Table Of ContentTranscript of “Dr. Daniel Amen: Alzheimer’s, Brain
Food & SPECT Scans - #227”
Bulletproof Radio podcast #227
© The Bulletproof Executive 2013
Bulletproof Toolbox
Podcast #227, Dr. Daniel Amen
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2
Bulletproof Toolbox
Podcast #227, Dr. Daniel Amen
Dave:
Hi,
everyone.
It’s
Dave
Asprey
with
Bulletproof
Radio.
Today’s
cool
fact
of
the
day
is
that
if
you’re
someone
who
has
a
really
great
sense
of
direction
even
in
places
where
you’ve
only
been
once
before,
your
brain
maybe
a
little
bit
different.
It
turns
out
that
different
nerve
cells
in
your
hippocampus
are
activated
in
different
locations
so
your
brain
is
basically
drawing
maps
of
where
you
are
through
your
nerve
cells.
Those
grid
cells
function
as
your
brain’s
GPS.
They’re
impacted
when
someone
has
a
stroke
or
develops
Alzheimer's.
Today’s
guest,
it’s
a
great
honor
to
have
him
on,
is
widely
regarded
as
one
of
the
world’s
foremost
experts
in
using
brain
imaging
to
everyday
clinical
practice,
9
times
New
York
Times
bestselling
author,
founder
and
CEO
of
Amen
Clinics
and
someone
who
actually
is
responsible
for
me
being
a
biohacker
today.
I’m
talking
about
Dr.
Amen.
Dr.
Amen,
welcome
to
the
show.
Dr.
Amen:
Thanks,
Dave.
It’s
so
nice
to
be
with
you.
Dave:
Dr.
Amen,
the
reason
that
I
say
that
you’re
responsible
for
me
being
a
biohacker
today
is
that
more
than
a
dozen
years
ago,
I
read
your
very
first
New
York
Times
best
seller
and
I
said
this
is
interesting.
I
went
out
and
I
found
someone
who
trained
with
your
for
many
years.
I
ordered
a
SPECT
scan
which
is
the
type
of
brain
imaging
that
you’ve
used,
thousands
and
thousands
of
times
to
get
a
better
understanding
of
what’s
going
on
in
the
brain.
What
I
found
was
my
brain
was
in
bad
shape
but
it
meant
that
there
was
something
that
I
could
work
on.
Without
having
the
idea
that
says
look,
I
can
change
the
metabolism
also
change
the
function
of
my
brain.
I
would
have
just
felt
like
it’s
just
because
I’m
weak
or
because
I’m
not
trying
hard
enough
and
it
would
have
kept
doing
what
didn’t
work.
Having
a
picture
of
my
brain
really
did
change
my
brain
and
ultimately
changed
my
life
so
first,
thank
you.
Dr.
Amen:
You
are
welcome.
3
Bulletproof Toolbox
Podcast #227, Dr. Daniel Amen
Dave:
You’ve
also
been
a
speaker
at
the
Bulletproof
Conference
and
you’re
featured
in
Moldy,
the
documentary
that’s
coming
out
on
June
4th
which
is
really
exciting
because
you
talked
about
the
effects
specifically
of
toxins
on
the
brain
and
I
did
had
a
chance
to
do
a
follow
up
brain
scan
with
you
just
last
week.
It
was
down
in
your
offices.
I
was
really
pleased
that
my
brain
scan
looks
very
different
now
than
where
it
did
before.
When
I
had
my
first
scan
down,
I
didn’t
know
it
but
I
was
living
at
a
house
that
had
substantial
amounts
of
environmental
toxic
molds,
very
likely
stachybotrys
which
is
one
of
the
worst
ones.
Are
you
okay
with
mentioning
what
my
brain
looked
like?
I’m
okay
if
you
say
that
it
looked
beyond
a
description
that
it
looked
like
someone
who’d
been
using
some
sort
of
drugs
or
something.
Do
you
remember
what
you
were
saying
there?
Dr.
Amen:
I
do.
It
looked
toxic.
I
mean,
it’s
the
first
thing
I
saw
that
your
brain
had
really
low
activity
compared
to
a
healthy
brain
in
a
pattern
that
we
often
see
either
in
drug
addicts
or
people
who
are
exposed
to
environmental
toxins
or
people
who
have
an
infection.
I
mean
there
was
clearly
something
not
right
with
your
brain.
The
scans
always
teach
us
to
ask
better
questions
which
is
why
does
it
look
like
that.
