Dr. Martin breaks down an interesting study about neurogenesis, which is the regeneration of neurons, the nerve cells in your brain. The key factor in regenerating your brain is something called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor, or BDNF. It’s essentially a gauge for how much regenerative power you have.
The study shared 4 specific things you can do to increase your BDNF. Implementing exercise, the real vitamin E, was one of them. Researchers were able to increase the BDNF of elderly individuals at high risk for Alzheimer's and dementia by 1800% just by getting them to exercise!
Don’t miss today’s episode to learn the other items, and two more that Dr. Martin suggests.
TRANSCRIPT OF TODAY'S EPISODE
Announcer: You're listening to The Doctor Is In Podcast, brought to you by MartinClinic.com. During the episode, the doctors share a lot of information. As awesome as the info may be, it is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. It's strictly for informational purposes.
Dr. Martin: Well, good morning everyone. And welcome to another Live this morning. Hope you're having a great start to your day. I got to talk to you about, the heading is going to be neurogenesis, neurogenesis. Now break that down guys. Break that out, you'll figure it out. Medicine, we love to use big words. Neurogenesis. Genesis, new, start, beginning. And neuro, the regeneration of neurons, nerve cells. Interesting study that came out. I want to break it down this morning. And we're going to talk about a key factor in regenerating your brain. And it seems that every week there's new studies coming out about brain. There's a factor in your brain, it's called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor, BDNF. And BDNF is really important to regenerate the brain, but let me give you a little bit of history.
As far back as 1928, and you can imagine why this happened, but there was a prof back then, Cagal, I don't know if I'm pronouncing it right, Cagal, who made this statement and it stuck. Okay, here's what he said. “In the adult centers of the brain, the nerve paths are something fixed. Everything may die, nothing may be regenerated.” If you see a paralyzed person that's had a neck injury or whatever and they're paralyzed, they tell you you're paralyzed. There's no more regeneration happening. And to some extent, that is true when the injury is so severe. But I want to bring you some good news this morning on how to increase your BDNF. What does BDNF do? It regenerates neurons in your brain.
Because in medicine's mind, and I even listened to this, I think it was last week. A doctor said, "If you get damage to your heart, you can't regenerate heart cells. If you get damage in your brain, you can't regenerate brain cells. When they die, you're done like dinner," is what he said. To some extent, he's right. I give you an example. I used to tell my patients when you start getting or one of your loved ones, even if you notice any kind of cognitive change, any kind of cognitive change, their memory, their repetition, they're just not sharp as they used to be. That… even earlier than that, but at least then start doing things to help that person. But what we know about the brain, specifically the brain at the brain stem level, is that you have a factor there, BDNF, and it helps regenerate the brain. It helps regenerate the brain.
And studies have shown that, at least for this topic this morning... I want to bring out four things, maybe a couple of more, but four things that this study showed that actually increased your levels of BDNF, brain derived, meaning inside the brain itself. This factor, neural factor, there's ways of increasing it. Here's what they find. In Alzheimer's, for example, that factor is down to almost nothing. There's no more regenerative power. Of course, with age, all of us, downhill. But this study is showing, and like I said, I'll add a few things because of my experience. But this study shows that yes, you can regenerate brain neurons by a factor inside the brain, BDNF. Say it with me, BDNF. How do I get BDNF up? Because isn't it true for you and I? It's one of our big concerns, isn't it? Our noggins, cognitive. Let's be honest with that. Well, some people say do crossword puzzles and all that, that mental exercise. That is nothing compared to what I'm going to talk to you about this morning.
So this study showed that BDNF is increased in four specific things you can do. You know what they put at the top of the list? Vitamin E. The real vitamin E, exercise. Now, if you go back, I don't know what number we're at, almost 700 I think podcasts, how many times have I talked about vitamin E? Move, exercise. Okay? It plays a key role in regenerating the brain, and this study confirms it. The Journal of American Medicine, elderly individuals at high risk for Alzheimer's and dementia, cognitive decline. In 24 weeks, their BDNF went up 1800%, 1800% with exercise. Compared to the group that they studied. Okay? So they did one group no exercise and then do cognitive tests and one group that exercised, they gave them exercises, got them moving. And they had an 1800%. The group did vitamin E had an 1800% improvement in their BDNF.
