Dr. David Perlmutter | Mitochondria, Memory, & the Choices That Determine Your Brain's Destiny

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I think that ultimately our beliefs connect to our destiny,
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that our beliefs are strongly related to our destiny. And
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that's a shortcut, I guess when you look at a quote,
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for example, from Gandhi who said that our beliefs create
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our thoughts. Our thoughts create our words, Our words create
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our actions, our actions create our habits, Our habits create
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our values, and then our values manifest as our destiny.
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And as I take a step.
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Back and look at what's going on around us, we
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see people who really put their belief in the notion
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of offloading or outsourcing their health related issues to a third,
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possibly disinterested party.
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Your thoughts aren't just abtract ideas, but they're also physical
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events happening in your brain, and according to doctor David Promoter,
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they're shaping far more than your mood. And this conversation
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well explore how your beliefs, daily habits, and even your
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sense of personal agency influence neuroplasticity, mitochondrial help, and long
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term brain function. We talk about being cognitive decline, reducing inflammation,
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and why the most powerful tool for protecting your brain
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isn't found in a pharmacy, but how you choose to
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think of this one might change how you see your
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own mind.
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Miami.
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Is doctor Fleet maull your co host for this session,
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and I'm really thrilled to be here today with doctor
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David Promutter. Welcome, doctor Promuter.
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Good Light has to spend time with you.
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Your work has focused a lot on the intersection between
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brain health and overall lifestyle and a lot of the chronic,
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almost epidemic illnesses that plague our culture today. And I'm
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wondering if how you since this sum is we're really
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focused on beliefs, and obviously we could look at this,
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you know, psychologically talk about beliefs, so we can look
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at it nero biologically and talk about it that way,
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and territory you're very familiar with. But what would you
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say about beliefs and how those influence our brain health,
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our lifestyle choices, the biological processes longevity and.
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Health span and so forth. Well, I'll answer that question.
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I feel like I'm in one of the presidential debates
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because I want to answer another question first and then
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get to the one you asked. But you said, almost
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epidemic in these chronic diseases, if it's well passed, being
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an epidemic. When we have fifty million people on the
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planet with Alzheimer's, that's a global that's by definition a pandemic.
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And you know, as the lights of things like Alzheimer's,
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we all know a cancer survivor. But I would challenge
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anyone to tell me about an Alzheimer's survivor. You know,
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almost a uniformly fatal situation. So it is, you know,
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a clear and present danger. And to get now to
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your question about how do our beliefs influence the world
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in which I live, the world of chronic degenerative conditions
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related to the brain, I think that ultimately our beliefs
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connect to our destiny, that our beliefs are strongly related
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to our destiny. And that's a shortcut, I guess when
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you look at a quote, for example, from Gandhi who
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said that our beliefs create our thoughts. Our thoughts create
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our words, our words create our actions, our actions create
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our habits, Our habits create our values, and then our
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values manifest as our destiny. So it really allows us
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then to connect what we believe in to our destiny,
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in this case, our health destiny. And as I take
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a step back and look at what's going on around us.
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We see people who.
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Really put their belief in the notion of offloading or
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outsourcing their health related issues to a third, possibly disinterested party.
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I mean, if you watch television, watch the eating news,
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all you see is the tempt to convince you to
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live your life however. You choose whatever is you feel
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you want to do, and there is going to be
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a wonderful new medication whose name you cannot pronounce that's
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going to help you. Whether it is with your autoimmune condition,
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your liver situation, or even your brain situation. There are
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drugs out there to help. The reality is, as it
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relates to my world, the neurodegeneral conditions, we are at
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a loss from a pharmaceutical perspective to come up with
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something that can meaningfully alter the time course that relates
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to the degeneration of the brain in Parkinson's, in Alzheimer's.
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And yet, you know, that's a belief that I think
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is being insilled in people. Again, do whatever you want,
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We're here to fix it. And it stands in incredible
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contradistinction to the notion that we are the arbiters of
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our destiny. Again, the connection ultimately between belief and destiny
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that we are the arbiters of our brain future. We're
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the architects of our brain's health, resistance to disease, and
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functionality based upon what we choose to do day in
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and day out in terms of our lifestyle choices. Now,
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that's a narrative, that's a paradigm that doesn't get as
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much traction in our modern world as the for as
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the idea that hey, I'm going to do whatever I want,
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eat whatever I want, stay up late, and when I
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start firing on less than full cylinders, there'll be a
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way of fixing it. Because I saw the advertisements on
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television and that's the mission for me, and hopefully that
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I can portray to your viewers that if that were
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the case, I would be all in. I absolutely would
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be all in. And perhaps in the time we have
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together today we can talk about where the pharmaceutical approach
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may be leading in terms of the future, and it's
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actually a bright future. Currently, we really have to focus
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on two important things. Number one, our lifestyle choices are
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fundamentally relevant as it relates to our brain functionality right now.
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And number two, we must embrace the notion of prevention
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as it relates to our most challenging brain disorders.
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So I would like to circle back to the future
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of pharmaceutical approaches, but first I'd like to continue where
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you began. And one of the things that I think
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can be provide the most hope for people in the
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kind of empowering message is the reality of neuroplasticity that
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we've known about for a number of decades and the
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fact that we, you know, can be not only the
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architects of our own destiny with the beliefs that we
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cultivate and hold and build on, but we can actually
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reshape our own neural architecture to have a healthier, higher
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functioning brain and also very importantly, possibly to prevent some
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of these neurodegenerative diseases. So I wonder if you could
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talk about that and some of the latest research around
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what neuroplasticity actually empowers us as individuals to do through
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our lifestyle choices.
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Neuroplasticity is a word that means the brain is plastic
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and I'm going to digress for just a moment, Please
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forgive me, because of recent setting. It came out about
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three weeks ago indicated that the human brain now is
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about zero point five percent actual plastic as a consequence
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of the microplastics to which we are exposed. That's not
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what is the meaning of neuroplasticity. Plasticity means the ability
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to be molded, to be changed, and one should expect
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that of the human brain that it would be adaptable
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to environmental exposures to change and allow us to be
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malleable and to be able to respond to changes in
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terms of the things to which we are exposed. That's
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a very important characteristic of the brain that declines with age,
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and declines much more rapidly when we are challenged by
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a degenerative situation of the brain. So neuroplasticity is really
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predicated on the ability of neurons to make new connections,
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to seek out their neighbors and extend a hand and
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shake hands and make connections to neurons. It allows us
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to develop new pathways. Interestingly, and I think it kind
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of segues back to your original question, the strength and
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the durability of these connections once they are made is
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really predicated on repeated use. As Donald Hebb said, and
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what ultimately became known as the heavy in theory, neurons
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that fire together wire together. Now he said it in
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a much more eloquent way. But that's how over the
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years it has become simplified, meaning the more you do something,
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the more indelible those connections become. It's you know, some
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have called, for example, called it muscle memory. When you're
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learning how to swing a tennis racket, learning how to
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play the piano, learning how to be compassionate of learning
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how to recognize the fact that we are all connected
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on this planet. These are all changes in the brain, structural, physical,
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and therefore functional changes that happen in the brain when
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we are engaged repeatedly in an activity. Now, there are
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certain things that we can do to enhance that functionality
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of the brain, to enhance the plasticity and make those
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connections more sturdy, more indelible, and actually protect them. And
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there are things that we can do commonly that threaten
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the variability that the brain has to not only make
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these connections, but to maintain them. Learning requires that we
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strengthen the connections that we make every moment of the
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day and night. Even the dreams that we have have
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an effect on brain plasticity and leave to some degree
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indelible marks on our consciousness. So certainly it speaks to
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the notion that if we want to achieve better things
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in our lives, become better people, raise our level of
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consciousness to a higher level, that we need to engage
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in those types of activities that will foster those connections
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in the brain and therefore pave the way for us
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to more easily access that level of consciousness. It means
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that practicing compassion is a way to become compassionate, and
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this is something that Dallema spoke about that if you
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want to be compassionate, practice compassion. So these activities that
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we do day in in and day out, Practicing gratitude,
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for example, makes us a more grateful individual. Practicing compassion
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makes us a more compassionate individual. And there are areas
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of the brain that benefit from this that can be
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visualized with functional study of the brain. Functional MRI, for example,
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can image those parts of the brain that are used
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to engage in those types of activities. This is very meaningful,
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this conversation that we're having right now, because it really
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speaks to the notion of recognizing our connection to the
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natural world, our connection to one another, and this whole
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notion of connectivity and the idea that we are connected
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to the microbes that live within the gut, the idea
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that we are physically, in a very real sense connected
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to every living being on this planet, not just people.
