The following
program presents principles
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designed to promote
good health and is not
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intended to take the
place of personalized
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professional care. The
opinions and ideas expressed
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are those of the
speaker. Viewers are encouraged
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to draw their
own conclusions about
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the information presented.
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Welcome to Health for
A Lifetime and I'm your
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host Don
Mackintosh. We're glad that
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you're with us and we
hope today as a result
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of this program
your mood improves.
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We are gonna be
talking about diet and how
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it affects your
mood and talking with us
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is an author and a
lecturer and just basically
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a scholar in the area of
nutrition, Vicki Griffin.
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Vicki, we're glad
that you're with us.
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Thank you. And
you lecture at the
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Michigan State University.
You're, you know finishing
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some graduate work in
nutrition now and you have
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authored a great series
of books, simple solutions
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one of which is
Foods for Thoughts,
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nutrition linked
with, what is it? Mood,
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memory, learning and behavior.
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Yes, in conjunction
with some other researchers.
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So great, so you've
got a good team and.
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Right. Putting out
excellent material,
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it's being used in
different faith communities
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and different
churches across the country and
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we're excited about that and
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what's happening in
people's lives. Right.
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I mean as they see
the connections here.
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We hear a lot about
nutrition in the news
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of course and we hear
about how it leads to obesity,
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diabetes and heart
disease and all these
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different things,
but what about the
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connection
between food and mood?
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Well the real battle
Don, is not for the bulge,
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it's for the brain. It's
not even about weight control.
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It's about appetite
control. So what we're
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talking about in this
book is healthy headquarters.
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How to help your
mental engine to purr instead
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of ping, and sometimes
the way we feel mentally
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because of eating styles
and other factors of course
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drives those eating
behavior that are contributing
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to the lifestyle diseases.
So I think that a good place
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to begin would be
with nutrition reviews that
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substantiates the
whole premise of our book
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that nutrition has a
very profound affect on mental
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function. It says can
what you eat influence your
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mental function and
the answer is certainly
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affirmative. We
ingest each day any number
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of compounds that we
know alter mental function.
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So Nutrition Reviews of
course is this very scholarly
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review of all the nutrition
type things that are written
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and they're saying
yeah, there's this great
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connection. There
is. There is a definite
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connection between
what you eat and how
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you feel and your mood.
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And we're not
talking about the sort of the
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fad stuff that's out
there that says if you want
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to be happy eat a
banana. If you want to do well
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on a test have a tuna sandwich.
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This micro manipulation
of food choices to get a
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certain response. We're
talking about the overall
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long term choices
what you're craving,
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what you're eating,
what your consistent patterns
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of eating are. That are
going to have a profound
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affect on the structure,
function and chemistry
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of the brain. And I
think its well stated by
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Melvyn Werbach from
UCLA School of Medicine.
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He said, It is clear
that nutrition can powerfully
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influence cognition
that's your thinking.
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One lady at a meeting
said, does it have something
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to do with your ignition
and I said well sort of.
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Influence
cognition, emotion and behavior
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and then going on there.
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It is also clear that
the effects of just classical
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nutritional
deficiency diseases upon mental
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function constitute only
a small part of a rapidly
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expanding list of
interfaces or connections
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between nutrition and the mind.
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So in another words they're
just discovering all kinds
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of connections between
what you eat, your mood,
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your brain function and
the list is just growing.
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Right and just in
2000 the American Journal
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of Clinical Nutrition
underscored this by saying
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in their investigations
over the past 40 years,
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several lines of
study, epidemiological study,
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studies of biology and
chemistry, and genetics
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have shown that the
chemistry and function
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of both the
developing and mature
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brain are influenced by diet.
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So when you say developing
and maturing that means
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that this impacts both
the young and the old. Right.
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So my five year old and
your twenty five year old.
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And the 55 year
old in your home.
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All of those categories
are profoundly affected
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by consistent food choices.
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Now you're saying your book,
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that dietary changes
affect your neurotransmitters.
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What's a neurotransmitter?
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A neurotransmitter is just
simply a chemical messenger
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that passes from nerve
cell to nerve cell to convey
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the messages of
mood and memory and
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various actions of the brain.
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And you say it also
affects the cell function
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and structure. In
another words if you eat cheese
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your head is cheese
like you know I guess
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what's constantly at
those cheese heads, is that?
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Right. Well, one of
the, a very amazing woman
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wrote the forward
to the our book, she.
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Her name is Dr. Helen
Kim; she is the Director of
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Pharmacology and Toxicology.
She runs a protein lab
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at the University
of Birmingham, Alabama.
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And in her forward she
shows, how the permeability,
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the cell conductivity,
the structure and function
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and metabolism of the
cells are affected by various
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dietary constituents. You
can have a diet that makes
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your head stiff as
well as your arteries,
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it makes it very difficult
for to, very difficult for
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neurotransmission to take
place. The cells can become
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impermeable and
inflexible, but by contrast with
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the healthy diet
why you can have better
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responsivity of cells,
better neurotransmission,
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you can have more
responsive synapses,
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so that thinking can
take place at a better level.
