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The Recipe for a Nourished Brain

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    Music
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    Angela Guo: So, it's the old adage
    on what you eat
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    when I eaτ sugary or caffeinated food
    I often find myself, like unable to focus
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    So, eating healthier foods
    has a significant impact on
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    how well I can focus, as well as
    how quick I can think.
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    Sanjay Gupta: That's Angela Guo.
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    She's a 17-year old senior at
    Adlai Stevenson High School
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    in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
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    And that adage she just cited,
    "You are what you eat",
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    that's been around since the 1800's.
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    People have known for a long time
    just how much food affects us.
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    But it's not just in term of
    long-term health,
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    but also short-term mood.
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    AG: Food really helps us maintain
    a safe clarity
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    and so eating healthier foods
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    has had a significant impact
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    on how well I can focus, as well as
    how quick I can think.
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    SG: She may only be in high school
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    but Angela has already made
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    the crucial connection between
    what she puts in her mouth
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    and how quickly that affects her brain.
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    She even believes that
    simple understanding
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    gave her a real advantage
    when she competed
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    in the National Science Olympiad
    tournament earlier this year.
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    Announcer: First place: National
    champions of the 2023 Science Olympiad
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    National Tournament: Adlai Stevenson
    High School of Illinois, let's go!!
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    SG: Now at this tournament
    earlier this year,
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    Angela and her team mates went up
    against thousands of students
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    from around the country.
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    They were competing in events
    highlighting chemistry,
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    and Earth science and biology.
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    But here is the thing:
    the entire time on Angela's team
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    you really didn't see much sugar around.
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    Instead,
    there were lots of healthy snacks.
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    AG: So, even at school, I'd bring
    my own lunch
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    and it's just that aspect of
    knowing what goes into your meals
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    is like really important. It kind of
    gives you peace of mind.
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    SG: The team did really well, and now
    as they prepare for more tournaments,
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    Angela, who's now is team captain, says,
    "Sure, they do study hard,
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    but what they eat, how they eat,
    that's also top of mind.
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    AG: When we do travel for Science Olympiad
    our coaches always makes sure that
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    our like bus is well stocked with
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    fruits and water.
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    SG: So Angela, seems pretty convinced
    that food helps her focus
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    and perform well academically.
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    Of course, that makes sense
    but the question today,
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    "What is the empirical evidence
    to support that and how does it work?
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    How exactly does food impact the brain?
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    And how do we really know when our brain
    is well nourished?"
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    Uma Naidoo: Sugar is not good
    for our brain.
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    But I also want people to understand
    we need sugar for our bodies
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    and our brain,
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    so it's where you get the sugar
    that's important.
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    SG: Look, a lot of people worry about
    how food influences the way we look,
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    how much weight we may gain
    -- I get that --
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    or the likelihood we're going to be
    high risk for diseases,
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    like diabetes and hypertension.
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    But even though it is harder to measure,
    food is also deeply connected
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    to how we feel in the moment
    and how well the brain functions.
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    Even as you listen to this podcast,
    your experience, right now,
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    is likely affected
    by what you ate earlier today.
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    So in this episode, I'm going to find out
    what's the best fuel for the brain,
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    what food we should avoid
    and what it really means
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    to have a well-nourished brain.
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    I'm Dr Sanjay Gupta, CNN's
    Chief medical correspondent
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    and this is Chasing life.
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    You know, I love hearing stories
    like Angela's.
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    They're so personal.
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    She's someone who's paying attention
    to her body and then she's figuring out
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    what makes her feel good and what it takes
    to do the activities she loves.
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    She's being really intentional
    with her nutrition
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    and that may save her from having
    health problems later in life
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    but it could help optimize
    her function now.
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    For me, food is an endless source
    of fascination.
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    The way that I think about it is this:
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    food is one of the most significant ways
    we allow our outside world to influence
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    and communicate with our inside world,
    the world inside of our body and our mind.
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    That is an awesome task. Food does that.
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    So, I thought today we would start
    with the basics.
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    We know that all food items have calories
    and calories are by definition energy
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    but, as you just heard, not all calories
    are created equal.
