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. We're going to talk about medications today that affect your brain in the long term, your memory. Who isn't worried about outliving your brain? [00:00:30] So we're going to talk about one, two, three, four, five medications. And some of these are... well, maybe all of them to you... are very surprising. You know, guys, listen. You know me, so let's just get it out there. Is Dr. Martin or the Martin Clinic against medications? No. For people that say you should never take a medication, [00:01:00] look, you live on planet earth. In a perfect world, you'd never need medication. I thank God, and I mean that, at 68 years old, that I'm not on any meds. And that, by the grace of God. And look, I try and take care of myself, and this and that.
And you know what? There are no guarantees in life. Does that mean I never have taken an antibiotic in my life? Come on, right? The odd time you might have to take [00:01:30] a painkiller or whatever. Look, I get that. How many hundreds of thousands of people in North America, I mean, millions of people, are taking medications on a daily basis? Like blood pressure medication. Some people, I've had patients over the years that were on antidepressants for 20, 25 years, or whatever. Let me just go through the list to those that we know. So all meds, [00:02:00] the problem with medication... I brought this thing to you maybe a year ago, more than that, perhaps, on aspirin. And people were taking aspirin like it was a vitamin, or a candy. You know what? Even the FDA came down and said, "Look, stop doing that. Don't take aspirin on a daily basis." They told aspirin to quit advertising that it should be taken on a daily basis.
Now, if you're having a heart attack, I agree. [00:02:30] You want to try and dissolve that blood clot. I mean, if someone can pop an aspirin down your mouth, I'm all for that. All I'm saying is this daily stuff, like the chickens have come home to roost, because now they're showing, after years, and studies that they're showing that these things are not benign. You take them, but with risk, especially to the brain. And some [00:03:00] of these are going to be surprising because you'd think they have nothing to do with the brain. But they're showing the connection between medications and long-term brain dementia, and Alzheimer's.
So let me go over some of them. And remember what I say. Please don't misquote me. I'm not saying not to take your meds. I don't do that with people. Like I always tell people, "Well, look, if you got high blood pressure, why don't you try and [00:03:30] fix the source of it?" Because 90% of all problems with blood pressure have to do with insulin. It's food. So amazing what happens when you change your diet. How many people, and this is one of them on the list, and we're going to talk about that in a minute, trouble with sleep. I get it. I'm a good sleeper, but a lot of people aren't. But we'll talk about that. So let's just go over that, and I really want to talk about the [00:04:00] long-term effects. So look, like I said, I'm not saying don't take it. All I'm saying is try and fix the problem if you can.
Now, the number one, and this is the one that I want to talk about first because it's the one that came up in... this study came out last week. So it's brand new. I've seen similar studies on this medication before, but it came out again, that if [00:04:30] you are on any medication to reduce your acid reflux. People suffer with acid reflux for years and years and years and years. It's the body saying to you, "Hello." Acid reflux is not because you have too much acid. It's only because you have too much acid in the wrong place. You see, acid should be in your stomach. You want to have high, [00:05:00] high acidity in your stomach. When you don't, your body tries to compensate. It makes your proton pumps... Proton pumps are little pumps in your stomach that just release acid. And it tries to produce more because you don't have enough.
And guess what it does? It sends it up the esophagus. And it can be very painful, with lots of discomfort. I've hardly had acid reflux in my life. A little [00:05:30] bit. It was amazing to me that when Dr. Martin changed his diet... Like for me, if I ever get acid reflux, I know, you know what, Tony? Slap me across the face. My diet isn't good. I am eating too many carbs. One of the check engine lights of insulin resistance, one of the check engine lights, is acid reflux. It's [00:06:00] amazing how many people fix their acid reflux when they cut their carbohydrates down. Amazing.
So all I'm saying is, guys, this is important, because what they're showing is acid reflux medication has a huge link to dementia. Temporary relief, long-term damage. That's the problem with medications. [00:06:30] Yeah, they give you temporary relief. Long-term damage to your brain. I'm going to tell you why. The problem is when you try and suppress acidity in your stomach, you get relief from the meds, but you're not absorbing... And guys, I'll tell you one other study, just to put a connection to this.