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When we take a step back and can get our
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arms around that notion and recognize that. Once we do that,
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then changes in the brain occur. Back to your original
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question that allow us to more further embrace that notion
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moving forward in our lives. So neuroplasticity is something that
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is happening day in and day out in our lives. Similarly,
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an incredible notion is that the functionality of our brains
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requires that we lose connection. The opposite of neuroplasticity, we
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undergo what's called synaptic pruning, where the brain quite aggressively
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sheds itself of certain connections that are not being used frequently.
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The corollary or maybe the contrapositive to heavy in theory
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that connections that are not used frequently will be shed,
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and that's a way of refining the brain. You know,
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when you look at the density of the gray matter
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of the brain peaks out around age in our early teens,
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and then by the age eighteen to twenty, we see
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a pretty dramatic reduction in those connections. Again, we call
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this synaptic pruning, and there is some very specific activity
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in the brain that's happening to prune the brain of
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those synapses and to foster the connections as well, and
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they are very much influenced by a very specific type
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of brain cell called the microglial cell. I'm getting very
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deep into the woods. There's so much that we can
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talk about over the next four hours. I'm glad we've
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been given that length of time, but for your viewers,
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I'm kidding. But the point is though, that we are
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again the arbiters, the architects of our brain's destiny, not
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just in terms of health, in terms of the sophistication
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of our brains wiring that allows us to be more
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present in this world and more connected to all that
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is going on.
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So a couple of follow up questions there, and you
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can kind of go where you would like with this,
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but they're kind of two different directions. One is a
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little more about the specifics of neuroplasticity. So you know,
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we generally hear that when we're very young children, our
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brain is more fluid, more changeable, more neuroplastic, I've seen
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some research. I can't give you the exact references, just
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something I heard referred to recently that actually new synapses
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and new neurons can be created more quickly in the
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adult brain and then the young brain. So what is
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this difference between the changeability of the brain when we're
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adults versus when we're young, is one question. And then
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when you look at neuroplasticity or just changes in our
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neural architecture and our ability to impact that. So there's
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the new connections that you were talking about, and then
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maybe the pruting a way of connections that are no
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longer needed. There is also the importance of milonization and
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keeping moolization healthy and effective, which improves the connectivity of
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the brain. And then there's neurogenesis, the actual creation of
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new neurons. And I think previously it was thought a
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losing question whether the brain actually creates new neurons. Then
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it was like, well, certain areas of the brain you can,
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and maybe that's even being questioned now a little bit.
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So those questions about you know, these different forms that
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allow the brain to be reshaped and based on our
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own lifestyle choices and beliefs and then the other aspect
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what you brought up is compassion. And if you're familiar
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with Richie Davidson's work as a friend and a colleague
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of really looking at well being and understanding some of
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the constituents of well being and then identifying the neuronal
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substrates of that with their functional MRI studies and so forth,
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and you know some of those attention or mindfulans is one,
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but generosity, gratitude, compassion, things like this. So is cultivating compassion.
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I think it's probably good for our own happiness, it's
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good for the culture, it's good for the world. But
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is it actually good for the brain in some specific way?
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So that these are two different kinds of questions, but
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understanding you know what we're really talking about with our
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ability to reshape the brain at any age, and then
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the possibility cultivating certain mind states that actually not only
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are good process and go through the planet, but actually
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will also do they actually improve the health of the
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brain in way the cultivating other mind states might not.
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Well, I'm in a hold on the ladder, and first
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address the former, because I think it sets us up
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to understand the ladder. And having said that, yes, we
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continue to grow new brain cells. And I do have
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the reference. That would be doctor Kirk Erickson, University of Pittsburgh.
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His work was originally rejected by multiple journals when he
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put forth the idea that indeed, you know, we maintain
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this ability of neurogenesis, the growth of new brain cell
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throughout our lifetimes, and actually a fascinating store how that
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was discovered. But I don't think we have the time
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for that. Nonetheless, I think that it's quite empowering to
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think that we can repopulate our brains with new cells.
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I mean, in my early life, the teaching was you
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were given your complement of brain cells and then every
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beer you drink you lost eighty than or twenty whatever.
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The number was never to be repopulated. Well, we know
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that that's not true. We certainly have known for decades
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that mammals can repopulate their brains, then that primates can
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repopulate their brains. But there was pushback on the notion
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that humans could repopulate with new neurons with almost religious
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fervor that just cannot happen. Nonetheless, it's clearly been demonstrated.
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So the question that becomes, how does it happen? If
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we can understand how it happens, where it happens, then
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what can we do to enhance that activity, Because clearly,
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increasing the population of functional neurons is going to be
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in our interest as a hedge against the generation moving forward.
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And fortunately, one of the most important areas in which
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neurogenesis occurs is in the hippocampus, which is an area
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that plays a fundamental role in memory, with memory decline
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being you know, one of the things that we fear
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the most one of the you know, certainly the cardinal
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signs of Alzheimer's dementia self. So the way that these
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neurons are generated in the brain is via their stimulation
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by various what are called trophic factors. Miracle grow, he
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had trophic factor for your plants. How do we fertilize
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the brain in such a way that we enhanced the
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growth of these neurons.
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And one of the.
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Primary areas that people look in is focusing on one
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of the neurotrophic factors called brain derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF.
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There are multiple things that will enhance the production and
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availability and functionality of BDNF in the brain, and one
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of the most powerful things that we can do is
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physical exercise. That's the work that really led doctor Kirk
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Erickson into the understanding that the brain does repopulate itself.
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He was able to study people over a one year
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period of time, giving one of his study group stretching
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exercises and the other group a more aerobic active exercise program,
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and demonstrated growth of new neurons in the brains and
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actually increasing in size of the brain's memories center the hippocampus.
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The work that revealed originally the growth of these brain
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cells in the hippocampus of humans, interestingly, was done in
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individuals who were receiving a type of therapy, a type
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of chemical that would mark the division of and the
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production of new cancer cells. For people who had squamous
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cell carcinoma of the face, they were given a chemical
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that allowed labeling of the newly.
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Divided cancer cells.
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When some of these individuals died, their brains were examined
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and lo and behold, it was found that cells in
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the brains in the hippo campus specifically were marked with
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this chemical, indicating that they were growing. Fascinating research again
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rejected initially, So the question then becomes, what can we
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do to enhance the activity. First and foremost is physical exercise.
