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Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201715A
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01:30 >> It has stood the test of time -- 01:34 God's book, the Bible... still relevant in today's 01:39 complex world. "It Is Written" -- 01:45 sharing messages of hope around the world. 01:50 ♪♪ 02:01 >> Dear friends, thank you so much for joining 02:03 "It Is Written Canada." Today, I am joined by 02:06 Dr. Neil Nedley. Dr. Nedley, thank you so much for being here again. 02:09 >> Thank you. It's great to be with you again, Chris. 02:12 >> Now, just as a reminder to our audience, Dr. Nedley is an internal-medicine doctor. 02:17 He is an adjunct professor at Loma Linda University, and he is the author of four books -- 02:23 "Depression: The Way Out," "Proof Positive," "The Lost Art of Thinking," and 02:28 "Optimizing Your Brain." Now, Dr. Nedley, let's talk a little bit about this because 02:33 you're a specialist in internal medicine, and actually we know each other pretty well. 02:38 Your real specialty is in kind of the gut. Yet you've done a lot of work 02:44 on the brain. How are the gut and the brain connected? 02:47 And I know we could probably do multiple shows on that, but how are those two connected, and how 02:53 did you get into discovering things on the brain and mental function? 02:58 >> Well, it's a great question, Chris. 03:01 And actually if we were to scrape the nerves off of the 03:06 bowel at the time of surgery and just scrape them all off and 03:11 weigh them out, they would weigh four times as much as the entire 03:15 spinal cord. And so, there's quite a brain-G.I. connection. 03:21 And I notice that a lot in my field of gastroenterology. And so, many of the 03:28 difficult-to-treat G.I. diseases, like Crohn's Disease or ulcerative colitis or 03:34 irritable bowel syndrome, actually often are best treated by treating the brain. 03:40 And then the immune system can work a lot better, and the connections with the G.I. tract 03:45 can work a lot better. And so, for my bad G.I. patients, often I needed to 03:52 treat their brain, and then their G.I. problems cleared up. And of course their emotions 03:57 were also balanced, which was a win-win for everybody. >> And the interesting thing -- 04:01 and we're gonna get into this -- in treating their brain, often you have to treat what they're 04:06 eating, and so it's just this very interconnectivity in how the body functions. 04:11 >> Exactly. >> Now, Dr. Nedley, you are the president of Weimar Institute. 04:16 Why don't you talk a little bit about Weimar, what Weimar does, what's happening there. 04:21 I know our viewers would love to hear about it. >> Well, a lot of exciting 04:25 things happening at Weimar. In fact, we're churning out a lot of what we call peer-review 04:30 research. This is the top scientific literature research. 04:34 In fact, virtually all of our students, by the time they graduate, they will have 04:39 published a paper in a medical journal, even before they go to medical school. 04:44 And most doctors don't even publish. They might have done studies, 04:48 but it's not publishable studies. Most doctors don't even publish 04:53 their entire career. But by the time our students are going to medical school, they've 04:59 already presented at places like Harvard. In fact, this next week, we have 05:03 four students that are going to Harvard University and presenting studies that were 05:08 done at Weimar. And why the world is very interested in Weimar's research 05:13 is because we are finding out what we put into our body and what we do with our body has so 05:19 much more to do with our health than we previously thought. And Weimar is discovering 05:24 exactly how much those things play a role in certain disease entities, as well as in certain 05:31 health components, including emotional health. So, about two-thirds of what we 05:37 publish has to do with emotional health, things like depression, anxiety, intellectual functions. 