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So you don't have to be
the victim of moods swings
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and all these different things,
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that's what research is finding?
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Well Elizabeth Somers
who wrote a book called
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Food and Mood. She is a
researcher in this area.
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She had a very
interesting statement.
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She said repeated
poor food choices and again
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we're talking about the
continual patterns of dietary
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choices can set fundamental
patterns in the production
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of brain chemicals. Now
when a fundamental pattern
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is set that means genetic
expression is being altered.
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That regulate appetite and mood,
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so that you become a
victim of mood swings,
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food cravings and
poor sleep habits and other
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emotional problems
because of your eating habits.
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So if you
repeatedly eat stiff food,
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you're gonna have a stiff
brain. Have you repeatedly
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eat all these different
kind of foods that negatively
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affect your mood.
You're gonna be moody,
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all these different
things. You are what you eat.
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Well that is true
and we're not saying,
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let me say what
we are not saying.
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We are not saying
that food cures everything.
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A person can be a
vegetarian and still be mean.
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However, however. That's true,
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I think I have met
some. You have met some.
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However there is a
tremendous responsiveness
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with nutrient content,
fiber content on appetite
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regulatory
hormones, genetic expressions,
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structure of brain
cells. All of these factors
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are profoundly
influenced by nutrition.
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So in other words
food's not the only answer,
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but it certainly is
one we can't just dismiss,
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because it's something
we just put in everyday.
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I mean people
usually eat, that's right.
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2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10
times a day or more or more,
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so you've got to have
the right kind of foods.
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Now you say that
there's a, you have your list.
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You have this hit list
that I've heard you talk about
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before and seen in your books,
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that is the negative
list. Right. The one that
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can really set you
up for bad mood and all
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those different
things. Yes, you will have
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transmission
trouble with this list.
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Okay, yeah. What is this list?
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I call it the chips,
chops and lollipops lifestyle
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and it includes the very
hard stiff saturated fats
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that people typically
consume in large amounts.
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So saturated fat
like red meat and butter?
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Yes, red meat, butter,
the high fat cheeses that
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kind of thing. The trans
fats, the omega 6 fats that
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we find in the fries
and cookies and in the chips
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that type of thing
that we, that we see.
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And then the refined foods.
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Yes, we can probably
all, pretty well figure
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out what those are.
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White bread, pot,
pastries, snack, mix
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and what else is on
your list, refined sugars,
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candy bars, ice cream and pie.
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Boy, you've taken
away all the fun foods
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and animal products.
Alcohol, right, and all of
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these things is very
interesting because these
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types of foods of
course are implicated in the
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development of
metabolic syndrome and other
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lifestyle diseases, but
there's also a metabolic
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mayhem mentally that
occurs when you have a
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course of consistently
eating these types of foods
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and those syndromes
elevated blood pressure
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uncontrolled,
elevated cholesterol,
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metabolic
syndrome, insulin resistance.
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These syndromes are
associated with increase
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levels of
depression, fatigue, attention,
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lower levels of
mental processing and so when
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a person feels that
way. They're more inclined
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to crave these
kinds of foods just simply
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because their mental
engine is just throttling
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at a low level and
so there is a kind of a
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vicious cycle that's
created by these foods.
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Well you know it's
really easy to point out these
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bad foods and that list
is saying so easy to read
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through, but I'm sure
people are just gasping.
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Oh man, I'm just so
used to having my nice
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little hot fudge
sundae before my second one.
00:09:58.36\00:10:01.09
Right. But how you
change these habits,
00:10:01.12\00:10:04.10
you know once you
get into these patterns.
00:10:04.13\00:10:05.65
Well there are some, some
very significant challenges,
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because eating styles
really do become habits
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and those habits change
the architecture of the brain
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and make it very hard
for the body to detect
00:10:13.89\00:10:16.69
that I'm satisfied
signals that the whole system
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becomes just regulated,
the food addictions occur
00:10:19.85\00:10:22.07
and cravings then and
then you have the impaired
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mood which at in higher
stress sensitivity which
00:10:25.81\00:10:28.77
makes it harder
to handle challenges,
00:10:28.80\00:10:30.78
so you're just driven
to these nurture foods.
00:10:30.81\00:10:32.65
And so breaking that
cycle takes concentrated effort,
00:10:32.68\00:10:36.89
it takes focus
and it takes a choice.
00:10:36.92\00:10:39.21
There is a lack of
understanding because
00:10:40.57\00:10:41.90
of all the mixed media messages.
00:10:41.93\00:10:43.68
We have people
touting high protein diets,
00:10:43.71\00:10:46.21
we have a beer. You
can get beer with fiber
00:10:46.24\00:10:48.89
in it now. It's been
touted as a health drink,
00:10:48.92\00:10:50.84
so there's just an
awful lot of mixed media
00:10:50.87\00:10:54.54
messages out there,
and so I had some really
00:10:54.57\00:10:58.08
interesting conversations
with a wonderful scientist
00:10:58.11\00:11:00.78
who has done
research in this area.