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We know that BDNFIC and hands by meditation is enhanced
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by certain nutritional subblers like turmeric, like DHA which is
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in omega three. We know that when these microglial cells
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I alluded to them earlier, the brains immune system, when
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they are in a certain phenotype or a certain configuration,
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if you will, that's nurturing to the brain. It enhances
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the growth of the production availability of bdnf and is
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associated with the formation of new brain cells, the formation
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of new connections between brain cells called synaptogenesis like neurogenesis,
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the preservation of neurons, the preservation of their myelin that
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you mentioned earlier, and even preservation and protection of what
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is called the blood brain barrier. So what I'm getting
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at now is that the brain's immune cells seem to
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be doing a whole heck a lot more in terms
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of what's going on in the brain than we had
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previously ever imagined. You know, when we think of immunity,
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I want and have a really good immune system. We
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usually think about that in terms of, oh, to be
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able to fight the next covid or up a reesiratory infection,
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or heal my wound, and maybe if you stretch a
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little bit, maybe to help me screen my body for
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cancer or even help the body rid itself of cancer cells.
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We now are understanding that the immune cells are playing
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a central role in brain connectivity, neuroplasticity, synaptoplasticity, in regulating
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our metabolism. And the corollary of that notion, which is
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really quite fascinating and will be empowering in our conversation further,
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is that these incredible cells in the brain are highly
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influenced by our body wide systemic metabolism, such that when
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we become metabolically dysfunctional, in other words, to overweight, blood
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sugar goes up, blood pressure goes up, we have changes
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in our blood lipids. All of these metabolic changes threaten
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the good function of these brain immune cells such that
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it threatens our ability to form new connections synaptogenesis, It
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threatens our ability to form new brain cells neurogenesis. So
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what I've just said then is that our body wide
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metabolic health is playing a central role in what you
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and I are talking about right now. The ability of
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the brain to form new and wonderful synapses and the
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ability of the brain to form and new brain cells
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and repopulate itself with new brain cells based upon our
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metabolic health, which is a downstream manifestation of our day
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to day choices, which ultimately is a reflection of our beliefs.
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So when we get back to you know where we
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started today, our beliefs ultimately become our choices, which ultimately
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becomes our destiny in terms of health in general and
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through the connection of metabolic health based upon our livestyle choices,
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how well we sleep, how long we sleep, the foods
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that we eat, the exercise we get or not, the
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meditation that we pursue, the nature exposure that we get,
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our social contact with others. All of these play a
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pivotal role in determining the set point of our metabolism,
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which dramatically influences what's going on in our brains.
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What if transformation isn't just about thinking differently, but feeling differently.
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Science shows us that true change happens when we align
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not just our minds, but also the neural networks in
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our hearts and guts. This heart mind connection is the
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key to deeper healing, resilience, and expanded awareness. That's why
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I created the Heart Mind all access, membership and community,
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a space designed to help you rewire your nervous system,
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cultivate heart intelligence, and live with greater clarity and purpose.
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00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:59.359
With over one thousand hours of transformational teachings specifically curated
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00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:05.559
to meet your needs. You'll learn from world renowned meditation teachers, neuroscientists,
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00:23:05.559 --> 00:23:10.200
and experts in neuroplasticity, all sharing powerful tools to help
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you shift your mindset and heartset, regulate your emotions, and
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00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:19.599
unlock your full potential. You'll also gain unlimited access to
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every summit and course we've ever produced, a Treasure Trouble
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00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:27.400
Wisdom worth over ten thousand dollars in growing, plus live gatherings,
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00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:31.319
and an inspiring global community to support your journey. If
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you're ready to step into a more heart centered, connected
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and conscious life, I invite you to join us. Clip
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00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.000
the link to learn more and start your journey today,
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looking at it in this global way, and then maybe
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even going a little bit deeper to the cellular level.
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Basically at some level we're talking about mitochondrial help altogether,
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and then we can look at environmental factors like what
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can we do to improve the environment that we're living
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and operating in. Then that's both the physical environment in
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terms of you know, lessening our exposure to pollutants, to
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mitotoxins and so forth, as well as our social enriching
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our social environment. So things we can do with our environment,
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Then what are kind of mindset things that can impact
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that overall global metabolic health as well monochondrial health. Connect
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could get back to that question about compassion and cultivating compassion,
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but it could be other generally about our you know,
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even if we have an optimistic versus a pessimistic mindset,
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or if we have, you know, a growth mindset as
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opposed to a fixed mindset, these things could impact that.
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And then you know, we can get into our bleef
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structures about aging altogether. As you're referencing, our human body
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is a very very complex system, and we're understanding more
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and more how holistically interconnected and complex it is. Not
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only within the body. The idea of isolating parts and
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just talking about how that works, it's becomes less and
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less meaningful as well as we're profoundly interconnected with our
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and bioerron and everyone else in each other, in the
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world and so forth on so many levels. So with
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that complexity and then the more we hear about all
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the things that can impact the functionality of that for
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better or worse, we could start to develop some kind
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of a fearful, almost paranoid approach to life, which is
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not a helpful mindset for our metabolic or mitochondrial health either. So,
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because we're surrounded by media influences, which are you know,
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trying to condition us in the wrong direction, We're surrounded
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by a lot of pollutants and our air and our
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water and our food. We have our own struggles that
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we're dealing with from childhood forward of trying to you know,
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manage ourselves emotionally and so forth. So how can our audience,
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you know, approach embracing the insights we're getting from the
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current science that's giving us a deeper window into the
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complexity and the blute and the beauty. I mean, even
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just the immune system itself is such a profoundly intelligent system.
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So in ways that are empowering and help us can
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start making good choices rather than just feeling like, you know,
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in the middle of an enemy camp here and I
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don't know what to do. First, Well, you touched.
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On a lot of ideas, that's for sure, And I
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think I'd like to take the conversation to the idea
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that our mindset is the world friendly or is it aggressive?
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Do people feel threatened day in and day out based
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on experiences like media like you mentioned or not? I
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mean those things. A lot of things are threatening in
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the world today, that's for sure, from a climate perspective,
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from a you know, a war perspective, certainly, you know
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around the world there's you know, the potential for things
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to go south very quickly. And having said that, okay,
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the question then becomes how does that impact me? And
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how will the way it impacts me affect my physiology,
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and how will that affect my immune system? And we
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can choose to bear our heads in the sand and
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not sure how we are fully able to do that.
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We could choose not to engage, which is not as difficult,
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But ultimately, I think it's helpful to recognize that we
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can actually change the functionality of the brain. We can
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do it fairly in a very simple way. If I
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can unpack a little bit of neurophysiology for your audience. First,
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we have it in the brain of fear center called
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the amygdala, and this amigdala when it lights up, it
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has an effect on how we feel in that moment,
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but it also has an endocrine effect so that we
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can light up our fight or flight response such that
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we are ready to confront whatever the real or apparent
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danger may be. And it's important recognize that we are
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the arbiters of the set point of that amygdala. Is
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it constantly lit up and keeping us on edge day
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in and day out, or are we able to contextualize
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the experiences that we have day in and day out
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and compartmentalize them and really just put them away and
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deal with them in an appropriate way at an appropriate time.
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So the neurophysiology of this discussion is such that we
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understand that we as humans have a very large what
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is called prefrontal cortex, the area behind the forehead, very
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large in comparison to other animals, and this prefrontal cortex
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exercises a top down control over this fear inspiring amigdala.
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And we really kind of depend on this connection from
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the prefrontal cortex through what's called the anti or singulate
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to calm down the influence that the amigala has on
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us day in in, day out. Some people are pretty
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well dialed into the amigula all the time. The world
482
00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:48.480
is always threatening, and their responses are always not thought through.
483
00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:52.039
They're quick, and they are generally fairly.
484
00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:55.920
Involved in self preservation what's best for me, as opposed
485
00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:59.079
to allowing the prefrontal cortex to take a step back
486
00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:02.839
and a valuate the situation in terms of what does
487
00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:04.799
it mean right now, what does it mean for the future,
488
00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:06.640
what does it mean not just for me but other people?