05:43 And about a third of what we publish has to do with circulation, diabetes, heart 05:50 disease, obesity, those type of issues. >> Well, that is exciting, and 05:55 if somebody wanted to learn more about what's happening at Weimar Institute, where might 05:58 they find information? >> Weimar.edu will explain our programs there, and then if 06:04 you're wanting to come as a patient and get your physical body or your brain optimized, 06:11 newstart.org. >> That is fantastic. Now, Dr. Nedley, last week we 06:17 spent some time talking about optimizing our brain chemistry. We talked about the issue of 06:24 genetics, that the reality is, is that sometimes we feel -- and, actually, I joke with my 06:32 mom. I say, "When I was made, I think the bad genetics of my dad and 06:37 the bad genetics of my mom kind of wrapped up in one package, and out I came." 06:43 It's a little joke that we have, but what we were talking about, especially in the context of 06:48 brain function, is even if we're dealt a bad hand, so to speak, in our genes, number one, it's 06:56 not much different than the rest of the world, because everybody, especially in the brain, has 07:02 some kind of genetic mutation. Talk a little bit about that. What's happening? 07:07 What are we seeing with genes and people's brains and how brains are functioning? 07:12 >> Yeah, well, it's called "genetic entropy." Entropy means that over time, 07:16 things become more disorderly and disorganized, and flaws develop. 07:21 This is why we have to maintain cars, and we even have to maintain houses. 07:26 If we just let them sit, they tend to go into disarray. And the same is true, actually, 07:32 with our genetic code. And so, if we're a very healthy parent, we might pass along 150 07:39 new mutations to our child. If we're not a healthy parent, we're gonna pass along over 300 07:45 new mutations. So, actually, although you said it was a joke with your mom and 07:49 dad, there is some element of truth. You actually do have more 07:52 mutations than your mom or dad. And I have more than my mom or dad, and that's what we call 07:58 "genetic entropy." And so, these things can actually result in us, when 08:04 these bad genes interact with our environment, it can actually result in diseases and in some 08:11 unwanted personality and unwanted emotional traits at times. 08:16 >> And so, the last time we were together -- and if you missed last week's show, you can go to 08:23 YouTube.com/IIWCanada and there watch the archives of the program. 08:27 But, Dr. Nedley, you were talking about these characteristics, these traits of 08:35 individuals that are competitive, that are maybe a little obsessive and compulsive, 08:42 very driven individuals often are suffering from a genetic mutation. 08:49 What was that genetic mutation? What does it mean? How is it working in that 08:53 individual? >> Yeah, it's called "undermethylation," and so it 08:58 produces low serotonin activity and low dopamine activity. And so these individuals, in 09:04 addition to the traits that you mentioned, they tend to have high libido. 09:09 These are the people that may not be as faithful as people who are normal methylators. 09:15 And they also have a high tendency for addictions, as well. 09:19 Because they have this calm exterior and tense interior, they tend to reach for ways of 09:27 self-medicating. And so, this is why even those that are having issues with 09:32 addictions that can be solved, and their desire to self-medicate can go away once 09:38 we balance that brain chemistry. >> Okay. So, just as a little bit more 09:42 review on that, if you're listening to that, you're saying, "Yeah, I'm a very 09:47 competitive person" or "I'm suffering with addictions, and I really want my brain to work 09:52 more properly," there's actually hope, and that hope does not have to come in the form of 09:57 a pill. But actually three very practical suggestions, and we'll 10:01 see if I'm good at remembering them. >> Okay. 10:03 >> Light therapy, which getting a lot of sunshine. And even those of us in Canada, 10:07 trying to get out there in the summer and really absorbing that sun, getting in the sun. 10:12 But if you can't get the sun, there are actually light-therapy devices that can be used to get 10:17 that light that you need. >> Correct. >> Then, the second thing is 10:21 exercise. >> Yes. >> And using your classic line, 10:24 that "There's no such thing as bad weather. There's just bad clothes." 10:29 And so, we need to get out and exercise -- an hour of aerobic exercise a day. 10:34 >> Yes. >> And then the last thing you talked about is getting a right 10:37 level of Vitamin D and calcium and magnesium. Did I get those? 