problems, you need to be checked.

Don't wait.....contact the office today and we will schedule you an appointment with Dr. Morell to be evaluated.