Table Of ContentBest Supplements for Optimal Brain Function
Guest: Dr. Daniel Amen
The purpose of this presentation is to convey information. It
is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure your condition or
to be a substitute for advice from your physician or other
healthcare professional.
Wendy: Hello, everyone. My name is Wendy Myers. I brought together all the
health experts for the Medicinal Supplements Summit because I’m committed
to helping you experience vibrant health by making the right supplement
choices. I know many of you experience brain fog or don’t have the cognitive
abilities that you had in the past. And in today’s presentation we’re going to
explore why and what you can do about it, including the best supplements for
optimal brain function.
Our expert today is Dr. Daniel Amen, MD. The Washington Post calls Dr.
Daniel Amen the most popular psychiatrist in America. Sharecare named him
the web’s number one most influential expert and advocate on mental health.
He is a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and founder of Amen Clinics in northern
and southern California, Washington state, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Georgia,
and New York City. Amen Clinics have the world’s largest database and brain
scans related to behavior, totaling more than 125,000 scans on patients from
111 countries.
Dr. Amen is the lead researcher on the largest brain imaging and
rehabilitation study on professional football players and was a consultant on
the movie, Concussion, starring Will Smith. His team published the world’s
largest brain imaging study, showing his work in distinguished post-traumatic
stress disorder from traumatic brain injury in 90 percent of cases. Discover
magazine named his research as one of the top 100 stories in science in 2015.
Dr. Amen has hosted ten public television shows about the brain, which have
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raised more than $60 million for public television. In addition, Dr. Amen is a
ten-time New York Times bestselling author of books such as Healing ADD;
The Daniel Plan, with Pastor Rick Warren; and his number one bestselling
book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, which is translated into 26
languages. You can learn more about Dr. Daniel Amen at amenclinics.com.
Dr. Amen, thank you so much for joining us on the summit.
Dr. Amen: Thanks so much for having me.
Wendy: You wrote an amazing book called Change Your Brain, Change Your
Life. And this book helped me learn so much about myself. And I think it’s a
must read for anyone interested in health and bettering themselves. Can you
tell the listeners a little bit about your book?
Dr. Amen: Well Change Your Brain, Change Your Life is sort of a summary of
my life’s work. And what I get really excited about is you are not stuck with
the brain you have. You can make it better. And if your brain is better, every
other part of your life is better, too.
So in the book I talk about different brain systems, what they do, what
happens when things go wrong, and my experience on how to fix it. So if you
have problems with worry, what parts of the brain tend to be involved in that?
What neurotransmitters are involved? Usually it’s associated with low
serotonin levels. And then how can you naturally raise that, whether it’s
exercise.
One of my favorite combinations is saffron and 5-HTP because we find that
that tends to calm down that area of the brain that tends to be overactive. And
so there are just lots of practical tips and tools on how to help people have
better brains, better lives, be more effective at work, and stop suffering if
you’re struggling with mood issues or focus issues, memory issues, what
underlies that and how to help it.
Wendy: So why did you get interested in supplements? You created your own
supplement line to help the brain from many other conditions. What sparked
your interest in supplements?
Dr. Amen: So I’m actually a fairly classically trained psychiatrist. But in 1991,
when I started looking at people’s brains, I began to see many of the
medications I used, they made people worse. And that really irritated me
because I remember in medical school it was, “First do no harm. Use the least
toxic, most effective treatments.”
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But when you start looking at the brain, you realize uh-oh, some pain
medications, anti-anxiety medications actually made people worse. So I’m
thinking, well, what’s the natural way to help people’s brains? And that’s
when I got interested in researching it for my patients, things like St. John’s
Wort or SAM-e. And I started using them and had just some really great
outcomes. And so that encouraged me to learn more, do more.
And over time I wanted specific formulas based on the science, as I
understood it, in my clinical experience. And that’s when we started our
company, BrainMD, to make really brain directed nutraceuticals to help our
patients.