10:40 >> Correct. Yes, very good. All right, that brain's working. >> All right, yeah, yeah, we're 10:45 good. Now, and just as a review, in order for somebody to get the 10:50 right amount of Vitamin D and their calcium and magnesium, maybe just a few points to help 10:55 that person -- they can go to the show and review it -- but just a few points on how to get 10:59 enough Vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium. >> Well, you have to get enough 11:03 sun to be able to tan a little bit, and that'll tell us that they're making Vitamin D. 11:09 In the wintertime, you might actually have to take some Vitamin D supplements if you 11:14 didn't get enough in the summer to last you over. And then, with calcium, those 11:18 are gonna be your greens, soybeans. There are grains like amaranth 11:23 and quinoa that are high in it, figs, sesame seeds, and legumes. And then, on the magnesium side 11:31 of things, more of your seeds, like pumpkin seeds, flaxseed. Hempseeds are a good source, as 11:38 well, and your legumes also tend to be a good source of magnesium, as well. 11:44 >> And we've not spent a lot of time talking about this, but it sounds very much, as you're 11:47 talking about those things, a very plant-based or plant-strong diet is going to really resolve 11:54 a number of those issues. Am I hearing you correctly there? 11:57 >> That's correct, yes. >> Okay. Now, there are people on the 12:01 other side of the pole. We've talked about undermethylization or 12:06 undermethylating. What is the opposite problem that exists? 12:11 >> The opposite problem is overmethylation. >> Okay. 12:15 >> And with overmethylation, these people are not so much into achieving. 12:20 In fact, they tend not to do well in school with their GPA. But they tend to be more 12:27 naturally artistic. These are the ones that music comes very easy to them, and 12:35 they like the musical-artistic expressions, or art comes very easy to them. 12:41 They also, unlike the undermethylators that tend to be almost antisocial, the 12:47 overmethylators are naturally social people. In fact, it's nice to have an 12:53 overmethylator as a neighbor because they also tend to be more naturally caring of others. 12:58 They tend to be more naturally empathetic. And so, they're gonna be your 13:03 helpful neighbor. They're gonna want to make sure you're doing okay. 13:07 And they may be on the artistic side, as well. >> Okay. 13:11 So, now, let's talk a little bit about that. What is -- and let's just start 13:20 because there's a number of people that are saying, "That's me. 13:23 I'm that creative person. I love art. I'm the social butterfly, but I 13:28 really struggle as an underachiever." Let's talk about creativity. 13:35 What really is creativity? What's happening with creativity? 13:39 >> Well, you have to have the front part of your brain working to be creative and empathetic, 13:45 actually. And this is an important part of what makes us a human being. 13:51 If the frontal lobe gets strengthened, our creativity goes up, and our love of 13:57 learning goes up. Now, what is creativity? Creativity is actually being 14:02 completely original, meaning that there might be pieces of it that others put together, but 14:09 you're coming up with something that is completely original, as far as the combination is 14:14 concerned. And that combination is useful to others. 14:18 There's a lot of people that pride themselves in being creative in today's world, but 14:24 they're just bizarre. [ Both laugh ] They're not really being useful 14:27 to anybody, per se, by their bizarreness. But a creative person is going 14:33 to actually have that be useful to others. And this is why creative people 14:39 can be in the top echelons of society, because if you create something that is useful to 14:46 others and then put it into a manufacturing type of business, you can go from the lowest 14:52 socioeconomic status to the highest socioeconomic status in a matter of a few years. 14:57 And so, overmethylators can be wealthy individuals as a result of their artistic or creative 15:05 achievements. >> And so, now, somebody who is overmethylating in this creative 15:13 realm but really having achievement issues, a lot of times or -- I don't want to say 15:20 a lot. But those individuals are often put on medications to help them 15:25 in this area of underachieving and things like that. Let's talk about that. 15:30 What kind of medications are these individuals being put on, and what's really happening when 15:35 those medications are prescribed? >> Well, it's not just the 15:39 underachievement that tends to bother the overmethylators. It also tends to be poor stress 15:44 control. And these are people that under significant amounts of stress 15:49 can even kind of go into rapid speech, pressured speech, almost a little bit what we would call 15:55 "hypomania" or mania. They might be a little prone to bipolar, for instance. 