If
you’re
telling
us
you’re
not
doing
drugs
and
your
wife
backs
that
up
because
sometimes
drug
addicts
lie,
then
we’ve
really
have
to
go
after
and
find
out
why
does
it
look
like
that.
Dave:
I
was
blown
away
because
no
one
has
ever
said
you
had
the
brain
of
a
heavy
drug
user
even
though
I
wasn’t
using
any
drugs
at
the
time.
With
the
thought
of
using
drugs
all
the
time
is
important
because
I
could
barely
keep
going.
When
I
had
that
scan
done
though,
I
was
getting
my
MBA
at
Wharton
while
working
full-‐time
at
a
startup
that
ended
up
selling
for
a
value
of
around
$600
million.
I
was
successful
in
my
career
barely,
absolutely
not
successful
in
my
relationships
and
successful
in
school
barely.
When
I
saw
that
picture
at
the
time,
it
was
like,
“Great.
At
least
I
can
work
on
something.
Now,
I
know
that
4
Bulletproof Toolbox
Podcast #227, Dr. Daniel Amen
I
have
hope.”
To
hear
a
dozen
years
later,
your
take
on
that
is
like,
“You
look
like
you’re
a
heavy
duty
drug
user.”
My
whole
life
I
thought
it’s
just
because
I’m
weak.
It’s
because
I’m
not
trying
hard
enough.
I
was
putting
all
this
effort
that
was
to
fight
against
the
toxin
that
I
didn’t
see
that
was
in
the
walls
of
my
house
basically.
How
common
is
that?
How
often
do
you
see
some
sort
of
toxicity?
I’m
not
talking
drug
users
but
people
who
are
poisoned
to
buy
something
in
their
environment
that
affects
their
brain.
Is
it
common
or
uncommon
in
your
practice?
Dr.
Amen:
It’s
very
common
especially
for
people
who
are
not
getting
better.
It’s
why
I
got
hooked
on
imaging
because
I
mean
you
could
come
and
you
could
say,
“I’m
having
trouble
with
my
focus
and
my
mood
is
not
good.”
Most
psychiatrist
would
do
a
checklist
with
you
and
go,
“You
have
depression,
you
have
ADD,
it’s
your
character
and
give
you
psychotherapy
or
medication,”
all
of
which
could
hurt
you
if
they
don’t
really
understand
the
cause.
Without
looking,
we
don’t
know.
By
looking
it
causes
us
to
try
and
find
out
why.
I
mean,
you
had
to
ask
yourself
why
does
this
psychiatrist
know
anything
about
mold.
They
didn’t
teach
me
one
thing
in
medical
school
or
during
my
psychiatric
residency
but
as
soon
as
I
started
seeing
toxic
brains
in
people
who
I
believe
were
not
using
drugs,
I’m
like
well,
why
is
that?
Actually,
it
was
a
woman
in
Northern
California
who
came
in
and
just
the
nicest
woman.
She
had
a
toxic
brain.
That’s
when
we
discovered
she
had
mold
in
her
house.
When
she
moved
down
and
we
rehabilitated
her
brain,
she
just
felt
so
much
better.
Dave:
You’ve
been
doing
this
now
since
1989.
That’s
roughly
pushing
on
almost
20
years
now
of
doing
brain
imaging
and
running
across
this.
How
does
the
brain
imaging
that
you
use,
work?
Someone
who
hasn’t
read
any
of
your
9
New
York
Times
bestsellers
and
your
latest
book
about
ADD,
can
you
walk
us
through
how
SPECTs
works
and
then
how
you’d
apply
that
to
say,
“Hey,
here’s
how
you
can
work
better.”
5
Bulletproof Toolbox
Podcast #227, Dr. Daniel Amen
Dr.
Amen:
I
went
to
a
lecture
on
brain
SPECT
imaging
in
1991.
It
just
radically
changed
everything
I
did.
SPECT
is
a
nuclear
medicine
study.
It
looks
at
blood
flow
and
activity.
It
looks
at
how
your
brain
works.
It’s
different
than
a
CT
scan
or
an
MRI,
those
are
anatomy
studies,
they
show
what
the
brain
actually,
physically
looks
like.
SPECT
looks
at
function.
If
you
just
think
about
a
car
engine.
If
you
pop
the
hood,
an
MRI
or
a
CT
will
show
you,
well,
this
is
what
the
engine
actually
looks
like.
SPECT
is
like
turning
it
on
and
seeing
how
it
actually
works.