00:11:00.81\00:11:02.53
His name is Dr. Antonio
Convit and he has studied
00:11:02.56\00:11:05.97
the affects of high
fructose corn syrup on the brain
00:11:06.00\00:11:08.65
and on appetite regulation.
And in a phone conversation
00:11:08.86\00:11:12.03
with me he said this. He said,
00:11:12.06\00:11:14.02
we have studied the
effects of insulin resistance
00:11:14.05\00:11:16.84
on the pancreas, the
retina and other organs.
00:11:16.87\00:11:19.59
But what about the
brain? No one thinks
00:11:19.62\00:11:22.44
about the brain.
That's true, I mean a lot
00:11:22.47\00:11:24.59
of our media messages
are saying we're gonna
00:11:24.62\00:11:26.48
get heart disease or
this or that if we eat this.
00:11:26.51\00:11:28.39
Right. But they
don't talk about,
00:11:28.42\00:11:29.63
yeah you're gonna a
dud because your brain is.
00:11:29.66\00:11:31.96
That's right and
you're gonna suffer from more
00:11:31.99\00:11:33.74
tension, depression,
fatigue and these are the kinds
00:11:33.77\00:11:36.01
of moods and
syndromes that drive people to
00:11:36.04\00:11:38.20
those eating behaviors,
so breaking that cycle takes
00:11:38.23\00:11:41.17
a deliberate choice. We
believe that we need to help
00:11:41.20\00:11:44.89
people recognize what
is going on and how the
00:11:44.92\00:11:47.49
brain's internal
supervisor that keeps control
00:11:47.52\00:11:51.90
of food choices and
motivated behavior is being
00:11:51.93\00:11:55.34
hijacked by these habits
and so we want for people
00:11:55.37\00:11:59.20
to learn the steps
of overcoming those food
00:11:59.23\00:12:02.89
cravings and addictions
that are creating the very
00:12:02.92\00:12:06.17
syndromes that drive them to eat
00:12:06.20\00:12:07.68
these foods even more.
00:12:07.71\00:12:08.68
Now you know, you
go around the country,
00:12:08.69\00:12:10.27
you lecture in different
churches, you go different
00:12:10.30\00:12:12.30
venues all over the
place and you've written
00:12:12.33\00:12:15.18
this book which you
know we're just getting just
00:12:15.21\00:12:17.96
a tiny scratch
at the surface here,
00:12:17.99\00:12:20.89
but people can
resource this and other things
00:12:20.92\00:12:23.54
on your website,
Lifestyle Matters.
00:12:23.57\00:12:26.51
I'll spell it out,
lifestylematters.com and this
00:12:26.54\00:12:30.08
as well as other
resources are available.
00:12:30.11\00:12:32.17
Are a lot of
people responding to that,
00:12:32.20\00:12:34.03
a lot of
different faith communities,
00:12:34.06\00:12:36.13
a lot of different
groups using these materials
00:12:36.16\00:12:37.91
Oh yes, not only
Faith Communities,
00:12:37.94\00:12:39.35
but we've had opportunities
to share at Bariatric
00:12:39.38\00:12:42.14
Symposiums where
people that have the gastric
00:12:42.17\00:12:44.72
bypasses and different
types of things and the
00:12:44.75\00:12:47.09
National College of
Nurse Practitioners and at the
00:12:47.12\00:12:50.87
medical school
for medical students,
00:12:50.90\00:12:52.96
because people are
very aware that just getting
00:12:52.99\00:12:56.16
information about their
pancreas or about their,
00:12:56.19\00:12:58.63
their vessels is not helping
them to achieve longer term
00:12:58.66\00:13:02.53
compliance with meds
or with lifestyle and so
00:13:02.56\00:13:06.18
there are other
factors that are involved
00:13:06.21\00:13:07.99
that we need to address.
00:13:08.02\00:13:09.04
They need to
understand this mood connection
00:13:09.07\00:13:10.55
and all this. Exactly.
So that once that's changed
00:13:10.58\00:13:12.49
then a lot of these other
things could be addressed.
00:13:12.52\00:13:14.92
We wanna help people to
plug in and start to pay
00:13:14.95\00:13:17.40
attention to what
happens to their mood a couple
00:13:17.43\00:13:20.16
of hours after
that fast food choice,
00:13:20.19\00:13:22.07
because it dives. And
there are some very real changes
00:13:22.10\00:13:25.49
that takes place and
it creates the scenario
00:13:25.52\00:13:28.33
for ingestion of
more these kinds of foods.