16:01 And these individuals, when they present themselves with their stress and the emotional issues 16:09 that they tend to have, they are often put on what's called "SSRIs." 16:15 That is kind of your first-line antidepressant drug. But for an overmethylator, 16:22 if they're put on an SSRI, they're gonna get worse. And so, within a few days, 16:26 they're saying, "Doctor, my stress level is worse. I can't take this." 16:31 And that's because they actually don't need more help with their serotonin activity. 16:38 They've got plenty of it already. And that's why it's important. 16:42 You know, as a physician, I don't like the most common approach to emotional problems, 16:50 and that is, "Try this" and then "Try that." And so, they're tried on a lot 16:56 of things. I like to be able to know precisely what I'm dealing with 17:00 with the brain chemistry. And then I know right away an SSRI is going to actually make 17:05 this person worse. And so, then they might be put on yet another SSRI and get 17:09 worse. What's happening with the SSRI is it's plugging up the 17:13 serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They already have enough serotonin activity, and so now 17:18 it makes too much serotonin. So, now they're off the charts as far as their anxiety. 17:23 They can even get headaches and those type of issues, and it might even drive them more into 17:28 mania. And so, for those individuals, we don't need more serotonin 17:33 activity. We need better vacuum cleaners to be able to reuptake that 17:38 serotonin back into the neuron. And so, we treat them differently. 17:42 >> Okay. So, what can a person that's listening, watching right now, 17:48 saying, "You're describing me." How can they address this overmethylating? 17:54 >> Well, the best way of addressing it is getting plenty of folate. 17:58 Folate actually helps with the reuptake and helps with the overmethylation. 18:06 The other thing that they need is more choline. It turns out your artistic type 18:11 of individuals, one of the reasons why they tended not to do as well in school is because 18:17 the focus and concentration part of things were not there. >> Okay. 18:21 >> And so, we want to improve their focus and concentration, and that is through choline. 18:27 And so, things that augment our ability to make acetylcholine or get the nutrients together to 18:33 make choline will help their underachievement part of things, and the folate will help their 18:39 emotions. >> And now let's talk about this just a little bit, then, because 18:44 maybe an individual's saying, "Oh, but if I do these things, I'll be less creative." 18:48 Is that what's gonna happen? >> No, not true. That's the nice thing about 18:53 treating things naturally. Their creativity is still going to be there. 18:57 And their artistic ability is still going to be there. But now they're gonna be able to 19:02 be managed emotionally. It'll be far easier for them to manage their emotions. 19:07 And they're also going to actually improve overall their creativity because if you have a 19:13 creative side of you, and you can have focus and concentration, it's like, "Wow, 19:17 now we might be able to put our creative things into a manufacturing business and then 19:23 make more income as a result." So, once we balance their brains, we launch them for far 19:30 better success. >> So, let's talk about that folate and the choline. 19:35 And one of the things I appreciate so much in talking with you, Dr. Nedley, is you 19:38 don't tell people to pick up their purse and head down to the supplement store. 19:43 With the Vitamin D obviously there's sometimes that supplementation is needed, but 19:48 your solutions are always seemingly tasty solutions. And so, how might an individual 19:53 get more folate into their diet? >> Well, folate is going to be in plants. 19:58 There's a little bit in animal foods, a few micrograms, and you'd have to eat almost a whole 20:06 cow to get enough folate for how much you need in a day. >> Okay. 20:11 >> And so, this is where we want to emphasize certain plant foods. 20:14 So, the highest source of folate is actually black-eyed peas. Lentils are right up there with 20:20 it, as well. Okra is a very good source of folate. 