It
basically
tells
us
3
things
about
the
brain,
healthy
activity.
Good
activity
too
little
or
too
much.
Then
my
job
becomes
understanding
why
it
is
the
way
it
is
and
then
balancing
it.
If
it’s
too
low,
in
your
case,
then
we
got
to
go,
well,
why
is
it
too
low
trauma,
toxins
and
infections.
Now,
let’s
rehabilitate
it
and
if
you
think
about
how
do
you
…
I
like
orchids.
I
have
them
in
my
office.
If
the
orchid
was
damaged
either
by
toxins
in
the
soil
or
storm,
what
do
you
do?
Well,
the
first
thing
you
do
is
you
stop
the
toxins.
You
get
rid
of
the
toxins
and
then
you
give
it
the
highest
quality
nutrients,
air,
water,
possible
so
that
it
can
heal.
You
have
to
put
the
brain
in
a
healing
environment,
but
without
looking,
quite
frankly,
you
don’t
know.
You
don’t
know
is
it
a
toxin,
is
it
a
head
injury,
does
their
brain
work
too
hard
or
not
hard
enough.
We’ve
now
done
110,000
scans
on
people
from
111
countries.
I
love
it
because
I
like
getting
my
patients
better
fast,
a
big
criticism
of
me
when
I
was
a
child
psychiatry
fellow.
My
supervisor
loved
me
but
he
said,
“Dr.
Amen’s
biggest
problem
is
he
wants
people
to
get
better
fast.”
I’m
just
not
that
patient
because
I
know
if
I
was
suffering
I
wouldn’t
want
to
be
3
years
on
a
psychiatrist
couch.
I
would
like
go
so
let’s
find
it
and
fix
it.
I
have
this
bias
fraction
but
if
I
don’t
look
then
I’m
flying
blind.
I
like
to
say
a
picture
is
worth
a
thousand
words
but
a
map
is
worth
a
thousand
pictures.
That’s
what
we
do
with
SPECT.
We
map
your
brain
and
a
map
tells
you
where
you
are.
When
you
first
came
to
us,
it’s
like
your
brain
is
not
in
a
good
place.
It
gives
you
the
pathway
to
teach
you
where
you
6
Bulletproof Toolbox
Podcast #227, Dr. Daniel Amen
want
to
go.
What
I’m
so
excited
about
your
map
is
it
was
really
trouble
when
we
started
but
now
it’s
much
better.
I’m
just
so
excited
about
that.
Dave:
I
was
too.
I
didn’t
plan
on
talking
to
you
specifically
about
my
brain
map
there
and
in
fact
I’ll
take
a
screenshot
of
it.
I
think
I
have
to
get
the
digital
version
from
you
or
some
of
that
but
I’ll
actually
post
my
before
and
after
on
the
blog
so
people
can
see
what
a
radical
transformation,
getting
rid
of
toxins
from
your
environment
and
from
your
food.
Eating
enough
fat
for
your
brain
and
all
those
things
where
you
and
I
are
I
think
pretty
aligned.
I’m
sure
there’s
some
differences
in
small
nuance
things.
Directionally,
we’re
both
like
could
you
get
the
good
stuff
in?
Are
you
in
a
position
to
talk
about
that
news?
You
gave
me
a
case
of
something
special
at
your
office.
Can
we
talk
about
those
yet,
those
coconut
things?
Dr.
Amen:
Of
course.
Dave:
Let’s
use
those
as
examples
because
you
have
these
amazing
chocolate
coconut
things
that
are
…
I
actually
ate
almost
the
whole
case.
My
kids
got
only
1.
This
is
just
a
great
example
of
how
you
formulate
this
amazing
…
I
don't
know
if
you
call
it
a
treat
or
a
bar.
It’s
almost
all
fat.
Why
do
you
make
something
like
that
that’s
almost
all
fat?
What’s
it
called?
It’s
a
really
cool
name
but
I’m
thinking
like
Brain
on
…
Dr.
Amen:
Joy.
Dave:
Brain
on
Joy.
Dr.
Amen:
We
have
just
the
chocolate
one
called
Brain
and
Love.
Why
is
this
psychiatrist
making
chocolate
bars?
It’s
a
symbol
of
abundance
that
getting
well
is
never
about
deprivation.
You
got
to
shift
your
mind.
It’s
abundance
of
the
right
things
that
serve
your
health
that
can
also
taste
amazing.