Wendy: What are some of the problems you were finding in some of the
psychiatric medications, like SSRIs and other medications that people are
given? How are those negatively impacting their brain?
Dr. Amen: So, for example, we would see people on antianxiety mediations,
they looked like they were drinkers. It was like, well, that’s not a good thing.
Or if they were on opiates, that also tended to have overall low activity in the
brain. And so I’m like, okay, we need another approach.
Wendy: What is the multiple mechanism approach that you employ?
Dr. Amen: Well, I think that’s one of the smartest things that we do. And the
supplement industry’s sort of famous for, “Take this one thing, and it’ll
revolutionize your brain.” The latest thing is a jellyfish extract. And I came to
realize over time, the brain doesn’t get sick in one way. And it won’t get better
in one way.
So you really need to go after a multiple mechanism approach. So we’ll go
after omega-3 fatty acids, nutrient loading with specific vitamins, antioxidant
support, blood sugar stabilization, energy. And when we attack the problem
and all the potential ways it could struggle, it just helps so much better. And
that’s what I used in the big NFL study that I did. We used that multiple
mechanism approach and had great success in the football players that we
saw.
Wendy: Why is it important to have both MD and PhD formulated products?
Dr. Amen: Well, I think it’s just the best of both worlds. Our chief scientist,
Parris Kidd, is a PhD in cell biology from UC Berkeley. And he’s been in the
supplement industry for 31 years. And the MD part of the team, me, I’ve been
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a clinical psychiatrist for 35 years. So it’s both the theory and the practical
application that makes us a powerful team.
Wendy: So what, in your opinion, are some of the best supplements for
optimal brain functioning?
Dr. Amen: Well, I think it starts with a really amazing multiple vitamin with
higher doses of B6, B12, folate, and vitamin D because a great deal of the
population is low in those. I’m also a huge fan of omega-3 fatty acids. We
actually tested 50 consecutive patients who were not taking an omega-3 fatty
acid. And 49 of the 50 were low.
If you can just imagine that, because we’re not eating the amount of fish that
we’ve eaten in the past. And when omega-3 fatty acids are low, you have
higher incidences of inflammation. And cell membrane fluidity is not as good.
So I think virtually all of us should be taking omega-3 fatty acids.
I also really like gingko biloba. And the reason I do is the prettiest brains I’ve
ever seen take gingko. The study we do at Amen Clinics is called SPECT. It
looks at blood flow and activity, looks at how the brain works. And it’s
basically a blood flow study. And I’ve seen people taking gingko, and it really
helps with that.
I’m also a huge fan of N-acetyl cysteine. Studies show it helps with
Parkinson’s disease, autism, depression, and cravings for alcohol, marijuana,
cocaine, and even helps with compulsive hair pulling, this thing called
trichotillomania.
Wendy: Any other supplements that you’re a big fan of for brain function?
Dr. Amen: Well, it really depends on what issue am I trying to address. If you
need better focus, I love green tea. So L-Theanine and EGCG can be really
helpful. I’m a fan of rhodiola, ashwagandha, ginseng to help with focus. For
worry and mood, I actually split it. For worry and low mood, I’ll use saffron
and 5-HTP. For sort of a low mood with low energy, I like SAM-e, especially if
there is a pain component to it at all. And then for anxiety I’m a fan of GABA.
And theanine can be really helpful, as well.
Wendy: But what is the product that you have that’s GABA because I take
GABA every day. It really, really helps me for sleep, etcetera. What products do
you have that contain GABA?
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Dr. Amen: So GABA Calming is our product that contains GABA and
magnesium. I’m just a huge fan of magnesium. I think 80 percent of the
population’s low in it.
Wendy: Oh, absolutely. Everyone’s deficient in that because it’s released when
you’re stressed. It’s the first thing to go. And so you have a product called
Serotonin Mood Support. And you mentioned it contains saffron. Can you
explain in detail why you use saffron in that formulation?