00:13:28.36\00:13:30.53
So when they begin
to make healthy choices,
00:13:30.56\00:13:33.13
then you begin to see
the mental engine just begins
00:13:33.16\00:13:36.65
to throttle up, you
have more ability to meet
00:13:36.68\00:13:39.36
the challenges that
have been driving you to
00:13:39.39\00:13:41.21
the vending
machine and this is what
00:13:41.24\00:13:42.97
we wanna work on.
Driving you to the
00:13:43.00\00:13:44.71
vending machine.
Well you know and that
00:13:44.74\00:13:46.65
sounds funny, but
it is really true.
00:13:46.68\00:13:48.66
We're talking with
Vicki Griffin. She's an author
00:13:48.69\00:13:51.06
and she lectures in
many different venues and her
00:13:51.09\00:13:54.73
material is available to
us in this program today.
00:13:54.76\00:13:57.37
We're gonna come
back and talk about some
00:13:57.40\00:13:58.97
good news as it
relates to mood and food.
00:13:59.00\00:14:02.45
Join us when we come back.
00:14:02.48\00:14:03.85
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00:14:06.26\00:14:08.51
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00:14:10.64\00:14:13.77
and special interest
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00:14:13.80\00:14:16.26
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00:14:26.48\00:14:29.06
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00:15:01.78\00:15:03.07
Welcome back we're
talking with Vicki Griffin.
00:15:06.21\00:15:08.04
We're talking about
foods and how they can affect
00:15:08.07\00:15:10.42
your mood. They don't
just affect your body,
00:15:10.45\00:15:12.60
they just don't lead to
heart disease and to cancer
00:15:12.63\00:15:15.16
and to diabetes
although those are very bad,
00:15:15.19\00:15:17.69
but the real issue is
headquarters our guest
00:15:17.72\00:15:21.26
tells us today
your head, the brain.
00:15:21.29\00:15:23.21
Vicki Griffin, we're
glad that you're with us.
00:15:23.24\00:15:25.62
Thank you. And you know
you have an exciting life.
00:15:25.65\00:15:27.72
Lecturing to you know
medical students and to
00:15:27.75\00:15:30.71
different groups
and churches across the
00:15:30.74\00:15:33.04
Michigan
Conference around the Country.
00:15:33.07\00:15:34.49
You work with a great
team putting together great
00:15:34.52\00:15:36.86
materials to help people
and we've talked about food
00:15:36.89\00:15:41.62
and the affect it can
have, I mean food is not
00:15:41.65\00:15:45.16
the answer to
everything, but it's really big
00:15:45.19\00:15:47.55
because we eat so much
of it, we do it everyday.
00:15:47.58\00:15:50.21
Most people that are
watching have probably
00:15:50.24\00:15:52.50
already chowed down a
couple times today and
00:15:52.53\00:15:55.07
it's very significant,
you've talked about some
00:15:55.10\00:15:58.08
bad things, the chips, the
pop, the lollipops that kind
00:15:58.11\00:16:01.89
of diet and what it does
to your neurotransmitters
00:16:01.92\00:16:04.10
and makes these mood
swings come and all that.
00:16:04.13\00:16:07.04
You looked at some
of the research with us,
00:16:07.07\00:16:08.67
but what are some foods
that really can get our.
00:16:09.33\00:16:11.57
What would you
say our mind purring
00:16:12.70\00:16:14.08
instead of pinging?
Well the high fiber plant
00:16:14.11\00:16:17.98
foods that are very rich
in antioxidants and vitamins,
00:16:18.01\00:16:22.39
minerals. phytochemicals
which are non-nutritive
00:16:22.42\00:16:25.20
substances that
helped to add to the color,
00:16:25.23\00:16:27.90
flavor and texture of
the foods that we love
00:16:27.93\00:16:30.60
from the produce
department. Okay.
00:16:30.63\00:16:32.30
Those have some very
real affects on the brain
00:16:32.33\00:16:34.68
as well as other
parts of the body.
00:16:34.71\00:16:37.18
Will play positive.
Very positive affects. Okay.
00:16:37.21\00:16:38.65
Right, and we call
the produce department,
00:16:38.68\00:16:40.97
the department of defense. Okay.
00:16:41.00\00:16:42.72
And so, yes, there
vare a list of types and
00:16:42.75\00:16:43.72
categories of
foods that we wanna make
00:16:46.05\00:16:48.24
sure that we have. So
you say plenty of fresh
00:16:48.27\00:16:50.05
vegetables is the first
thing on your list. Absolutely.
00:16:50.08\00:16:52.54
And then fresh fruit
variety. Especially greens.
00:16:52.57\00:16:55.71
Greens. We want especially.
00:16:55.74\00:16:57.12
Greens are best
for the mind okay.
00:16:57.15\00:16:58.67
Throttle up on those
greens. Spinach, papaya.
00:16:58.70\00:17:01.13
Yes, they're very
rich in magnesium which
00:17:01.16\00:17:04.23
is a major anti stress
mineral. They have not only
00:17:04.26\00:17:07.66
magnesium, but
calcium, boron, the B-vitamins.