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    Some have more nutrients
    and do more to promote
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    overall health and well-being than others.
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    And that is especially true
    when it comes to the brain.
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    But the challenge again:
    that's hard to measure.
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    There is no brain scan or blood test
    that indicates that a particular food
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    promotes brain health.
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    So how do we really know?
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    How do you really know what works for you?
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    To find out, I return to someone
    whose work I really respect
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    both in the clinic and in the kitchen,
    someone who knows a lot
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    about this really intricate connection
    between food and brain health.
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    Uma Naidoo: if you want, you know,
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    your brain to really be optimized
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    lean into the foods you like,
    but the healthy versions of that.
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    SG: That' Dr Uma Naidoo;
    she's a nutritional psychiatrist.
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    Such a cool field.
    She's at Harvard medical school.
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    What she does is that she works
    with patients to improve
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    their mental health with the help
    of medication and food.
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    She's also a professional chef.
    She's the author of the books
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    "This is Your Brain on Food" and
    "Calm Your Mind with Food."
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    That one's going to be released
    later this year.
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    I should tell you, this is actually
    Dr Naidoo's second time on the show.
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    We spoke a few years ago about
    the broader concept of food as medicine.
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    And I was so fascinated by
    the conversation, so affected by it,
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    I asked her to come back and discuss
    how food impacts brain health specifically
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    and brain function.
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    I have long said that I think food
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    can be medicine, I also think
    just philosophically,
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    we consciously decide what signals
    we're going to give to the inside
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    of our body through food.
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    What the discussion has primarily
    focused on has been calories and energy,
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    and are you going overweight or not.
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    UN: Correct
    SG: So what are those foods that are both
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    good for the brain and can actually
    get to the brain.
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    UN: What I think is good, and I think
    what is helpful for people,
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    especially in the U.S., is that most
    people are consuming
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    the standard American diet
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    which, as you know, is called sad
    for a reason.
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    So any time that we can add those lipid
    grains and those actual whole foods
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    onto our plate, you know, and think
    about it that way and step away
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    a little bit from those processed
    fast foods
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    the healthier we are going to become
    as a country and I think that that is
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    because processed, ultra-processed foods
    are engineered, as you know,
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    to trick our brain.
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    So we eat more, we can't stop ourselves.
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    SG: Yeah, maybe I'm being audacious here
    in doing a podcast about how to achieve
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    a most optimally nourished brain.
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    As you correctly point out, we have
    a lot of work to do as a country to just
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    stop doing the bad things, maybe even
    before we can, uh, really, really focus
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    on the good things.
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    But the idea that food itself can be
    medicine and that can be quantified,
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    maybe even to the point, for someone like
    you, prescribed. Are we to the point,
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    with what we know, data-wise that food
    can be thought of prescriptive,
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    like we think of medicine?
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    UN: So I can't yet say to you, you need
    to eat ten blueberries over this amount
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    of time to improve your mood.
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    But what we do know from pretty large
    population-based studies that
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    if you were consuming extra-dark natural
    chocolate, that it improved depression
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    by 70% in over 12,000 participants.
    We know and it was in the candy bars
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    it was extra dark natural chocolate,
    which contains serotonin, magnesium,
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    um, some fiber. So we're not at a point
    where I can say this number
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    of blueberries in order to improve
    your mood,
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    but we are definitely emerging and
    growing in the scientific evidence
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    to be able to say you can construct
    a nutritional psychiatry plate
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    for your mood.
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    You can lean into those leafy green
    vegetable, 3-5 cups a day. Um, things like
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    arugula, spinach all contain folate.
    A low folate is associated with low mood.
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    So, we can give people guidance around it
    and really have them understanding that
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    food is moving in that direction.
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    SG: Now before we hear more food
    recommendations, I want to note something
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    that's, I think, really important here.
    the term "brain food."
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    That gets thrown around a lot. But, true
    brain food meaning any food that actually
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    impacts the function of the brain has to
    do something really important.
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    Its got to get past the blood-brain
    barrier.
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    Now, I don't want to get to wonky or
    technical, but I think it's important
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    for you to understand this point.