Isn't that incredible? And I always tell people, don't wait. Don't wait till the decline starts. Get in the habit of vitamin E. Move. I love walking. I'm a walker and I mean that. But the best... strong legs, strong brain. Strong legs, strong brain. Yeah, walking's fantastic. Move. Anything you do in exercise is going to help you. But if you want to know the best, get strong. Strong muscles, strong brain. Sarcopenia, which is the wasting away of muscles. I look at seniors and they waste away and it's deadly. It's deadly. It's not only deadly for them all around, but it's deadly for the brain. The BDNF does not regenerate. You need to make more of that factor in your brain. So what this study did, published in the American Medical Journal, they put vitamin E at the top. They put it at the top. Would I do that? Close. I'm very consistent. Okay, so vitamin E. What's the best? Get your legs strong, get your core strong as much as you can. If you don't have weights, use bands strong. And again, three weeks, 21 days, you form a habit. 24 weeks, according to this study, makes a huge difference of 1800%. More of the BDNF. BDNF, BDNF. I want that in my brain... regenerating it. Okay? Got it? Okay, vitamin E.
Now here's the second thing they said in this study. Diet. Now they didn't talk about what to add, and that's all right. They were all on what not to eat. And guess what? Guess what? Cut out the carbs and cut out the crappy sugars. Crappy carbs, crappy sugars. Okay? Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, cut out. Now they left it there, just on cutting out to the senior. They had a group eat, whatever you want. They did another group, cut out as much as they could sugars and crappy carbs. Seniors generally, are carboholics. Part of it is maybe mastication, which is actually breaking your food down and the lack of teeth or whatever it is. But they said, if you do this, now let me read you the study. Just read it. This is in three months. Okay? “Unbelievable medicine for the brain was cutting out sugars and crappy carbs.” They noticed a difference in the memory function of the brain because of the increase in the BDNF when you cut out crap. Quit eating cereals, quit eating noodles, quit eating the middle aisles of the grocery stores. The cookies and the crackers and the bagels. "Dr. Martin, they're whole wheat." I don't care. It don't matter. It's sugar. Cut it out. Even this study agrees with me.
And of course, they didn't say it. But let me say it. You want to regenerate that factor in your brain, the BDNF? Well cut out this, cut out the crap as much as you can and replace it with real brain food. Eggs, for your brain. Meat, for your brain. Cheese, for your brain. You know me. I'm not just, okay, let's cut that out. Let's cut it down. I don't leave you there. I want to replace. I want to replace. And to my vegetarian and vegan friends, I love you dearly, I do, but you're wrong. Salad ain't going to fix your brain. Okay? It's not. I didn't say you couldn't eat it, but it ain't going to fix your brain. I'm sorry. It won't regenerate the brain. There's not enough nutrients in there. So up your eggs, meat, and cheese. You find me a better food than a piece of steak for your brain and you bring me that research, and we're not talking about liver. Okay? I refuse to talk about it. I'm serious. Cut out, add in. Meat, meat, meat, meat, meat. Eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs. Have a hundred eggs a week. Cheese. There's a reason I say cheese. You need dairy. Don't ditch the dairy, switch the dairy. Okay? Why? BDNF. BDNF. You want to regenerate?