20:25 And then your greens are going to be a good source of folate, as well. 20:30 And legumes are pretty good in it, as well. And this is one of the reasons 20:35 why for those that are overmethylators, we notice fairly quickly, probably within 20:40 two weeks, if they actually switch over to a plant-based diet that's gonna have adequate 20:46 folate and the adequate what we talked about earlier, choline -- choline and betaine -- those 20:52 individuals within two weeks of going vegetarian will notice a dramatic improvement in their 21:00 emotions. >> That is phenomenal. Now let's talk about that 21:02 choline. What are some sources of choline? 21:05 >> Okay, choline is going to be -- quinoa is actually the highest source of choline and 21:13 betaine combined. And your greens are also going to be great sources of choline 21:20 and betaine. So, mustard greens, spinach -- these types of foods are going 21:26 to be great for someone who's an overmethylator. >> You know, the interesting 21:31 thing is, is that some of the same foods that will help an undermethylator are the same 21:37 exact foods that help an overmethylator. >> Yeah, for different reasons. 21:41 >> For different reasons and for the different nutrients, which I think the importance of what 21:46 you're coming across and sharing is that this idea of a plant-based diet is really gonna 21:53 fulfill a lot of the nutrients that will actually help overcome some of the genetic problems 22:00 that you have. >> Exactly. Now, the one area that I should 22:05 mention where an overmethylator will notice a medicine actually helping -- and this is where I 22:11 kind of cringe -- because overmethylators, with their pressured speech and their 22:16 artistic ability, if the doctor prescribes them Xanax or Lorazepam or benzos, they'll 22:22 feel at peace with the world, and they'll say, "Ah, this is the way I'm supposed to feel. 22:28 I feel so much better. I don't have the stress. I don't have the pressures 22:33 anymore." But those benzos are gonna actually decrease their ability 22:38 to make GABA -- in fact, shut it down. And so, if they try to get off 22:41 these drugs, first, they'll need more and more over time. But if they try to get off it, 22:45 it's like ten times the anxiety they had before. And the natural way of getting 22:51 those benefits is actually switching over to a diet such as we've explained. 22:56 You won't get the buzz effect the first dose, like they do with the benzos, but within two 23:02 weeks, their emotions will be controlled as if they're on benzos, but now no frontal-lobe 23:08 suppression with the diet method. The benzos are gonna make you 23:13 feel better, but they're gonna actually decrease your artistic ability because they're 23:17 suppressing the frontal lobe. They're helping the anxiety part, but benzos are a 23:20 frontal-lobe suppressant. And so, these individuals, as they prepare to come to our 23:26 program, we actually put them on a regimen where they can start to wean their benzos. 23:31 And then, when they come to our program and get this better diet and all the other things that 23:36 help with overmethylation, they're able to much more easily get off their benzos and be 23:41 controlled. >> And so, that's interesting. You were talking about it. 23:44 So, there may be cases where individuals in consultation with their physician, there may be 23:51 individuals that need some type of medication initially. But in this switch to a 23:55 plant-based diet, where for an undermethylator, they're getting that folate and the 24:00 choline. For the overmethylator, they're getting the Vitamin D, the 24:04 calcium, and the magnesium -- >> Actually, the other way around. 24:09 >> Oh, I'm sorry. I flipped that. But so, somebody who's 24:14 overmethylating, getting their folate and their choline. >> Correct. 24:17 >> The undermethylator getting their Vitamin D, their calcium and magnesium, they can 24:23 actually see a weaning effect, and maybe somebody's even actually already on medication, 24:29 they can be weaned off those medications, and they will see just tremendous results from 24:35 this switch in their diet. >> Actually, yeah, they'll feel better off the medicines, given 24:42 enough time, than they ever did on the medicines. And of course they won't have 24:46 the side effects. >> And what -- at the end of this, how does this affect the 24:51 frontal lobe? How does this all bring things together so somebody can have 24:56 optimal brain function? >> Well, it actually augments it significantly. 25:01 Now, people with overmethylators, they do have frontal lobes. 