The
whole
low
fat
craze,
that
was
a
mistake.
60%
of
the
solid
weight
of
your
brain
is
fat.
Low
cholesterol
levels
have
actually
been
associated
with
homicide,
suicide
and
depression.
That
cholesterol
is
not
the
problem,
that
it’s
sugar.
It’s
high
inflammatory
diets
7
Bulletproof Toolbox
Podcast #227, Dr. Daniel Amen
and
knowing
what
I
know
about
your
work,
I
mean
we’re
very
aligned
and
basically
like
with
the
orchid,
you
want
to
stop
poisoning
it
and
only
give
it
nutrients
that
serve
its
health.
I
really
think
of
high
healthy
fat.
Not
all
fat
is
good,
high
healthy
fat,
low-‐
glycemic,
high
fiber
carbs.
Carbs
are
not
the
enemy,
it’s
bad
carbs
that
are
the
enemy.
Colorful
foods,
not
Skittles
but
foods
with
many
different
colors
because
they
have
huge
antioxidant
support
and
protein
at
each
field
because
protein
helps
stabilize
blood
sugar
levels.
When
your
blood
sugar
goes
low,
blood
flow
to
the
brain
goes
low
and
then
you
have
more,
make
more
bad
decisions.
Dave:
Did
you
just
say
that
having
blood
sugar
in
the
brain
is
good
for
you?
Dr.
Amen:
Having
high
blood
sugar
levels
is
associated
with
brain
atrophy.
We
want
to
stabilize
your
blood
sugar.
When
blood
sugar
levels
go
to
low,
blood
flow
to
the
brain
goes
low
and
then
people
make
bad
decisions.
If
you
have
problems
with
addiction,
and
you
don’t
want
to
relapse
you
have
to
eat
healthy
food
often
enough
so
that
you
don’t
get
hungry.
That
is
associated
with
relapse.
Dave:
There’s
this
whole
trend
where
we
demonize
something.
Sugar
is
bad
and
generally
eating
sugar
is
not
a
good
choice
but
that
doesn’t
mean
that
having
some
blood
sugar
in
your
body
is
a
bad
thing.
You
die
without
it
and
just
like
you
said,
you
make
worse
decisions
when
you
don’t
have
enough
brain
fuel.
This
has
been
a
large
part
of
the
more
recent
toxin
that’s
been
around.
Where
does
willpower
come
from?
If
you
have
no
energy
in
the
brain,
whether
from
sugar
or
from
fat,
you
don’t
like
what
happens.
If
you
had
a
kale
salad
with
fat
free
dressing,
for
lunch,
you
simply
don’t
have
enough
sugar
or
calories
to
fuel
your
brain
and
it’s
no
wonder
you’re
going
to
be
a
little
bit
cranky.
Do
you
actually
see
them
on
brain
scans
or
someone
is
really
hungry?
Does
their
brain
look
different
if
they’ve
been
fasting
for
a
few
days
or
they’re
just
calorically
deprived
or
too
low
in
blood
sugar?
8
Bulletproof Toolbox
Podcast #227, Dr. Daniel Amen
Dr.
Amen:
There’s
actually
an
interest
in
people
who
are
around
the
net
and
actually
in
some
very
popular
books
talking
about
how
important
fasting
is.
I’m
not
a
fan.
I’m
a
fan
of
routine,
of
doing
really
great
things
for
your
brain
because
when
you
fast
and
your
blood
sugar
goes
low,
people
are
just
more
likely
to
make
bad
decisions.
Sugar
on
the
other
hand,
are
high
sugar
diets
because
you
know
when
they
took
the
fat
out
of
the
food,
they
replaced
it
with
sugar.
Diabetes
has
skyrocketed.
One
of
the
big
things
we’ve
learned
is
that
even
high
normal
blood
sugar
levels.
Blood
sugar
is
normal
between
65
and
100.
They
found
that
people
are
up
closer
to
100,
had
brain
atrophy.
It
accelerates
brain
aging.
I
like
your
blood
sugar
around
85.
I
think
that’s
healthy
for
you.
One
of
the
things
we
should
talk
about
is
if
you
really
want
to
keep
your
brain
and
healthy
as
you
age.
You
should
never
have
normal
labs.
You
should
have
optimal
labs.
See,
neither
you
or
I
or
most
of
the
people
watching
have
ever
wanted
to
be
normal
or
in
the
middle
of
our
classes
or
the
bottom
of
our
classes.