00:17:07.69\00:17:10.40
These are all
very stress protective.
00:17:10.43\00:17:12.15
I mean some people
probably don't know what
00:17:12.18\00:17:14.26
that all mean, but
those are good for the brain.
00:17:14.29\00:17:16.03
They're good. Whole
grains. That's right.
00:17:16.06\00:17:17.21
That would be like what
brown rice versus white rice,
00:17:17.81\00:17:20.09
that kind of
thing. Exactly, yes,
00:17:20.12\00:17:22.16
whole grain bread
instead of white bread.
00:17:22.19\00:17:23.71
Let's read through the
rest of list and we'll come
00:17:23.74\00:17:25.44
back maybe talk about a
couple of beans and legumes,
00:17:25.47\00:17:28.26
nuts, seeds, olive
oil, plenty of water between
00:17:28.29\00:17:31.30
meals,B12 and then vitamin
D if you're in those northern
00:17:31.33\00:17:36.20
climates or climes, right.
00:17:36.23\00:17:37.63
Yes, you need to pay
attention to B12 needs
00:17:37.66\00:17:39.62
and like I said vitamin
D is important especially
00:17:39.65\00:17:43.28
to those in the
Northern climates.
00:17:43.31\00:17:44.74
Fatty acid
intake is so important,
00:17:44.77\00:17:46.83
people don't realize
at times how important
00:17:46.86\00:17:49.74
it is to get those
helpful fatty acids.
00:17:49.77\00:17:51.78
Olive oil for instant,
extra virgin olive oil is very
00:17:51.81\00:17:54.66
rich in antioxidants. 31
different antioxidants and
00:17:54.69\00:17:57.56
hydroxytyrosol which
makes vessel walls more
00:17:57.59\00:18:01.15
supple that includes the brain,
00:18:01.18\00:18:02.81
and in the aging brain
that's especially important.
00:18:02.84\00:18:05.59
Well I think,
probably also you know I have
00:18:05.62\00:18:07.53
seen a number of cases
of vitamin B12 deficiency.
00:18:07.56\00:18:11.73
Oh absolutely. And of
course that kind of affect
00:18:11.76\00:18:15.15
those that are,
that doesn't come usually
00:18:15.18\00:18:17.75
from plant sources.
It doesn't come from
00:18:17.78\00:18:19.94
plant sources, so it's
very important if you have
00:18:19.97\00:18:22.09
a plant based diet to
make sure that you have
00:18:22.12\00:18:23.87
a source of B12 in your diet.
00:18:23.90\00:18:25.32
But when you eat
these kind of foods.
00:18:25.35\00:18:27.21
You really just start
humming and you've got
00:18:27.24\00:18:29.40
some pep in your steps,
some spunk in your trunk
00:18:29.43\00:18:32.03
and you know.
We've had people tell us
00:18:32.06\00:18:33.68
that within a
matter of several days,
00:18:33.71\00:18:35.39
they feel like a fog
has lifted from their brain.
00:18:35.42\00:18:38.01
They had redoing things
two or three times. They
00:18:38.04\00:18:40.60
just didn't seem to able
to process Merrill Elias,
00:18:40.63\00:18:44.66
who is an epidemiologist
and statistician has done
00:18:44.69\00:18:47.22
learning a memory test
with seniors and he found
00:18:47.25\00:18:50.58
a very positive correlation
with 36 different aspects
00:18:50.61\00:18:55.68
of learning and memory
and mental impairment with
00:18:55.71\00:18:57.85
poor food choices and
metabolic syndrome versus
00:18:57.88\00:19:01.05
having a healthful diet and so.
00:19:01.08\00:19:02.68
So you keep, metabolic syndrome
00:19:02.71\00:19:04.04
is this like what is
that? It's a clustering
00:19:04.07\00:19:07.18
of symptoms that
includes obesity,
00:19:07.21\00:19:09.11
high cholesterol,
high triglycerides,
00:19:09.14\00:19:11.01
high blood pressure. So
that's the result of eating
00:19:11.04\00:19:13.98
the wrong things
and then also pays a big
00:19:14.01\00:19:17.10
price in the brain.
That's exactly right.
00:19:17.13\00:19:19.10
It makes it very much
harder to adopt and stick
00:19:19.13\00:19:22.15
to a program, because
you feel so bad mentally.
00:19:22.18\00:19:24.55
So you, there's some
other ways you have listed here,
00:19:24.58\00:19:26.98
so you can have pep in
your step and your eyes
00:19:27.01\00:19:29.75
can pop and your jaw can
drop, all those different
00:19:29.78\00:19:31.77
things. Let's go through
that list now and look again
00:19:31.80\00:19:35.03
at ways to improve
brain energy appetite called
00:19:35.06\00:19:39.43
control and eating
habits. One is exercise,
00:19:39.46\00:19:42.27
another is water, then
rest and then attitude.
