Articles

Vitality & Body Basics: An Interview with Jan & Rick Hanson

  Learn ways that you can support your vitality, physical health, and nutritional neurochemistry in this hour-long interview I did with Rick Hanson for the Foundations of Well-Being program. We cover diet, vitamins, laboratory testing (and how to think about the results), and practical physiologically-oriented interventions for better sleep and mood that don’t require medications.  

Category : Articles &Diet &Vitamins

Using Amino Acids to Brighten Your Mood

Neurotransmitters are the molecules of communication between neurons in the brain. They are required in optimal amounts to have a good mood, the ability to be relaxed, and energy. A lack of neurotransmitters can result in depression, anxiety, fatigue, obsessive thinking, and many other states of emotional unwellness. Several neurotransmitters are probably familiar: serotonin, norepinephrine, […]

Category : Articles

Your Biochemical Foundation

To have the best possible foundation for psychological well-being and spiritual growth, we all need to nurture the physical substrate of our body. And that means good nutrition, since that is how you get the building blocks of that substrate into your body. There is simply no other way. Nutrition Is Molecules At the physical […]

Category : Articles &Diet &Vitamins

The Road to (Brain) Health Is Paved with Good Intestines

How the Gut Affects the Brain through the Immune System Your gastro-intestinal (GI) system affects the health of your brain through many pathways, including the immune system. The GI system is also a part of the body that it is very easy to intervene with and improve in ways that are natural and beneficial. You […]

Category : Articles &Diet &Intestine &Vitamins

The Dance of Hormones and Neurotransmitters

Most women past the age of puberty sense an interaction sometimes between their mood and their hormonal state. Why is this? Well, in fact, hormones and neurotransmitters – the chemical communicators in the brain – are interconnected in a very complicated web, which science is only beginning to understand. Estrogen is the primary “female” hormone, […]

Category : Articles &Hormones

Estrogen and the Menopausal Brain

In Volume 1,8 of the Wise Brain Bulletin, in a list of possible interventions for improving memory, I wrote: “For women entering menopause, consider taking estrogen.” Not surprisingly, I got a few thoughtful comments about that line, and I appreciated them. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is controversial, so I’d like to unpack the complexities of […]

Category : Articles &Hormones &Memory

Nutrition at Starbucks

Take a minute to imagine your ideal cup of coffee. If you’re like most Americans, what springs to mind may not be black coffee, but a rich mocha, steaming caramel macchiato, or whipped frappuccino. For many of us, a visit to Starbucks – or similar coffee joints – is a regular event, and we drink […]

Category : Articles &Dairy &Diet

Targeted Nutritional Interventions

In another article, I described how you can promote the biochemical foundation of mental health and contemplative depth. In this article, I am going to cut right to the chase and list specific, potent nutritional interventions – all with research support – that you can use to lift your mood, settle anxiety, steady your mind, and improve your […]

Category : Articles &Diet &Vitamins

Natural Interventions For Feeling Strong

Here is a fundamental summary of things you can do to have more sense of vitality and strength. Hormones 1. Thyroid sets the basic rate for metabolism. TSH should really be under 3.0. 2. Estrogen for women and testosterone for men (and somewhat for women). Vitamins 1. Always start with a good high potency multi-vitamin/mineral. […]

Category : Amino Acids &Articles &Diet &Hormones &Vitamins

Methylation and Mood: Why Folic Acid, B-12, and SAMe are good for you

Methylation reactions are of great scientific interest because they represent one interface between nutrient and genetic expression. The process of methylation is simple: a group of atoms called a “methyl group” – one carbon atom with three hydrogen atoms hooked on to it — are added to molecules in the human body. This process has […]

Category : Amino Acids &Articles &Diet &Vitamins &Yoga