Neurogenesis 101 : How to grow brain cells all your life.

These are my notes from the hour long talk. I strongly encourage you to watch the video if you are interested. : Dr.Brant Cortright

Diet is important to grow Brain cells.

1. Omega 3 fatty acids
   Brain is 2/3 fats , 1/3 of the brain fat has DHA
   Need diet with good fats and low in bad fats.
   Have Omega 3 fat sources : 1000 - 1500 mg DHA everyday. Prefer unoxidised fats : Never cook in cooking oil. Cook with butter, ghee, coconut oil. Have avocados, wild fish, Pastured eggs.
2. Avoid sugar in diet.
3. Give up Alcohol and Caffeine. Decaf coffee is a better alternative.
4. Have B12, B6 MultiVitamin supplements.

Exercise

1. All kinds of exercise is good. 4 pillars of health : Body, Heart, Mind, Spirit.
2. Aerobic exercise : Running , Biking, Brisk walking, Swimming, High Intensity Interval training is not great for brain - doesn’t help in neurogenesis
3. After running or exercise, take Bioflavanoid hesperedin, omega 3 fatty acids, they keep brains alive. If not, the new brain cells generated die.

Sleep

1. Brain has Glymphatic system : Glial cells do housekeeping function. They clean up Beta amyloid protein. Absence of this cleaning leads to clogging of Beta amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer’s patients.
2. Emotions are a big player in neuro-genesis. Stress slows neurogenesis. Chronic stress. Two types of stress : Good stress : Short term moderate stress.Bad stress : Chronic in nature.
3. Chronic anger : Lowers neurogenesis. Oxytocin, Loving supporting people and environment promotes neurogenesis.
4. Cognitive decline : Strongly observed in two cohorts : After graduation and After retirement. Keep brain engaged in learning. Be a lifelong learner. Teachers and Knowledge workers have lowest rates of cognitive decline.
5. Spiritual practices and Drugs : SSRI : Selective Seretonin Re-uptake inhibitors or antidepressants don’t increase seretonin levels, but they promote neurogenesis on the emotional part of the brain. They only aim at one portion of the hippocampus. While spiritual practices target the entire length of hippocampus. Examples of spiritual practices are mindfulness practices, devotional practices : Bhakti, Christian practices, Heart opening ones : Compassion practices have powerful positive effect on Neurogenesis.