00:19:42.30\00:19:46.17
Well talk to me about water.
00:19:46.20\00:19:47.71
Well water is very
important because it juices
00:19:48.31\00:19:49.84
the brain, it literally
helps to deliver those nutrients
00:19:49.87\00:19:52.61
to the brain and when
you have the fresh fruits
00:19:52.64\00:19:54.75
and vegetables, you've
got the antioxidant crew
00:19:54.78\00:19:57.11
that's sweeping up those
dead cells and clearing up
00:19:57.14\00:19:59.16
the circulation and
making those vessels more,
00:19:59.19\00:20:01.26
more supple, and
it's helping the entire.
00:20:01.29\00:20:03.99
And the water
just flushes them out.
00:20:04.02\00:20:05.17
The water flushes it
away and delivers nutrients
00:20:05.20\00:20:07.47
to the brain.
Exercise is important because
00:20:07.50\00:20:09.74
it throttles up that
executive function and also
00:20:09.77\00:20:14.28
there's something
called cerebral lateralization
00:20:14.31\00:20:16.58
that takes place, that
sort of lowers the anxiety,
00:20:16.61\00:20:18.87
neurotransmitters and
it elevates the good mood,
00:20:18.90\00:20:22.19
so that you will
have less cravings.
00:20:22.22\00:20:24.10
You know as much as
you get down on life.
00:20:24.13\00:20:25.70
You probably
exercise quite a bit.
00:20:25.73\00:20:27.31
Don't you? Did you walk
here all the way from Michigan?
00:20:27.34\00:20:29.90
I did not walked from Michigan,
00:20:29.93\00:20:30.90
but we did on
this long, long drive,
00:20:30.91\00:20:32.73
we made it a point
to do two special stops
00:20:32.76\00:20:35.07
along the way in a mall,
'cause the weather was poor.
00:20:35.10\00:20:38.11
And then attitude,
things that improve brain
00:20:38.14\00:20:41.91
function is the attitude.
Yes, negative thinking,
00:20:41.94\00:20:43.77
when a person is a
ruminator, when they put things
00:20:43.80\00:20:45.88
in the crock pot and just
stew over it all day long.
00:20:45.91\00:20:48.84
It has such an amazing
affect on the brain's ability
00:20:48.87\00:20:53.09
to learn and meet new
challenges that it creates
00:20:53.12\00:20:56.10
a terrible environment
for learning and learning
00:20:56.13\00:21:00.21
new things and adopting change.
00:21:00.24\00:21:01.42
We have to remember that
a positive and a negative
00:21:01.45\00:21:03.39
thought cannot
coexist and a bad attitude
00:21:03.42\00:21:06.15
is like a flat tire,
you're not gonna get very
00:21:06.18\00:21:08.20
far until you change it.
Alright so yeah this is that
00:21:08.23\00:21:10.94
what they call that
cognitive behavioral therapy
00:21:10.97\00:21:13.34
where they say hey
look stop thinking that way.
00:21:13.37\00:21:15.71
Well we do need to take
note of what our thought
00:21:15.74\00:21:18.46
patterns are tending
to, where they're leading us
00:21:18.49\00:21:21.07
and interrupt that
process and replace it with
00:21:21.10\00:21:23.55
a better thought.
Now you've, you've
00:21:23.58\00:21:25.38
written this book and
other books they're available
00:21:25.41\00:21:27.48
on your information
about them and the other
00:21:27.51\00:21:31.05
resources that you and
you have a team, don't you?
00:21:31.08\00:21:34.18
Yes. How many
people work on your team?
00:21:34.21\00:21:35.55
Well, we have a staff
of people, we have several
00:21:35.58\00:21:37.98
researchers. We have
physicians and a dietician
00:21:38.01\00:21:40.13
who is our nutrition
director and then we also
00:21:40.16\00:21:42.40
have our development
staff to make the materials
00:21:42.43\00:21:44.50
very attractive. We
have DVDs and educational
00:21:44.53\00:21:48.31
materials for those
that would like to teach
00:21:48.34\00:21:50.01
this topic and hold seminars.
00:21:50.04\00:21:51.50
So all the things are
available on your website
00:21:52.27\00:21:54.19
at lifestylematters.com
and, an excellent resource
00:21:54.22\00:21:59.28
by the way. I've
enjoyed visiting the website.
00:21:59.31\00:22:01.39
How soon can these
changes that you have described
00:22:02.90\00:22:06.06
occur in the brain?
You know you go hey man,
00:22:06.09\00:22:08.18
I'm feeling really,
I'm ready to listen.
00:22:08.21\00:22:10.36
I'm listening to the
program today and I want to
00:22:10.39\00:22:12.76
have some good moods
and let the good times roll.
00:22:12.79\00:22:15.64
How soon can this happen?