25:04 Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to be creative, and they wouldn't be able to have 25:08 empathy. But they have more selective benefits in their frontal lobe. 25:12 By treating the overmethylation, we now pick up the other areas of the frontal lobe that were 25:19 problematic, particularly the focus, the concentration, the achieving part. 25:24 And then, once they're able to focus and concentrate, that's the same area of their brain 25:30 that's utilized to manage distressing emotions. So, as we improve that focus and 25:35 concentration, they now are able to manage distressing emotions, plus have the benefits 25:41 of the genetic blessing that they've had, being able to be creative and also having that 25:48 more natural empathy. >> And, Dr. Nedley, in the last two minutes that we have 25:54 together here, one of the things I can't help but think of is I know for so many people, when 26:00 we talk about the area of spirituality -- reading their Bible, listening to a sermon, 26:06 listening to a Bible study, whatever it may be -- there's such great difficulty sometimes 26:11 in being able to focus. And as we talk about this optimizing your brain chemistry, 26:17 I can see so clearly that this helps that area of focus. >> Absolutely. 26:22 >> Maybe talk a little bit about what we've been talking about and how it helps in that area of 26:28 spiritual growth. >> Well, focus and concentration is key in order to be able to 26:33 grow spiritually. But, interestingly, as we improve the spiritual part of 26:38 our brain, which is the front part of our brain, it helps to balance our frontal lobe 26:44 significantly. And this is why anyone who wants to achieve optimal brain 26:50 chemistry, the spiritual can't be neglected. And this is an area 26:54 unfortunately in our society where we're neglecting it more than ever before. 26:59 And it's one of the reasons why we have more mental illness than ever before. 27:03 And so, having a congruent spirituality, being able to have a devotional life, where we're 27:10 centering in on some nice, abstract themes, like love and kindness and truth and 27:17 principles, those types of things are gonna actually enhance the front part of our 27:23 brain for both undermethylators, as well as overmethylators. >> And with that, Dr. Nedley, we 27:29 are out of time. And I'm wondering. Would you be willing to pray as 27:33 we close off our program? >> Absolutely. Thank you. Father in heaven, we thank You 27:38 for these wonderful brains that You have created us with. We also thank You that You've 27:44 not only created these brains, but You have shown through science and inspiration how our 27:49 brains can be optimized. And we pray that each viewer here would learn what is best to 27:57 optimize their brain. We thank You that we're not stuck with the brain that we're 28:02 born with, with all of our mutations, but we can actually shut off the bad genes through 28:08 good nutrition and lifestyle and spiritual principles to achieve the full blessing of life that 28:15 you would have each one of us achieve. And we thank You for hearing and 28:20 answering this prayer. In Jesus' name, amen. >> Amen. 28:25 My dear friend, isn't it amazing that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, created in the 28:33 very image of God? And He has not left us without instructions on how to care for 28:39 our bodies that we might have optimal performance. Today, I want to offer you the 28:45 magazine "8 Secrets to Better Health." This magazine will share with 28:50 you principles that you might have optimal performance in your life. 28:55 Here's the information you need to receive today's offer. 28:59 >> To request today's offer, just log on to 29:03 www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca. If you prefer, you may call 29:08 toll-free at 1-888-CALL-IIW. And thank you for your prayer 29:14 requests and your generous financial support. >> Dr. Nedley, thank you so much 29:18 for joining us today. >> Thanks for having me again, Chris. 29:21 I very much enjoyed it. >> Dear friend, I hope that today you have found hope and 29:27 encouragement that God can deliver you, and He can help you change from the way you are to 29:35 the way that you would like to be and have optimal performance. Thank you so much for watching. 29:40 I hope that you join us again next week. Until then, remember 29:44 "It is written: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds 29:51 from the mouth of God.'" ♪♪ 29:59 ♪♪ ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-05-30