489
00:29:06.680 --> 00:29:08.319
And what does it mean for the planet and everything
490
00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:12.200
I'm connected too. So this top down control over the
491
00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:17.359
fear center develops in adolescens. It is really the reason
492
00:29:17.640 --> 00:29:21.119
that we wait until kids get a a reach a
493
00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:23.640
certain agent where they can drive a car and act responsibly,
494
00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:25.720
or until you can vote or run for whatever it
495
00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:29.119
may be. The point I want to stress is that
496
00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:33.559
this connection, this adult in the room, in the prefrontal
497
00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:38.000
cortex that control the influence of the amigala in terms
498
00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:42.519
of how we perceive the world. This connection is something
499
00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:46.920
over which we have control in terms of its functionality.
500
00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:50.640
We really need the adult in the room to tell
501
00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:53.599
us that, yes, there are some things going on around us,
502
00:29:53.880 --> 00:29:56.160
but here's a rational way to deal with an a
503
00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:58.920
I rational way to experience it and a rational way
504
00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:01.799
to think about what is it may poortend for the future.
505
00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:06.839
We really need that influence controlling the amiguola. Let me
506
00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:09.960
digress for a moment to say that there is a
507
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:13.000
time when the amngala needs to do its job. We
508
00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:18.039
need to act instantaneously at times in order to do
509
00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:20.480
the right thing. Let me give you an example. You're
510
00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:22.559
backing up your car. You look in the rear of
511
00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:24.640
your mirror. There's a kid on a tricycle. You hit
512
00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:24.960
the brake.
513
00:30:25.160 --> 00:30:26.960
Now you don't need the prefrontal.
514
00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:29.240
Cortexts to come in and say, well, now there's a
515
00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:31.960
child there on a tricycle and probably be a good idea,
516
00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:35.200
considering the options here to slow the car down and
517
00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:36.920
put your foot on. By that time, you've hit the
518
00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:39.400
kit right. So, there's a time and a place when
519
00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:42.920
amigular responses are appropriate, but they're not appropriate day in
520
00:30:42.960 --> 00:30:45.519
and day out when we're dealing with other people, when
521
00:30:45.640 --> 00:30:49.279
something may feel a little bit confrontational and we shouldn't
522
00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:52.880
fly off the handle. We shouldn't be launching weapons against
523
00:30:52.920 --> 00:30:54.519
a perceived threat from our neighbor.
524
00:30:55.079 --> 00:30:55.559
On and on.
525
00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:59.960
We need to bring the prefrontal cortex in and say,
526
00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:03.240
hold on a minute, what's really going on here and
527
00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:06.039
how can we work it out? That's bringing back the
528
00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:09.480
adult in the room. Now here's the part we can leverage.
529
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:13.599
That connection between the profunnal cortex to the amigal that
530
00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:19.559
we so vitally depend on is threatened by inflammation. When
531
00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:23.279
we raise the set point of inflammation in our bodies,
532
00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:27.400
that ability that we have to use the prefunnel cortex
533
00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:31.519
and keep the amigal up in check is threatened. What
534
00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:35.079
is it that increases inflammation in the body when we
535
00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:38.960
become metabolically disturbed, when our blood sugar goes up, when
536
00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:41.720
we're not exercising, we're not getting enough for sort of sleep,
537
00:31:42.119 --> 00:31:45.400
when we're not eating foods that help tamp down inflammation.
538
00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:49.359
When we threaten the gut microbiome, the organisms living within
539
00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:52.640
the gut, and so many other things increase inflammation in
540
00:31:52.680 --> 00:31:55.720
the body, It changes our immune system, it changes what's
541
00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:58.240
going on in the brain in terms of those microglial cells.
542
00:31:58.599 --> 00:32:01.960
And yes, it threatens the ability that we have to
543
00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:04.000
bring on board the adults in the room and the
544
00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:08.400
prefronal cordex keep the amignala in check. And make better decisions.
545
00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:11.680
So now what I've just done is connected our lifestyle
546
00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:16.160
choices with ultimately how we perceive the world and how
547
00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:19.079
we respond to what's going on into the world. And
548
00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:22.839
basically it gets back again to our original discussion about
549
00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:27.039
our beliefs, charting our destiny our beliefs in terms of
550
00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:31.119
our ability to bring on board changes make better changes
551
00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:33.759
based on what we believe to be true, whether we're
552
00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:36.799
going to live our lives and hope that pharmaceutical companies
553
00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:38.680
are going to come up with a cure, for example
554
00:32:38.839 --> 00:32:42.400
or not, and certainly other beliefs as well, and how
555
00:32:42.440 --> 00:32:46.039
they influence our choices are very relevant in terms of
556
00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:50.000
our health outcome and in terms of our perception of.
557
00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:51.200
The world around us.
558
00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:54.519
And let me consolidate what we've just discussed, and that
559
00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:59.519
is to say that one of the biggest issues raising
560
00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:03.880
in lamation and therefore threatening our connection to our gift
561
00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:07.960
the prefrontal cortex, and therefore locking us in to fear
562
00:33:08.119 --> 00:33:16.039
based activity is the widespread consumption of ultraprocessed foods. The
563
00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:20.200
worst thing that these ultraprocessed foods do is not that
564
00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:23.880
they don't contain good nutrients, though they don't, but The
565
00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:26.880
worst thing going on with respect to these ultra processed
566
00:33:26.920 --> 00:33:30.400
foods now making up about sixty percent of the calories
567
00:33:30.440 --> 00:33:35.960
consumed by Americans is they're powerfully pro inflammatory, and therefore
568
00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:41.160
they distance us from the ability to recognize our connection
569
00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:44.319
to everybody else on the planet. And now the consumption
570
00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:48.640
of these foods has become global. So through the window
571
00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:51.839
of food and these types of foods, we could see
572
00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:56.119
it helps us understand why so many changes are happening
573
00:33:56.119 --> 00:33:58.160
in the world today in terms of how we're treating
574
00:33:58.200 --> 00:33:58.599
each other.
575
00:33:59.079 --> 00:33:59.680
Absolutely.
576
00:34:00.039 --> 00:34:03.640
You know, I've been involved in bringing mindfulness and consciousness
577
00:34:03.640 --> 00:34:06.599
into our criminal justice system and public safety systems for
578
00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:09.320
a long time. There's been some really interesting work done
579
00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:13.840
around behavioral issues that let people into our criminal justice
580
00:34:13.880 --> 00:34:18.119
system and the type of lifestyle and food and diet
581
00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:20.840
choices that you're talking about, and even some efforts to
582
00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:24.119
get involved in organic food and organic food production and
583
00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:27.320
guarding something amongst people who are incarcerated, and how that's
584
00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:30.599
created radical shift. Not that that's because because it worked
585
00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:32.639
beautifully in a few pilot programs and they have not
586
00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:37.400
generalized it unfortunately, but these things. Every day of this summer,
587
00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:39.920
we have a day you know, focused on overall health
588
00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:43.000
and well being, a day focused on love and relationship,
589
00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:45.639
a day focused on you know, rewiring our beliefs for
590
00:34:46.440 --> 00:34:50.199
joy and so forth. Today we're focused on longevity and
591
00:34:50.280 --> 00:34:53.800
healthy aging. So you were talking about the power our
592
00:34:53.920 --> 00:35:00.599
gift is human mammals. This incredibly developed prefrontal cortexunderstanding is
593
00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:06.079
correct that the size of our prefrontal cortex generally reduces
594
00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:09.719
over the lifespan. It's one of the challenged areas of
595
00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:13.440
the brain through normal aging. Now, maybe normal aging needs
596
00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:16.039
to be put in quotes because we'd have to go
597
00:35:16.679 --> 00:35:20.880
maybe compare to people before, you know, all the processed
598
00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:23.880
foods and all the things that are creating systemic inflammation
599
00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:26.960
in our bodies and our nervous system. Before that, what
600
00:35:27.119 --> 00:35:30.519
was normal aging and what was normal reduction of the
601
00:35:30.599 --> 00:35:34.280
prefrontal cortex. But my understanding is that it does reduce
602
00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:37.400
in size over the time, and I suppose even worse.