00:22:16.85\00:22:17.82
Well, reversing the
architecture of the brain
00:22:17.83\00:22:21.01
or changing the structural
problems that have occurred
00:22:21.04\00:22:24.74
through years of
wrong choices takes time,
00:22:24.77\00:22:27.44
but some of the
affects and results of positive
00:22:27.47\00:22:29.73
choices can take place
in as little as few days
00:22:29.76\00:22:33.37
and we know that, that
even changes in blood vessels
00:22:33.40\00:22:36.64
begin to take place
in a few days and so,
00:22:36.67\00:22:39.12
so the changes in
part depend on how much
00:22:39.89\00:22:42.41
damages has done, how
much atrophy has occurred
00:22:42.44\00:22:45.05
in certain parts of the
brain that maybe affected
00:22:45.08\00:22:47.47
by poor lifestyle, but
there is just positive,
00:22:47.50\00:22:51.77
positive change
that does occur for
00:22:51.80\00:22:54.61
most people very,
very soon and it begins
00:22:54.64\00:22:57.73
to improve as time goes on.
00:22:57.76\00:22:59.19
And you said that
there's even a possibility
00:22:59.22\00:23:00.96
of changing dementia.
What is dementia and what
00:23:00.99\00:23:05.12
is the research
you're talking about in terms
00:23:05.15\00:23:08.12
of dementia actually change?
00:23:08.15\00:23:09.18
Well a good diet can
slow the progress of dementia.
00:23:09.21\00:23:12.11
So what is dementia? I
don't know that it would
00:23:12.14\00:23:14.33
reverse it. Now,
dementia most people associate
00:23:14.36\00:23:17.75
dementia with memory loss,
but that's actually the end
00:23:17.78\00:23:20.39
stage by the time that
level of destruction or atrophy
00:23:20.42\00:23:25.13
has taken place about 23
percent of brain function
00:23:25.16\00:23:28.66
has been lost. So the
very subtle encroachment
00:23:28.69\00:23:32.40
of dementia begins
with impaired reasoning,
00:23:32.43\00:23:34.94
failure to follow
through with lists.
00:23:34.97\00:23:38.05
There's a very
subtle process that keeps,
00:23:38.08\00:23:40.61
that begins to occur
years before the actual
00:23:40.64\00:23:43.97
forgetfulness and. I
see. The more standard.
00:23:44.87\00:23:48.29
So that can be
definitely retarded.
00:23:48.32\00:23:50.44
So, how wonderful to
begin to restore the resiliency
00:23:50.47\00:23:54.58
and the plasticity or
malleability of the brain
00:23:54.61\00:23:56.91
before those final
steps that you can't change
00:23:56.94\00:24:00.40
begin to happen. You
have four steps you say that
00:24:00.43\00:24:03.87
a person can take to you
know put their mental engine
00:24:03.90\00:24:08.52
back on the road. Right.
The highway, the fast lane.
00:24:08.55\00:24:11.32
That's it. So we wanna
look at those four stages
00:24:11.35\00:24:13.67
and then we'll come back
and talk about and the first
00:24:13.70\00:24:15.36
one you have done here
is to replace refined junk
00:24:15.39\00:24:17.99
food with more fiber
and antioxidant rich foods
00:24:18.02\00:24:22.25
to replace sedentary
habits with exercise everyday
00:24:22.28\00:24:25.66
to replace soda and
coffee with water and to replace
00:24:25.69\00:24:30.23
TV with
stimulating mental challenges.
00:24:30.26\00:24:33.38
That's right. So what are the,
00:24:33.41\00:24:34.96
some of the
stimulating mental challenges
00:24:34.99\00:24:36.73
you're involved in?
Well I love, I love learning
00:24:36.76\00:24:40.52
new things and so
the brain loves novelty
00:24:40.55\00:24:43.12
and the love of
novelty can become an addiction
00:24:43.15\00:24:46.61
if you're just focusing
on the same thing all over
00:24:46.64\00:24:48.55
the time and so it's
really a good thing for us
00:24:48.58\00:24:51.55
to challenge our brains. I
try to read books that are,
00:24:51.58\00:24:54.81
that are in
challenging new areas,
00:24:54.84\00:24:57.15
I'm getting a
hobby book on physics.
00:24:57.18\00:24:59.54
I know very
little about physics,
00:24:59.57\00:25:01.17
but I want to
learn and that's gonna
00:25:01.20\00:25:02.77
be one of my
vacation books this year,
00:25:02.80\00:25:04.29
so I try to involve
myself in those kinds of mental
00:25:04.32\00:25:07.56
challenges. I also try to
learn new social responses
00:25:07.59\00:25:11.43
and make new choices.
What's a social response?
00:25:11.46\00:25:14.20
Well for instance, I
come from a pretty bad
00:25:14.23\00:25:16.78
background and I
was a bulimic and runway
00:25:16.81\00:25:19.91
for many years and
didn't handle stress well and
00:25:19.94\00:25:23.10
never was taught
those kinds of things,
00:25:23.13\00:25:24.85
so I practice new
behaviors, when I see someone
00:25:24.88\00:25:27.41
doing something
that's really an affective
00:25:27.44\00:25:30.28
communication style.