Number three. Here's the article. So it talked about cutting out the crap in foods. Hello? Medicine? I'm calling you. I'm calling you. What a concept. What a concept. Food affects the brain. What a concept. Hello? I've been screaming for almost 50 years. Cut out the sugar. Sugar destroys your brain. Why do you think they call Alzheimer's type three diabetes? They should go back to that. They're trying to change it because I guess the diabetics don't like it. Medicine doesn't like type three diabetes. But that's what originally it was called. Why? Think about it. What is that? Sugar and crappy cars. What a concept? Food is important. Hello. I like reading this stuff because I go, "Yeah. Mm-hmm, we've been talking about that for a long time." Food, cut out, add in. Cut out, add in. Change fuels for your brain. Your brain wants rocket fuel. Quit giving it 87 octane. Okay? Stop. Your brain wants real fuel. What a concept.
Number three on their hit parade for regenerating BDNF, regenerating your neurons in your brain. You know what it was? They came out with this in this study, curcumin. Curcumin. And what they did is they compared a group that they gave curcumin to compared to a group that got a placebo. They probably thought they were taking curcumin, but they weren't. They were taking a placebo. And the study was pretty interesting because there was a 25% increase in brain function, especially in the cognitive area of memory for those who were given curcumin. 25% compared to the placebo group. Important isn't it? Now turmeric, because curcumin is an extract of turmeric. And turmeric is good guys. It really is. It's a spice, it's very good for you. The problem is, like therapeutically and this article actually said it, it's not enough. It's good, they like it, but they were talking about therapeutic doses that they gave to one group and then the other one was placebo. And they noticed a 25% increase over a period of less than two months. It increased the BDNF.
Now the fourth one, you've never heard of this, so pay attention. The fourth one they used in these studies was high DHA. Have you ever heard of that? Have I ever mentioned it? Have I told you lately about DHA? I love DHA. Okay? I have fish every day in a capsule. This is a therapeutic. Now, remember, okay... all fish is good, all red meat is good because it has high DHA in it. Okay? And I'm a big guy on eating. You guys know that. We talked about that. Change fuels for your brain. But this was therapeutic doses of DHA. Six months doubled the reduction of cognitive errors, double, improvement in six months of DHA. So those are the four things they talked about in this mega study. Vitamin E, exercise, decreasing garbage, food, sugars, crappy carbs, three curcumin, and four, DHA. Okay. I agree 100%.
Now let me add a couple. When you have low B12, your B12 is a neuro-regenerator, well established. Your brain needs B12. That's why, I'll say it today, Lord willing if I have a program tomorrow and the next day and the next day and next week and whatever, I tell you, I'm not coming off a point on the importance of a vitamin B12. You might get tired of hearing it, but your brain does not work with B12. And remember, I'll just give you a couple of little things that I repeat and repeat and repeat. The blood test for B12 is 100 years old. It needs a birthday party and it should be put to bed because most people are in the low end. Even when it's flagged that a lab of being 600, "It's high. It's high B12, you're going to die, you got high B12." That's low. It's not optimized.
You need optimized B12. Okay? You do. I'm huge on that. Most people, I tested people for years. Ask my staff. It was one of our important tests. We did B12. And what? 80% at least were low in B12. Your brain doesn't work without it properly. Why do you think I'm so big on eating red meat guys? How can red meat be bad for you when it's the only source of B12? How could it be bad? How could it be cancer? "You eat red meat, it's cancer. It's going to clog your arteries." It's just the opposite. It's brain food, guys, brain food. B12. The vast majority of the population has been hoodwinked. They've been deceived. And guys, it's going to get worse. I'm just telling you. I'm just telling you. I'm not a prophet nor son of one, but I'm telling you ahead of time. You wait til Bill Gates and his friends will do everything they can to get rid of meat.
They got it in their noggins that it's number one, bad for the climate. I get a headache. I get a headache guys. But you wait, I'm telling you it's indoctrination. They're not going after you, by the way. Okay? You know better. But they're going after our children and our grandchildren. "Save the planet, save the planet. Get rid of meat, you're going to save the planet." I don't know how that works. You'll get rid of people. I guess that's what they want. Like I said, my blood pressure goes up. I just have to think about the nonsense. It is absolute nonsense. But they're going after our young, guys, our grandchildren. It's 100% indoctrination. Meat is no good. Limit it, get rid of it. You don't need it. Netflix, they have movies on there, whatever, documentaries. "You don't need any meat, just eat vegetables and fruit. You can live on that. All the protein is in there." No it ain't and there's no B12.