603
00:35:37.400 --> 00:35:40.000
So I mean, if you see brain scans of people
604
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:43.679
with Alzheimer's, the prefrontal cortex in terms of its overall mass,
605
00:35:44.199 --> 00:35:46.880
it can be greatly reduced. So what can we do
606
00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:50.440
in terms of keeping this focus on beliefs and mindset
607
00:35:50.800 --> 00:35:56.320
that around aging and longevity that can get us moving
608
00:35:56.360 --> 00:35:58.360
in the right direction with some confidence. I mean, you
609
00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:01.400
mentioned very basic things like exercise, and we know there
610
00:36:01.400 --> 00:36:05.280
are certain types of exercise that increase BNF and thus
611
00:36:05.360 --> 00:36:08.760
neuroplastics and neurogeneracy even more than other types of exercise.
612
00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:10.800
And it doesn't require us to live in a gym.
613
00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:13.599
We can be very sort of targeted about that, getting
614
00:36:13.719 --> 00:36:17.559
enough sleep. There's basic simple things, avoiding processed foods. But
615
00:36:17.599 --> 00:36:20.159
I wonder if we could talk about maybe per minutes,
616
00:36:20.239 --> 00:36:26.000
just overall mindsets around aging and longevity and what maybe
617
00:36:26.039 --> 00:36:29.079
even reasonable expectations are a view to have of that.
618
00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:32.280
You know, some of the spiritual traditions almost are just
619
00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:35.280
not to cling to life, but they have a less
620
00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:38.480
fear based attitude about to you know, embrace the reality
621
00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:41.119
that we are finite. Being so embraced death, that's part
622
00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:44.480
of having a healthy attitudinal qualities. But at the same time,
623
00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:47.480
now we know we can extend our lives much.
624
00:36:47.239 --> 00:36:48.719
More than maybe we thought possible.
625
00:36:48.800 --> 00:36:52.280
So I wonder how these overall attitudinal qualities impact us
626
00:36:52.519 --> 00:36:54.639
as well as this question of how do we preserve
627
00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:58.239
that top down control so that we're not pushed into
628
00:36:58.280 --> 00:36:59.519
that fear based posture.
629
00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:02.320
Let me respond by saying, you know, it takes us
630
00:37:02.360 --> 00:37:05.599
to the conversation of life span versus health span. We
631
00:37:05.679 --> 00:37:08.920
all know that life is finite for each and every
632
00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:11.719
one of us. That's the only given here. But I
633
00:37:11.719 --> 00:37:14.360
think that what your audience would like to know is, Okay,
634
00:37:14.400 --> 00:37:16.519
I'm going to have a given number of times around
635
00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:18.880
the sun, but I want to be as healthy as
636
00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:19.679
I possibly can.
637
00:37:19.679 --> 00:37:21.039
During that journey.
638
00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:24.280
And certainly, if we can extend the time that we
639
00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:26.800
have here, but so much the better. But I really
640
00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:30.840
think that you know, what we can achieve clearly is
641
00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:34.039
that the health span can be expanded and we can
642
00:37:34.320 --> 00:37:37.880
square off this curve, the longevity curve, such that we
643
00:37:37.960 --> 00:37:40.880
can live a pretty healthy life until it's time, until
644
00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:45.159
our number is called. And the number one issue that's
645
00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:48.679
leading to people dying on the planet are the chronic
646
00:37:48.920 --> 00:37:54.199
degenerative conditions. Not wars, not COVID, not other infection, not trauma.
647
00:37:54.679 --> 00:37:59.239
It's the chronic degenerative conditions that are beyond pandemic in
648
00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:02.840
their scope these days. These are things like coronet or ardergies,
649
00:38:02.920 --> 00:38:05.480
Alzheimer's 's, OBEESI, diabetes, are.
650
00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:06.239
Pretension, et cetera.
651
00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:09.320
These are the chronic issues that lead to the body
652
00:38:09.360 --> 00:38:13.599
basically basically falling apart. Over time, the wear and tearror
653
00:38:13.639 --> 00:38:16.800
becomes cumulative and ultimately sets up what's called a feed
654
00:38:16.840 --> 00:38:21.079
forward process, whereby it and genders further decline and then
655
00:38:21.119 --> 00:38:23.880
we fall off the cliff and we decline quite quickly,
656
00:38:24.280 --> 00:38:26.920
you know, certainly as it relates to Alzheimer's e's, we
657
00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:30.840
see that that once the diagnosis is made, people kind
658
00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:34.119
of tend to hang on for you know, a number
659
00:38:34.199 --> 00:38:38.000
of months and then begin their steep decline. And you know, parenthetically,
660
00:38:38.039 --> 00:38:40.920
the new drugs that have been approved for the treatment
661
00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:44.760
of Alzheimer's do not address that. The decline begins and
662
00:38:44.920 --> 00:38:47.320
is very steep whether a person is treated or not.
663
00:38:47.559 --> 00:38:51.000
So we're hopeful that there'll be some changes relating to
664
00:38:51.079 --> 00:38:55.679
metabolism in the world of drugs that finally targets what
665
00:38:55.800 --> 00:38:58.320
is going on in the brain. But that said, I
666
00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:00.559
think it takes us back to this, you know, the
667
00:39:00.599 --> 00:39:03.559
fundamental role of the immune system as it relates to
668
00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:07.679
the decline of the body and really the loss of health,
669
00:39:07.719 --> 00:39:12.440
the functionality that we experience both physically and cognitively. And
670
00:39:13.079 --> 00:39:16.360
the simplest way to recognize that it gets back to
671
00:39:16.440 --> 00:39:20.639
something you mentioned earlier, and that is mitochondrial function. So
672
00:39:21.400 --> 00:39:26.119
mitochondria being the energy powerhouse of the cell. Recognizing that
673
00:39:26.519 --> 00:39:28.480
at least in the brain, that there may be as
674
00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:31.920
many as a thousand mitochondria and a single neuron. But
675
00:39:32.360 --> 00:39:35.000
you know, the notion that these mitochondria are there simply
676
00:39:35.079 --> 00:39:40.039
to take in fuel generally glucose and make energy currency
677
00:39:40.079 --> 00:39:45.320
atp is clearly myopic in that we now know that
678
00:39:45.480 --> 00:39:49.480
mitochondri wield the sword of damocles. They determine in a
679
00:39:49.599 --> 00:39:52.280
cell whether that cell is going to live or die.
680
00:39:52.639 --> 00:39:56.320
Many other things between that and the energy production part,
681
00:39:56.840 --> 00:39:59.960
but really it's the mitochondria that are the central players
682
00:40:00.119 --> 00:40:04.880
in cellular metabolism. Metabolism being what the cell does when
683
00:40:04.920 --> 00:40:07.960
it's presented with fuel, how that fuel makes its way
684
00:40:08.039 --> 00:40:11.559
into the cell, and then how mitochondria or other energy
685
00:40:11.880 --> 00:40:15.960
utilization pathways are able to deal with that fuel. That's
686
00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:21.559
what metabolism does, and that's why it's important. And therefore,
687
00:40:22.199 --> 00:40:25.440
if we are talking about whether a brain cell lives
688
00:40:25.719 --> 00:40:31.400
or dies being influenced by metabolism, it really makes us
689
00:40:31.519 --> 00:40:34.639
want to do everything we can to keep those mitochondria healthy.
690
00:40:34.679 --> 00:40:37.719
And functional. And these are all of the things that
691
00:40:37.760 --> 00:40:41.559
your audience knows about already as being important for health.