For years and years and years, we've always known this, that if you are on [00:07:00] acid-reducing medications, that especially women are much more susceptible to osteoporosis. Now this came out 25 years ago. I talked about this a long time ago, that one of the side effects of acid reflux medications, even Tums and Rolaids, the over-the-counter stuff. Now they even have the Nexium, [00:07:30] the purple pill. You can get it OTC, over-the-counter, because it's so popular. But guys, the long-term effects of that isn't good. One of them was osteoporosis. We'd known that years ago. And why is that? "What do you mean, osteoporosis, Doc?" How do you get osteoporosis from blocking acid in your stomach?
Remember what your stomach does. Your stomach is the furnace, when you eat. [00:08:00] Digestion starts in the mouth. You got enzymes being released, and it gets to your stomach, and the furnace, it mulches your food, so that you pick up your nutrients. You pick up your nutrients. And you need nutrients, minerals, amino acids. And your bones, guys. Ladies, especially for you. Because of hormones and that, you're already more susceptible to osteoporosis. [00:08:30] And it's not calcium. The number one selling, still, vitamin and mineral of all time is calcium. It ain't calcium. But if you don't pick up... it's not calcium. Eat your calcium. Don't take it as a supplement. Take vitamin D, and K too. It'll take your calcium and put it into your bone where you belong.
But guys, if you got acid reflux and you're suppressing it with a [00:09:00] medication, you're not absorbing like you're supposed to. And those minerals have a lot to do with the brain. There's an enzyme that you miss when you have acid reflux and you're suppressing it with a med. It helps with acetylcholine. Remember what I was telling you about choline? Guys, tell me number one thing that choline does. And I'm asking questions, so [00:09:30] whether you get the answer or not, I want you to think. When you hear the word choline, first of all, in what food is it the highest source of choline? Number one source? Eggs. In eggs, you get choline. So when someone tells you, "Don't eat eggs," they don't know what they're talking about. Choline.
Anyway, guys, there's an enzyme that [00:10:00] you produce, but not if you're on medications for acid reflux. You don't make it. So now you're much more susceptible because, remember, choline. Hormones. Choline for your brain. That's why eggs are so good for you, for your brain. Remember what I said? Someone calls you fat head, take it as a compliment. I had two eggs this morning with bacon and sausage. Lots of saturated [00:10:30] fat. "Dr. Martin, I thought saturated fats were no good for you." Who told you that? So one of the problems in the long-term is dementia.
So let me just make one statement before I get to the other drugs. Let me make one statement. Guys, if you are on any of those medications, you are on them, or your husband was on them, or whatever, your loved ones, make sure you protect [00:11:00] their brain. You have to start right away. Get their brain protected. And one of the greatest things for your brain is probiotic because the blood-brain barrier that you have is made up of bacteria. You need that, and you need high DHA. Oil. High DHA. So start using that. Not all Omega-3s are the same. All omega-3s are good. But the one specifically for your brain, because [00:11:30] your brain is made up of DHA, and DHA is found only in the animal kingdom. Do you want to know why Dr. Martin is always talking like this? Because it's only in the animal kingdom. It's not in the plants.
Remember, we did this a couple of weeks ago. We studied the difference between DHA [00:12:00] and EPA. But DHA, very specific for the brain. EPA. And then there's ALA. Those are found in your plants. ALA. They're found in your plants and your seeds and your nuts. I didn't say there's anything wrong with that. All I'm saying to you, it's not DHA. Because if you're not eating steak and you're not eating fish, you're not getting DHA. Take a supplement. [00:12:30] I have fish every day. I had it this morning, did you know that, in a capsule. And by the way, steak has got more DHA than fish does. And I'm a big steak eater. Vitamin S on the Martin Clinic alphabet. Got it?
So one of the drugs, and very popular. Millions, hundreds of millions of people in North America take an antacid on [00:13:00] a daily basis. And they have no idea that down the road they're going to get early dementia, or their risk of early dementia is very much elevated. Because it's not what you eat, guys. It's not what you eat. It is, but it's what you absorb. And you're not absorbing... Don't fool yourself. You're suppressing the acid in your stomach because it drives you crazy. It's going up the gut, [00:13:30] up the esophagus. But just remember, short-term gain, long-term pain for this, your noggin.