    Think of the blood-brain barrier as sort
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    of a body guard for the brain.
    This barrier prevents the entry of toxins
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    and pathogens and other molecules
    that could be harmful to the brain.
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    What it looks like is a system of blood
    vessels around the brain and the central
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    nervous system that sort of keep tight
    over which molecules and which
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    nutrients are allowed to get in.
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    UN: We know this, for example
    a lot of serotonin that's manufactured
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    in the gut and some in the brain
    but the more peripheral serotonin
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    doesn't cross over the blood brain
    barrier, so why not look at the foods
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    which are the precursors to the
    neurotransmitters, that then
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    interact with the gut microbes,
    I'm fascinated by the gut microbes.
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    The impact of the gut microbes and
    then they are able to cross over
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    the blood brain barrier and then form
    the substances that we need
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    in the brain. So I'm thinking about
    things we need like serotonin
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    and dopamine.
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    Let me hit pause here to
    explain a couple of things about
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    the gut. You probably know this
    but the gut contains trillions
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    of micro organisms. Bacteria,
    viruses, fungi. Collectively
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    they are referred to as the gut
    microbiome. Now these micro organisms
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    or microbes aren't just hanging out,
    they play an important role in
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    our health and they are constantly
    interacting with each other and
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    the rest of our body. While a few of
    those bacteria or pathogens are
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    potentially harmful, many are helpful.
    For example, what they will do is
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    they will break down food, they will
    then interact with our immune system,
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    they will synthesize vitamins and amino
    acids. And then they communicate with
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    other parts of the body. And that brings
    me to the second thing about the gut.
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    It is sometimes called the second brain,
    and I think that is a good title. And
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    that's because it uses many of the same
    chemicals and cells as the brain to do
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    its job and to communicate.
    In fact, there is an extraordinary amount
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    of cross talk between the gut and the
    brain. This makes the gut very
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    sensitive to emotions. Anger, fear,
    anxiety. Those things can cause
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    problems in the gut, vise versa.
    When the gut feels bad, it can
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    cause anxiety and other emotional
    issues. Understanding that might
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    give new meaning to phrases like,
    having butterflies in your stomach
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    when you're nervous. Or a quote, unquote
    gut feeling about a person or a situation.
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    This is why Doctor Niudu's work is so
    important and intriguing. She says,
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    "It is possible for food to impact how
    well our brain functions and how we
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    feel mentally." For example, some ultra
    processed foods have been linked to
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    disrupting the gut microbiome in a way
    that increases the risk for depression.
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    In contrast, whole foods such as
    bananas help trigger the production
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    of important chemicals in the gut
    such as the molecule, serotonin.
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    But again, remember this point
    much of the serotonin made
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    in the gut cannot cross the blood
    brain barrier and that is why
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    doctor Nidu says we need to
    focus on the precursors to
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    serotonin. Which can then cross
    more easily and be assembled
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    in the brain. Think of it like this,
    there are certain foods, for example,
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    ones that are rich in the amino acid
    tryptophan, that when eaten interact
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    with the gut microbiome. You
    with me?
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    And they become then the precursor
    or building blocks for serotonin.
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    And then these building blocks cross
    into the brain and get converted to
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    serotonin and exert their influence.
    The reason that I'm repeating this
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    so many times is because it
    is so important. What does
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    this all mean? Eating foods like,
    salmon or pineapple ones that
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    are loaded with tryptophan could
    help you feel happier and calmer.
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    That is a better definition of brain
    food.
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    UN: Another fascinating
Title:
The Recipe for a Nourished Brain
Description:

Many of us have been told that foods like blueberries, salmon, and leafy greens are “good for the brain.” But what does that really mean? Can eating certain foods make us smarter? More alert? Less stressed? Sanjay talks to nutritional psychiatrist and personal chef, Dr. Uma Naidoo about what foods improve brain function and influence the way we feel. She’ll also share her secret sauce: a few nutritious and delicious ways to eat carbs, fats and sugar.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy (https://cnn.com/privacy)

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Video Language:
English
Team:
Captions Requested
Duration:
35:55

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