692
00:40:41.840 --> 00:40:44.960
Everything we've mentioned, that's for sure. Now there are some
693
00:40:45.079 --> 00:40:51.280
other esoteric things that directly target mitochondria, things like nutritional subblemans, creatine, coenzome,
694
00:40:51.360 --> 00:40:55.239
Q ten eurolithin. We know that a ketogenic diet does that.
695
00:40:55.280 --> 00:40:57.960
We know that time restricted eating can do it, and
696
00:40:58.039 --> 00:41:01.599
even fasting can do it. Can help mitochondria function, can
697
00:41:01.639 --> 00:41:04.760
help the body rid itself of defective mitochondria. We call
698
00:41:04.800 --> 00:41:08.239
that mitophagy, and can allow the body to grow new
699
00:41:08.280 --> 00:41:13.760
mitochondria we call that mitochondrial biogenesis. But this really sheds
700
00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:18.519
a light on this relationship again between our beliefs and
701
00:41:18.920 --> 00:41:22.880
the most fundamental aspect of our health, and that is
702
00:41:22.960 --> 00:41:29.119
mitochondrial function. Alzheimer's is an acquired we call it mitochondropathy,
703
00:41:29.199 --> 00:41:32.599
and we acquire Alzheimer's in a way that it threatens
704
00:41:32.639 --> 00:41:37.599
our mitochondria and brain cells ultimately perish, synapses perish before
705
00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:41.840
that because of the lack of functionality of the microglia.
706
00:41:42.320 --> 00:41:45.840
This happens in Parkinson's as well, based upon head trauma,
707
00:41:45.880 --> 00:41:49.679
based upon exposure of environmental toxins and all of the
708
00:41:49.800 --> 00:41:53.159
very important systems in the brain that need maintenance are
709
00:41:53.199 --> 00:41:56.719
threatened when the mitochondria are not functional. The immune system
710
00:41:56.719 --> 00:41:59.920
in the body is threatened when there's a mitochondrial dysfunction,
711
00:42:00.199 --> 00:42:03.679
which is brought on by lifestyle choices, allowing that immune
712
00:42:03.679 --> 00:42:07.320
system to be less able to scrutinize cells in terms
713
00:42:07.320 --> 00:42:11.079
of determining whether they're malignant or not, less able to
714
00:42:11.119 --> 00:42:14.440
find those maleigan cells, less able to deal and get
715
00:42:14.559 --> 00:42:18.360
rid of malignant cells, specifically immune sales called NK cells.
716
00:42:18.920 --> 00:42:24.199
So so much depends upon our beliefs, our paradigms, how
717
00:42:24.239 --> 00:42:29.199
we view the world in terms of offloading our decision
718
00:42:29.239 --> 00:42:33.360
making process or onboarding a decision making process that can
719
00:42:33.880 --> 00:42:38.280
lead to better metabolic health ultimately nurture those mitochondria, all
720
00:42:38.320 --> 00:42:41.440
of which are derived from mother. Therefore, I tend to
721
00:42:41.480 --> 00:42:44.840
look at them as being feminine and nurturing and good,
722
00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:48.360
good energy. You know, the question do we make those choices?
723
00:42:48.679 --> 00:42:53.280
Those are choices that we each can make for our cells.
724
00:42:53.360 --> 00:42:56.440
The question is A, do we believe that those choices
725
00:42:56.480 --> 00:42:57.280
are valuable?
726
00:42:57.719 --> 00:42:59.960
And B do we commit to making those choices?
727
00:43:00.360 --> 00:43:02.840
Very much? So, I think that's the fundamental belief here
728
00:43:02.920 --> 00:43:06.679
is to embrace that level of agency, and because we've
729
00:43:06.679 --> 00:43:11.239
all been conditioned to be passive consumers and just do
730
00:43:11.280 --> 00:43:13.599
whatever we want, and then you know, the kind of
731
00:43:13.599 --> 00:43:15.960
medical industrial complex is going to fix it for us.
732
00:43:16.119 --> 00:43:18.199
It's understandable there's a lot of people out there trying
733
00:43:18.199 --> 00:43:21.800
to fix find fixes for all these this epidemic of
734
00:43:21.880 --> 00:43:26.159
neurodegenerative diseases and other chronic illnesses, because you know, our
735
00:43:26.199 --> 00:43:28.840
whole society is in trouble, so it would be unkind
736
00:43:28.880 --> 00:43:31.599
not to try to find fixes. But all the focus
737
00:43:31.639 --> 00:43:34.400
being there and so little focus being on preventive medicine
738
00:43:34.599 --> 00:43:36.639
is really a difficult thing. I think for any of
739
00:43:36.679 --> 00:43:40.519
us individually, where we really have any real power is
740
00:43:40.639 --> 00:43:44.840
in educating ourselves and embracing some level of agency over
741
00:43:44.880 --> 00:43:48.440
our own lifestyle choices. And I think even some medical
742
00:43:48.679 --> 00:43:52.320
integrated medical practitioners today talk about lifestyle is medicine, that
743
00:43:52.480 --> 00:43:54.400
lifestyle actually is the intervention.
744
00:43:55.519 --> 00:43:58.840
I always resonate with the Yellow Emperor in the fourth
745
00:43:58.880 --> 00:44:03.159
century BC Jing said that prevention is the ultimate principle
746
00:44:03.199 --> 00:44:06.559
of wisdom. To cure a disease after it has manifest
747
00:44:06.760 --> 00:44:10.320
is like digging a well when one feels thirsty or
748
00:44:10.360 --> 00:44:14.599
forging weapons when the war has already begun. So we
749
00:44:14.719 --> 00:44:17.719
need to have those wells up and running so we
750
00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:22.440
don't get thirsty and we're not challenged by these potential threats.
751
00:44:22.800 --> 00:44:25.840
And you know, that's been my messaging for an awful
752
00:44:25.840 --> 00:44:30.159
long time in the face of our lack of weapons
753
00:44:30.280 --> 00:44:36.440
to deal with these really incredibly challenging neurodegender of disorders.
754
00:44:36.440 --> 00:44:36.719
You know, I.
755
00:44:38.280 --> 00:44:42.679
Often think back about the times when I would be
756
00:44:42.880 --> 00:44:47.800
in my office meeting with a family and they would say,
757
00:44:47.800 --> 00:44:49.480
you know, Doc, you just don't know what it's like,
758
00:44:49.920 --> 00:44:52.320
what we're going through with mom or dad, you know,
759
00:44:52.320 --> 00:44:56.599
with Alzheimer's, and I would look out the window and
760
00:44:56.920 --> 00:45:00.719
while they were saying this to the nursing home across
761
00:45:00.800 --> 00:45:06.039
the parking lot in which my brilliant brain surgeon father
762
00:45:06.800 --> 00:45:10.360
was dying with Alzheimer's disease, and I look back at
763
00:45:10.360 --> 00:45:12.320
these patients and I would say, you know, as a
764
00:45:12.320 --> 00:45:14.800
matter of fact, I get this more than you can
765
00:45:14.880 --> 00:45:15.639
ever imagine.
766
00:45:15.679 --> 00:45:17.119
And sometimes I would tell them why.
767
00:45:17.599 --> 00:45:20.800
But its upside served to make me more able to
768
00:45:20.960 --> 00:45:23.840
understand what people are going through and double down on
769
00:45:23.920 --> 00:45:26.280
my efforts to do what I do these days. And
770
00:45:26.400 --> 00:45:30.199
you know, past many decades, and that is to hope
771
00:45:30.280 --> 00:45:33.599
that in our time together today someone, hopefully a lot
772
00:45:33.679 --> 00:45:38.280
of people will become empowered and recognize again that as
773
00:45:38.360 --> 00:45:40.480
John Kennedy said, the time to fix the roof is
774
00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:42.920
when the sun is shining and really get busy.