I’m
always
thinking
about
what’s
the
optimal
range
of
vitamin
D,
blood
sugar,
cholesterol,
C-‐reactive
protein.
I
don’t
want
you
normal
because
quite
frankly
normal
is
sick.
If
you
live
to
85
or
beyond,
50%
of
people
will
have
Alzheimer's
disease.
That’s
normal
and
I
want
no
part
of
that.
Dave:
We’re
going
to
call
that
out
in
quotes
on
the
screen
when
you
say
that
because
normal
is
not
good.
The
whole
point
of
Bulletproof
Radio,
we
have
more
than
200
episodes.
I
like
to
interview
people
who
are
experts
and
not
being
normal
and
people
who
are
all
about
super
human
performance.
Now,
I
want
to
ask
you.
I
came
in
because
I
basically
hit
the
wall.
My
brain
won’t
work
anymore.
I
can
feel
something
is
wrong
but
have
you
ever
had
someone
like
an
Olympic
athlete,
a
top,
someone
who’s
a
CEO
of
a
Fortune
500
company
or
someone
come
in
who’s
doing
pretty
well.
I
like
my
life.
I’m
abundant,
I’m
high
performance,
I’m
helping
lots
of
people,
I’m
strong,
I’m
well.
Would
you
scan
a
brain
of
someone
who’s
already
a
super
high
performer?
What
do
you
often
find?
Is
there
9
Bulletproof Toolbox
Podcast #227, Dr. Daniel Amen
something
to
find
or
are
they
just
perfect
brains
and
that’s
why
they’re
performing
well?
Dr.
Amen:
Well,
I
have
a
whole
group
of
incredibly
beautiful
brains.
It
generally
goes
with
their
life
that
the
exercise
but
not
too
much
which
is
really
interesting
things.
My
extreme
athletes
usually
do
not
have
healthy
brains.
They
eat
well.
They’re
not
smoking,
they
don’t
really
think
about
alcohol
as
a
health
food.
Maybe
they
have
anywhere
from
2
to
4
glasses
a
week
but
not
2
to
4
glasses
a
day.
Their
habits
generally
reflect
the
health
of
their
brain.
Aging
is
more
about
actions
than
chronological
years
when
it
comes
to
the
brain.
Dave:
When
someone
with
one
of
these
beautiful
brains
comes
to
you.
They
have
beautiful
brain
and
beautiful
life,
are
there
tweaks
that
they
can
do
to
get
even
more
brain
performance
or
are
they
already
so
absurdly
high
that
really
it’s
like
there’s
not
much
to
be
done
here.
Dr.
Amen:
Well,
no.
There’s
always
tweaks.
We
can
always
do
better.
I
actually
have
a
program
called
The
Brain
Warrior’s
Way.
The
reason
for
the
title
is
because
I’ve
just
come
to
deeply
believe
we’re
in
a
war
for
the
help
of
our
brain.
Nearly
everywhere
we
go,
someone
is
trying
to
shove
bad
food
down
our
throat,
a
toxic
thought
in
our
head,
hook
us
to
a
gadget
that
will
distract
us
from
being
in
full
relationships.
If
you
have
the
mindset
of
a
warrior
which
means
…
It
doesn’t
mean
you’re
fighting.
Most
successful
warriors
never
fight.
It’s
because
they
plan,
they’re
aware,
they
know
who
is
friend
and
who
is
foe.
It
takes
that
mindset.
Most
of
us
can
be
into
that.
My
favorite
example
of
an
incredibly
beautiful
brain,
happens
to
be
my
mother’s.
In
1991,
I
started
scanning
people.
I
got
so
excited
about
the
technology.
I
scanned
everybody
I
knew,
a
friend
who
had
temper
problems.
I
scanned
a
cousin
who
had
suicidal
thoughts.
An
aunt
who
had
a
panic
disorder
and
then
after
I’ve
done,
I
don't
know,
maybe
100
scans
or
so,
they
scanned
my
mother
and
she
just
had
a
drop-‐dead,
perfect
brain.
It
was
irritating
quite
frankly.
I
had
scan
myself
and
it
wasn’t
nearly
as
good.
I
looked
at
her
when
I
showed
her
perfect
brain
and
I
said
you
ruined
my
10
Description:Dr. Amen: We have just the chocolate one called Brain and Love. Why is this psychiatrist making chocolate bars? It's a symbol of abundance that getting well is never about deprivation. You got to shift your mind. It's abundance of the right things that serve your health that can also taste amazing.