I try and copy it and
00:25:30.31\00:25:32.70
model that,
because that's a good thing
00:25:32.73\00:25:35.17
and so that actually
increases the ability of my
00:25:35.20\00:25:38.13
brain to handle
challenges later on in life,
00:25:38.16\00:25:41.56
so that's one of the
ways that I increase my
00:25:41.59\00:25:43.70
neuronal neighborhoods
is by just observing
00:25:43.73\00:25:45.94
better behavior than
I have and try to copy.
00:25:45.97\00:25:48.35
Increasing your
neuronal neighborhood.
00:25:48.38\00:25:49.87
That's what I do.
So all those neurons
00:25:49.90\00:25:51.22
are coming together,
so you know challenging
00:25:51.25\00:25:54.66
or stimulating mental
challenges someone once
00:25:54.69\00:25:57.42
told me that
reading the book of Proverbs
00:25:57.45\00:25:59.40
or the book of Daniel does that.
00:25:59.43\00:26:01.24
Daily Bible
study is just amazing.
00:26:01.27\00:26:03.57
It's an amazing discipline.
00:26:03.60\00:26:05.84
It's a wonderful
thing and I make sure that
00:26:05.87\00:26:07.96
I do that each day
because I need the power
00:26:07.99\00:26:10.10
that God has. I
need his plan in my life
00:26:10.13\00:26:12.73
and I also needed the
challenge of the mental
00:26:12.76\00:26:15.02
stimulation, so I
don't, I don't spend time with
00:26:15.05\00:26:17.92
television. I spend
time with more challenging
00:26:17.95\00:26:20.36
activities and it
is a decision, because
00:26:20.39\00:26:22.51
it's an easy thing
to do to fall into a rut
00:26:22.54\00:26:24.77
and just do what
doesn't require much processing.
00:26:24.80\00:26:29.97
So for the person
who's out there and that's
00:26:30.70\00:26:31.90
in a bad mood, that's
kind of in the doldrums today.
00:26:31.93\00:26:34.44
Right. But they're
saying hey maybe there
00:26:34.47\00:26:36.47
is some hope,
there is some help here.
00:26:36.50\00:26:37.65
What's your parting
piece of advise to that
00:26:37.68\00:26:40.19
person who's watching today?
00:26:40.22\00:26:41.32
Okay my parting piece of
advise is to just remember
00:26:41.82\00:26:45.07
how God has made your brain for,
00:26:45.10\00:26:46.74
to rebuild and to
recover and restore those
00:26:46.77\00:26:50.37
lost connections,
and so my parting advice
00:26:50.40\00:26:52.95
is to immediately
begin to get entranced and
00:26:52.98\00:26:55.54
captivated with
good high fiber foods,
00:26:55.57\00:26:58.00
replace the junk
foods with some fresh fruits
00:26:58.03\00:27:00.13
and vegetables and
whole grain breads.
00:27:00.16\00:27:01.92
Go out for a walk in
the morning and get that
00:27:01.95\00:27:04.65
exercise. Get to bed on time,
00:27:04.68\00:27:06.42
because that's gonna
have an affect on mood
00:27:06.45\00:27:08.05
and stress levels
and blood sugar control
00:27:08.08\00:27:09.82
the next day. So
remember that the lifestyle
00:27:09.85\00:27:13.44
that God has given
us is not restrictive,
00:27:13.47\00:27:15.30
it's protective. So
begin to implement some
00:27:15.33\00:27:17.68
of those tools, get
involved socially and with
00:27:17.71\00:27:19.57
positive people that you
can model better behavior
00:27:19.60\00:27:22.80
after and this will slowly,
but certainly throttle up
00:27:22.83\00:27:26.74
the ability to
meet challenges and deal
00:27:26.77\00:27:28.83
with stress and it
will help to break those
00:27:28.86\00:27:30.86
craving, you'll be
able to meet challenges
00:27:30.89\00:27:32.95
and won't be so
driven to those junk foods.
00:27:32.98\00:27:34.93
Thank you so much
for what you do there
00:27:35.49\00:27:36.87
at the Michigan
Conference and for putting
00:27:36.90\00:27:38.69
these books together.
Thank you for taking time
00:27:38.72\00:27:40.79
to come here and
talk with me and to talk
00:27:40.82\00:27:43.82
with the 3ABN family
and those that are watching.
00:27:43.85\00:27:46.15
And thank you
for joining us today.
00:27:46.70\00:27:48.06
Thank you for taking
the time to learn things
00:27:48.09\00:27:52.37
that can improve your health.
00:27:52.40\00:27:53.41
We hope as a result
of today's program your
00:27:54.19\00:27:56.35
mind will be sharp
and you'll be able to
00:27:56.38\00:27:58.76
do everything
God wants you to do.
00:27:58.79\00:28:00.32