Number two, statin drugs. You want to see Dr. Martin get blood pressure elevated into the fight or flight? Talk to me about statin drugs. Now, if there's one class of medication that drives me insane, it's this one. Do you know that [00:14:00] statin drugs really work? They do. They work. Now they don't work for what was intended. Statin drugs work. Statin drugs will, for sure, lower your cholesterol. Lipitor, the number one selling drug... The number one supplement is calcium. And I don't like it as a supplement. Not that I'm against calcium. Of course I love calcium. I'd [00:14:30] rather you eat your calcium. The number one supplement, calcium. So based on, not true, because that's osteoporosis, it's not getting at the issue.
On the drug side, the number one selling drug of all time is cholesterol medication. Imagine. Lipitor. Crestor. Zocor. The problem is, yep, it lowers your cholesterol. "Oh, Doc, I got low cholesterol." Poor you. I [00:15:00] feel sorry for you. Why do you want to have low cholesterol? Because cholesterol causes heart disease? No, it doesn't. Never has, and never will. Cholesterol of your body, it's the basic unit of your cell. Every cell in your body, guys, needs cholesterol. I'm going to repeat it and repeat it and repeat it. Everything in your body, every cell in your body, needs cholesterol. [00:15:30] God don't trust you. You only make, 85% comes out of your liver. 15% comes out of your food. Why would you lower cholesterol? And by the way, by the way, statin drugs only lower LDL. LDL, not HDL. HDL is your good cholesterol. But statin drugs lower your LDL. Who cares? What is LDL? [00:16:00] What does it do? What does it mean?
And as a matter of fact, just to show you what I'm saying is true, heart disease is higher than it ever was. It's still the number one killer in society today. I hate to be negative, but it ain't COVID. Why isn't the news media focusing in on what kills us every day? Well, now, you know what they're talking about now? Oh, we got to get a vaccine. Jeepers, creepers. Or am I crazy [00:16:30] or what? We got a vaccine for the flu every year. And it works 40% of the time, according to the CDC. So what are we waiting for a vaccine for? To give us 40% coverage?
But you know the media, but they never talk about cholesterol. They never talk about that. That it's not even true. We got more heart disease than ever before. It's food. It's a lack of cholesterol because people [00:17:00] have bought the lie. "Cholesterol, that's bad for you, Doc." Look at an egg. Look at the yolk. Ooh, look at all the fat. Look at all the fat in the yolk. Look, that's saturated fat. Look at bacon. Ooh. You get people my age, guys, especially. Our generation, unbelievable. They look at fat. Then they go, "That's heart disease." It's just the opposite.
So cholesterol medication, you know what? We always knew that it would give you a condition [00:17:30] called rhabdomyolysis. You know what that is? Big word. It damages your muscles. But now they're knowing, after years of this being number one on the hit rate of all medication, it can lead to early dementia. It affects the brain. People with the lowest levels of cholesterol... On TV, they go, "I got low cholesterol." I know, wood head. Your brain is made up of [00:18:00] cholesterol. And now they're showing a huge link between statin drugs and dementia. Aha. It never fixed heart disease. And now it's causing something much more serious down the road called dementia. And I don't know about you, guys. I don't know about you, but if you're anything like me, I don't want anything to happen to my brain. [00:18:30] You agree with me? Have you ever seen anything as sad when people have dementia and they can't remember? They can't remember your name a lot of times, when it's advanced. They don't even recognize you. Who are you? So guys, that's what I'm saying. Look, it's a double-edged sword.
There're sleeping pills. "Oh, Doc, you don't know me. I got to sleep." Okay, [00:19:00] if you take one every once a month or whatever. But there's a huge link between sleeping pills and dementia. How many millions and millions of people, they can't get to sleep unless they take their sleeping pill. And again, look at my generation. We're the worst for drugs. When everything closes down, don't worry about one thing closing down, folks. That's your pharmacies. [00:19:30] I was in the pharmacy the other day, and I watched a person. They had a mask on, and they were, you could only see their eyeballs. And I tell you, they walked out of that pharmacy with 20 medications, or my name ain't Dr. Martin. 20. I felt like going to grab the pharmacist by the throat. I did. I don't blame the doctor as much [00:20:00] as I blame the pharmacist. They're professionals. On what planet are you living on that you would allow a person to have that many medications? How many people can't sleep without taking a sleeping pill?