I don't need to work out today, I just did. But guys, I just got to tell you how your brain works. It's looking for a fuel. Give it fuel. Everybody, even in the first day of medical school, they learn that you got nerves and B12 is important for your nerves. First day of medical school. And then they forget it. I remember the doctors in the 1950s, or whatever, they had B12 in their bags. They gave B12 shots. "You're tired? Oh, here, come here." You got a B12 shot. My wife's a nurse. She used to give up more B12 in the 70s, B12 shots. Like she said, "I probably gave away, I did 50 of them today. Oh you did? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 50 shots of B12. That's what the doctor ordered. That was in the 70s, guys. Seniors would get B12. Today, not important. Numbers are all right. You're at 200. 200 in B12 numbers is for mice, not men or women or kids. 200? How about 1,200? That's what you need. And guys, I'm telling you this by clinical experience. I'm not a researcher. I didn't do research. Well I did for my PhD, but I didn't do research in my office. I had to get results. When you see thousands and thousands and thousands of patients and analyze thousands and thousands and thousands of biomarkers over the years, B12, it's amazing what happens when you B12 goes up how much better you are, how much better your brain is. In this particular study for BDNF, they didn't talk about B12. But I am. I am.
I'm just going to close with this. You guys are probably saying, "How come he hasn't talked about VitDerma today?" Because here in Sudbury, where I am today, it's pouring rain. So there's no VitDerma. There's no vitamin D today. Is it the most important vitamin in the world? Probably. VitDerma. Seniors scared skinny of the sun. They went for the lie, hook, line and sinker, "Stay out of the sun, it'll give you skin cancer." Didn't realize your body, including your brain, is a solar panel. VitDerma, no money in VitDerma. So pharma, they don't like VitDerma cause there's no money in it. What did I tell you? I had that statistic yesterday. I tell you it was incredible. Let me just read it to you again. Quarter number two, which just ended by the way. When they get their numbers for quarter number two, this is Pfizer. Pfizer made 19 billion, with a B, dollars in quarter number two. You know how much that is a day? $211 million every day. Holy moly.
I want to show you how I'm not a prophet, I should have bought stock in Pfizer. I didn't. Okay? $211 million every day in quarter number two. They're not looking at VitDerma guys, but you need to. Your brain has a solar panel up there. Okay? Got it? Okay. So what'd they talk about? Let's increase our BDNF. Let's increase our BDNF. Let's get it up. Let's get that factor up. It's important. Okay? So if we do that, we get our BDNF by vitamin E. Food, down on one, up on the other. Okay? Curcumin, DHA, I'm a B12 guy, and vitamin D, VitDerma. Boy, I like that name, VitDerma. Is it just me?
Okay… So guys, thank you very much for watching today. We appreciate it dearly. Why don't you plan for Christmas now? Giveaways. I was reading this morning in my Bible, better to give than to receive. Jesus said that. Better to give than to receive. And we can give our Reset, the 30 day program to reset even the brain. Okay? It gives a good, good gift. Okay? Easy to read. We thank you for making it number one in the healthcare field. Number one, numero uno. We appreciate it. And if you're not a member of the private Facebook group, please, you can join that. Get your family, get your friends. What a community. We appreciate it. Sign up to get, on your smartphone, The Doctor Is In Podcast. If you're not getting our newsletters, you can do that. Go to our website, martinclinic.com, and you can sign up. If you don't get our newsletters, you want to get those. They're very informant. Okay? The Doctor Is In newsletter that we send out, a couple of times a week usually. So we love you guys, and I don't say that without meaning it. Okay, talk to you soon.
Announcer: You've reached the end of another Doctor Is In Podcast, with your hosts, Doctor Martin Junior and Senior. Be sure to catch our next episode and thanks for listening!