775
00:45:43.159 --> 00:45:46.440
People know what to do. It's quite clear. And is it.
776
00:45:46.440 --> 00:45:50.039
Difficult to avoid the sweets, difficult to choose foods that
777
00:45:50.119 --> 00:45:53.880
are necessary, that are known to be salubrius versus those
778
00:45:53.920 --> 00:45:58.360
which are threatening. It is our brains are hardwired to
779
00:45:58.440 --> 00:46:01.920
seek out sugar, to seek out salt, and to seek
780
00:46:01.920 --> 00:46:06.559
out fat. Why because those are survival mechanisms. Eating sweet
781
00:46:06.559 --> 00:46:09.400
fruit allowed our bodies to make fat and survive the
782
00:46:09.440 --> 00:46:12.320
winter and wrote a book about that and fat being
783
00:46:12.440 --> 00:46:15.679
doubly dense and calories in comparison to carbohydrates and protein,
784
00:46:15.920 --> 00:46:19.840
again a survival mechanism. So we're hardwired to make the
785
00:46:19.840 --> 00:46:22.920
wrong choices, but that's coming from deep brain centers that
786
00:46:22.960 --> 00:46:27.000
we can override now that we know what's right and wrong,
787
00:46:27.159 --> 00:46:30.719
i e. Bring that prefrontal cortex on board and make
788
00:46:30.760 --> 00:46:33.800
better decisions. How do we do that well, A We
789
00:46:33.880 --> 00:46:38.199
reduce inflammation. B We light that prefrontal cortex up with
790
00:46:38.360 --> 00:46:42.840
mindfulness techniques, and as we light it up through neuroplasticity,
791
00:46:42.880 --> 00:46:46.719
we're allowing it to preserve its function despite the fact that,
792
00:46:46.760 --> 00:46:50.079
as you pointed out, the prefrontal cortex does generate with age,
793
00:46:50.400 --> 00:46:53.360
but we can preserve its functionality by bringing it on
794
00:46:53.440 --> 00:46:56.880
board as much as we can. Neurons that fire together
795
00:46:56.960 --> 00:47:00.599
will wire together, as doctor Heb pointed out. So it's
796
00:47:00.639 --> 00:47:02.320
all about empowerment.
797
00:47:01.920 --> 00:47:04.360
And there are many I'm glad you mentioned mindfulance because
798
00:47:04.400 --> 00:47:06.199
I think, God, there are so many things we do,
799
00:47:06.239 --> 00:47:07.639
and most of us know a lot of the things
800
00:47:07.639 --> 00:47:10.079
that are good for us. But one of the things
801
00:47:10.119 --> 00:47:13.719
that really helps us have the more robust prefuntal core
802
00:47:13.800 --> 00:47:17.000
text and the ability to override some of those really instinctal,
803
00:47:17.039 --> 00:47:19.519
almost survival things that drive us to make the wrong
804
00:47:19.639 --> 00:47:24.199
choices is various forms of mindfuluence and meditation and so forth.
805
00:47:24.199 --> 00:47:27.599
And there's some really interesting integrations now of neurofeedback and
806
00:47:28.199 --> 00:47:31.760
meditation that can really kind of get into that base
807
00:47:31.880 --> 00:47:35.400
level conditioning and kind of put a cushion between us
808
00:47:35.480 --> 00:47:38.880
and those very short term survival choices that our brain
809
00:47:38.920 --> 00:47:39.599
wants us to make.
810
00:47:39.679 --> 00:47:43.599
Sometimes that's right, and it is the real it's the
811
00:47:43.639 --> 00:47:49.159
confrontation of our evolution versus our environment that these hardwiring
812
00:47:49.519 --> 00:47:51.960
issues in the brain to seek out sweet for example,
813
00:47:52.480 --> 00:47:56.800
for almost the entirety of our existence served us very well.
814
00:47:57.239 --> 00:48:00.400
Seeking out sweet foods was an indication that the foods
815
00:48:00.400 --> 00:48:04.639
were safe and allowed us again to make more body
816
00:48:04.639 --> 00:48:08.400
fat so we could survive times of gloric scarcity these days,
817
00:48:08.679 --> 00:48:13.760
that pathway is overactive is feed forward. In other words,
818
00:48:13.800 --> 00:48:16.800
it enhances its own activity in an attempt to keep
819
00:48:16.880 --> 00:48:19.599
us alive. But this is, you know, the cornerstone for
820
00:48:19.679 --> 00:48:23.480
not just weight gain, but certainly importantly the production of
821
00:48:23.519 --> 00:48:25.000
inflammation in the human body.
822
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:25.800
What does that do.
823
00:48:26.519 --> 00:48:29.119
It threatens to cut us off from the prefunnel cortex
824
00:48:29.119 --> 00:48:32.800
such that we continue to make these inappropriate choices. That's
825
00:48:32.840 --> 00:48:36.360
a feed forward cycle. The mission is to interrupt that
826
00:48:36.400 --> 00:48:39.159
feed forward cycle and bring the adult back of the
827
00:48:39.199 --> 00:48:40.400
room make better choices.
828
00:48:40.840 --> 00:48:42.559
We're near the end of our time. This has been
829
00:48:42.599 --> 00:48:47.360
incredibly illuminating and empowering. And I wonder if based on
830
00:48:47.920 --> 00:48:50.800
you know, you have decades of experience of working with
831
00:48:51.039 --> 00:48:54.360
patients and clients, and I wonder if there were two
832
00:48:54.400 --> 00:48:58.039
of the most sort of common beliefs that you see
833
00:48:58.440 --> 00:49:02.960
in you know, people holding one that's detrimental to our
834
00:49:03.199 --> 00:49:05.639
health span and longevity, and the other there would be
835
00:49:05.639 --> 00:49:07.760
a positive belief. What do you see people That are
836
00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:10.960
some of the most common pivotable beliefs that people have
837
00:49:11.000 --> 00:49:13.199
that either take them in a good direction or not
838
00:49:13.719 --> 00:49:15.159
well in terms of the bad direction.
839
00:49:15.199 --> 00:49:17.320
I think we've certainly have edited this a bit, and
840
00:49:17.360 --> 00:49:21.960
that is the belief that my choices don't matter day
841
00:49:22.039 --> 00:49:24.719
to day or in the long run, and that modern
842
00:49:24.760 --> 00:49:26.679
medicine is just to catch me out. I mean, there
843
00:49:26.719 --> 00:49:28.679
are so many wonderful drugs out there that are going
844
00:49:28.760 --> 00:49:31.239
to help me, and you know, that's what we see.
845
00:49:32.000 --> 00:49:34.400
The typical sixty five year old is taking a handful
846
00:49:34.440 --> 00:49:38.280
of medications. That's good for people who make those medications
847
00:49:38.320 --> 00:49:41.440
and sell them. It's good for insurance coverage because they
848
00:49:41.679 --> 00:49:44.199
you know, that's the difference between the price and what
849
00:49:44.639 --> 00:49:49.280
they're being bought for is profitability. The healthcare system just
850
00:49:49.440 --> 00:49:51.679
loves that people get sick and end up, you know,
851
00:49:51.719 --> 00:49:54.840
in their hospitals. So that's what motivates that. Am I
852
00:49:54.880 --> 00:49:57.159
sounding cynical, Yes? I am, I know that I am.
853
00:49:57.400 --> 00:50:01.760
So the point is that that's a belief that's inculcated
854
00:50:01.840 --> 00:50:06.599
quite deeply and remains continually inculcated as a consequence of
855
00:50:06.639 --> 00:50:09.599
what you mentioned, and that is media. So you know
856
00:50:09.679 --> 00:50:12.599
that works against us, the notion that that we can
857
00:50:12.639 --> 00:50:14.599
do what we want and there's going to be a
858
00:50:14.719 --> 00:50:17.199
drug there to help us. And again, I think that
859
00:50:17.280 --> 00:50:20.079
there are some wonderful drugs out there and should be utilized.