But guys, two things. One, when you take a sleeping pill, you're not sleeping. You're sedated. You take an anxiety medication. You're [00:20:30] being sedated. And unfortunately, it sedates your brain too. And in the long term, now they're showing, hundred percent, it has a major effect on dementia. I'm just telling you guys. I'm telling you. And again, I know. "Doc, I got to sleep." I know. I understand that. Guys, I think you know me enough. I'm very sympathetic. I don't want you not to sleep. [00:21:00] But if you have to take a sleeping pill, you're sedated. And you think you're sleeping, but you're not getting into a REM sleep.
We're not going to get through... well, we'll do a two-part series. What happens at night while you sleep, guys? Some of you remember this. And I, again, it's just a teaching, okay? The night shift comes into your brain when you're sleeping, but you can't be in an artificial sleep where you're sedated. They [00:21:30] are called the glymphatic system. Not the lymphatics, the glymphatics. And you have what they call glial cells. G-L-I-A-L. Glial cells. They work the night shift. You're sleeping, but they're in. And you know what they're doing? They're sweeping out all the debris and it's clearing your brain. That's why sleep is so important. And by the way, [00:22:00] by the way, when you have your little power nap in the afternoon, you get the little sweepers coming in, and they sweep out the toxins very quickly... and it clears out your brain. It's good for your brain, that little power nap. 10, 15, 20 minutes.
"Oh, Dr. Martin, if I sleep during the day, I won't sleep at night." Well, I thought you weren't sleeping at night anyways. A lot of patients told [00:22:30] me that. "Well, I won't sleep at night." I said, "Well, I thought you came to see me because you can't sleep." "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah." I said, "Well, then sleep during the day a little bit. At least go get a 20 minute. Can you sleep in the afternoon?" You know where the best place to sleep? Go out in the sun and sleep. Sunbathe, and do a little sleeping. Because the glial cells will come out during the day, but only when you're sleeping. And they'll sweep [00:23:00] out. They keep that brain. And especially the memory center of your brain.
A little anatomy. I want you guys to remember this. You got two major centers of your brain. One of them, they both start with hypo. What are they? Hippocampus. Memory center. Campus. You remember that. Hypothalamus. Those are your hormonal centers. [00:23:30] Those are your two major centers in your brain. And your glial cells don't come out, they don't come out and do the night shift if you are on sleeping pills, if you are on anxiety medication. They don't come out, sweep away the toxins in your brain, you are headed for dementia. You're headed for dementia. Guys, these are prevention. I just want you to sort of look, if you're on a medication, [00:24:00] make sure you're replacing the fat in your brain and the synapses in your brain. We'll talk more about that.
So we got to three meds today. We got to three of them. I think I got five of them. I'll go in reverse order. Sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medications. Guys, meds, when they first came out... Listen, [00:24:30] I've been around a long time. So let me just tell you about anti-anxiety medication. You were never meant to be on that for long term. When they get approval from the FDA and Health Canada, the drug companies themselves say these are for short term. They weren't meant to be taken every day. They weren't meant to be taken over a long period of time. Even the pharmaceutical companies know that. And in order to [00:25:00] get approval, they say... Well, I'll give you an example. I watched antidepressants come out. That's how old I am. And when they got FDA approval, I remember this very specifically, these are not meant to take for more than three months. It's to get you through the dark valley. Don't take this over a long period of time.
What happened to that? People that are on these medications for 20 or 30 years, [00:25:30] they're hooked. It's not meant to be. The problem is, is what it does on the side effect, what it does to your brain in the long term. So sleeping pills, antidepressants are there that I didn't talk about really, but it's there. It's on that list. Cholesterol-lowering medication, and antacids. Very common medications. Short-term gain, long-term pain.
[00:26:00] So guys, thanks for watching. You see, guys, when I read these studies, I flag studies and I go, "Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man." It's just so incredible. So I love you, guys. Thanks for joining us today. Share this with your friends. I love you, guys. Talk to you soon.
Announcer: You've reached [00:26:30] the end of another Doctor Is In podcast, with your hosts, Dr. Martin Junior and Senior. Be sure to catch our next episode, and thanks for listening.