860
00:50:20.119 --> 00:50:24.239
But understand, for example, that we do not have a
861
00:50:24.440 --> 00:50:29.639
single drug available on the planet to treat diabetes, to
862
00:50:29.719 --> 00:50:31.039
treat high blood pressure.
863
00:50:31.159 --> 00:50:33.159
None. Now that's going to raise eyebrows.
864
00:50:33.559 --> 00:50:36.679
We have drugs available that are the biggest sellers of
865
00:50:36.719 --> 00:50:39.920
all that people who are diabetic will take to lower
866
00:50:39.960 --> 00:50:40.639
their blood sugar.
867
00:50:40.679 --> 00:50:42.480
I'm in favor of that's for sure.
868
00:50:42.480 --> 00:50:45.239
But they're not treating the underlying problem. They're treating the
869
00:50:45.280 --> 00:50:47.320
smoke and not the fire. Let's call it like it is.
870
00:50:47.360 --> 00:50:49.280
You stop your met form and the next thing you know,
871
00:50:49.280 --> 00:50:52.840
your blood sugar goes up. Same thing with high blood pressure.
872
00:50:53.199 --> 00:50:56.480
You know, you stop your utopra, lul or whatever hydrology
873
00:50:56.480 --> 00:50:58.960
and whatever you're taking for your blood pressure that was
874
00:50:59.039 --> 00:51:01.320
keeping it in a good place. Next thing, you know,
875
00:51:01.599 --> 00:51:05.920
blood pressure skyrockets. So we're not focusing on the underlying
876
00:51:05.920 --> 00:51:09.920
disorder or only focusing on its manifestations. And so it
877
00:51:09.960 --> 00:51:12.559
is with Parkinson's. We have wonderful drugs to treat tremor
878
00:51:12.599 --> 00:51:15.760
and rigidity, but nothing is yet to treat the underlying
879
00:51:15.920 --> 00:51:19.039
generation in the specific part of the brain that makes dopamine.
880
00:51:19.519 --> 00:51:22.199
Same thing with Alzheimer's. We can treat, you know, some
881
00:51:22.360 --> 00:51:26.280
of the behavioral issues that arise, but we're not treating
882
00:51:26.440 --> 00:51:29.639
the fire. We're only treating the smoke. You know, that's
883
00:51:29.800 --> 00:51:34.360
a very important concept that many people are not really
884
00:51:35.119 --> 00:51:40.199
wanting or comfortable with embracing. And it is reality beyond that.
885
00:51:40.239 --> 00:51:43.559
The empowering part, the plus side is this notion that
886
00:51:43.639 --> 00:51:51.280
your choices are hugely important in terms of your own physical, emotional, psychological,
887
00:51:51.840 --> 00:51:56.559
and cognitive destiny. What you choose to do later today
888
00:51:56.679 --> 00:51:59.920
or tomorrow and begin programs that are involved in better
889
00:52:00.119 --> 00:52:04.960
choices will chart a better destiny for you across the board.
890
00:52:05.559 --> 00:52:08.639
And I really believe that most people kind of know
891
00:52:08.800 --> 00:52:13.119
what that means, kind of know that this is not
892
00:52:13.199 --> 00:52:15.119
a good food choice, that I shouldn't be up as
893
00:52:15.199 --> 00:52:17.400
late as I am, that maybe it's time to get
894
00:52:17.400 --> 00:52:19.360
off the couch and walk around the block. I think
895
00:52:19.400 --> 00:52:22.639
people get that. The problem is that you know, the
896
00:52:22.800 --> 00:52:25.239
middle is really locked the terms of the day to
897
00:52:25.320 --> 00:52:28.960
day choices. Says no, I want to watch another three
898
00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:32.000
hours of binge watch of whatever it may be, and
899
00:52:32.119 --> 00:52:34.920
you know that bag of ships while I'm binge watching.
900
00:52:34.719 --> 00:52:36.559
Is going to be feel really good. I'm going to
901
00:52:36.639 --> 00:52:37.199
do it.
902
00:52:37.320 --> 00:52:39.840
Not that they don't know it. It's just getting people
903
00:52:39.840 --> 00:52:43.039
to push through once and be able to bring that
904
00:52:43.159 --> 00:52:46.400
prefrontal cortex online and that that can be done well.
905
00:52:46.440 --> 00:52:48.960
Again, this is incredibly helpful, empowering, and one of the
906
00:52:48.960 --> 00:52:51.199
things that we know from the science of habit formation
907
00:52:51.320 --> 00:52:53.280
and so forth, is if we can get a little
908
00:52:53.280 --> 00:52:56.519
momentum going and get in a virtuous cycle, then these
909
00:52:56.519 --> 00:52:58.559
things can work for us and with us. If we
910
00:52:58.599 --> 00:53:01.400
allow ourselves to get into that non virtual cycle, then
911
00:53:01.480 --> 00:53:03.800
you then so it just a matter of taking action.
912
00:53:04.440 --> 00:53:06.079
And I think, as you're right, most of us at
913
00:53:06.159 --> 00:53:09.000
least know some things that we could be doing they
914
00:53:09.000 --> 00:53:11.320
would move us in the right direction. And so I
915
00:53:11.400 --> 00:53:15.119
really appreciate your very empowering message that we actually can
916
00:53:15.239 --> 00:53:18.159
be the architects of our own destiny, and that I
917
00:53:18.199 --> 00:53:21.159
think that's something worth investing in for all of us.
918
00:53:21.159 --> 00:53:22.199
So thank you so much.
919
00:53:22.480 --> 00:53:25.880
You bet I like your words the non virtuous cycle.
920
00:53:26.079 --> 00:53:29.039
I may have to pyratack from you, I very well put.
921
00:53:29.119 --> 00:53:29.920
I appreciate that.
922
00:53:30.119 --> 00:53:32.719
Thank you. Thank you so much, doctor Promoter for your
923
00:53:32.760 --> 00:53:34.400
work and for being part of our summit.
924
00:53:34.599 --> 00:53:37.199
My gosh, thank you for having me and giving me
925
00:53:37.280 --> 00:53:38.079
this opportunity.
926
00:53:38.440 --> 00:53:41.840
You're very welcome, be well. Taking radical responsibility for our
927
00:53:41.880 --> 00:53:45.000
lives means taking action, and today you can start by
928
00:53:45.039 --> 00:53:48.440
helping us grow this community. If these insights into healing
929
00:53:48.519 --> 00:53:52.760
and transformation have served you, please subscribe on YouTube and
930
00:53:52.840 --> 00:53:57.079
follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. While you're there,
931
00:53:57.400 --> 00:54:00.679
leave us a review. It takes thirty seconds, but it's
932
00:54:00.719 --> 00:54:03.679
the most powerful way to help our message reach someone
933
00:54:03.719 --> 00:54:07.400
else seeking deeper self awareness. Thank you for being part
934
00:54:07.440 --> 00:54:11.559
of the journey towards lasting change. Thank you for joining
935
00:54:11.639 --> 00:54:15.760
me on the Radical Responsibility Podcast. Remember, real change happens
936
00:54:15.760 --> 00:54:18.880
when we commit to our growth, face our challenges with compassion,
937
00:54:19.000 --> 00:54:22.480
and stay open to transformation. If you found this episode helpful,
938
00:54:22.719 --> 00:54:25.159
I encourage you to subscribe and help us spread the
939
00:54:25.199 --> 00:54:29.159
message of healing and personal empowerment. Stay grounded, stay present,
940
00:54:29.360 --> 00:54:31.159
and stay true to you. Take care