Dr. Amen: Well, I first got interested in saffron because there were a number
of studies from the Middle East that showed it was as effective as anti-
depressant medication, so head to head studies with Zoloft, Imipramine,
Prozac. And there are no side effects to that. And I prescribed plenty of
antidepressants that have lots of side effects. And so that is something that’s
really interesting to me.
Wendy: How did you come to develop your product Brain & Body Power Max?
Dr. Amen: Well, I’m so excited about… it’s our bestselling product. And what I
came to realize over time is I think everybody should take a multiple vitamin,
a really high quality one, to sort of mine the gap and get what you need,
omega-3 fatty acid. And then we developed this really great brain boost called
Brain & Memory Power Boost. And it’s that combination I used in my NFL
study.
And I’m like, “Well, why don’t we make this easy for people and just give them
two packs a day that included NeuroVite Plus?” So that’s our multiple vitamin
plus fish oil plus Brain & Memory Power Boost. And it’s sort of the basic
program that we wanted people to take in order to keep their brain healthy
over time. And it’s worked out really well. We’ve actually done a number of
placebo controlled trials showing that it is effective to support things like
memory and mood and processing speed and executive function.
Wendy: What unique ingredients did you use to formulate Brain & Body
Power Max?
Dr. Amen: Well, I think what’s unique about it is it’s sort of our greatest hits
formula. So besides NeuroVite Plus, which I think will be the best multiple
vitamin anyone will ever find, it’s directed to the brain, so there’s higher doses
of B6, B12, folate. It’s also got nutrients from five different fruits and
vegetables and the same amount of resveratrol as you’d get in two glasses of
wine, of course without the alcohol, and then high dose, highly purified fish
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oil. And then Brain & Memory Power Boost actually has seven ingredients that
target the brain in that multiple mechanism approach.
So it has two things for blood flow, gingko and Vinpocetine. It’s got a number
of antioxidants, N-acetylcysteine being the primary one, acetyl-L-carnitine for
mitochondrial energy, alpha-Lipoic acid; that’s an antioxidant but also helps
stabilize blood sugar levels. It’s got Huperzine A to support healthy
acetylcholine levels, which tend to decrease over time, and phosphatidylserine,
which has some of the best science to help support brain health. So it’s that
multiple mechanism, all in one approach that I think makes this a really
special product.
Wendy: So when someone starts taking a supplement, how soon do people
begin seeing the benefits?
Dr. Amen: I think people notice the benefits sometimes right away. Sometimes
it may not be for two or three months because that’s the amount of time it
takes to sort of rebuild cell membranes.
Wendy: And in your opinion is it really important to detox the brain when
you’re trying to heal the brain and get better optimal brain function? And how
do you go about detoxing the brain and the body?
Dr. Amen: Well, it’s funny. I’m not a huge fan of cleanses or colonics. In fact, I
think colonics can be dangerous. I think you should be eating right all the
time. So many of us are toxic. Again, we should be detoxing all the time not
just well, I’ll be good for these two or three weeks. And then I’ll go back to
eating like crap.
Wendy: Yeah, exactly. So what kind of metals affect the brain and impair
cognitive functioning?
Dr. Amen: Well, all different kinds of metals affect the brain, whether it’s
aluminum or mercury, lead. So I think it’s critically important to be thoughtful
and smart.
Wendy: So what have you learned in your decades of using brain imaging
work and using natural supplements? What have you learned about natural
supplements?
Dr. Amen: Well I’ve just become a huge fan. Too often I see people on really
crazy combinations, that they’re taking too much of one thing or six different
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things to boost the same function. So I always say, “So here are the benefits
with supplements. They work. They’re less expensive than medication. They
have fewer side effects. And you never have to tell the insurance company
you’re taking them.” As crazy as it sounds, taking psychiatric medicine can
ruin your insurability, health insurance, life insurance, long term care
insurance, disability insurance, whatever.
But there are downsides to supplements. And that is you’ve got to make sure
you’ve got a company that has quality because supplement companies are a
little bit like the wild west. So finding brands you trust is really important.
And then most people’s consultant for supplements is the teenage clerk at the
health food store. And I would suggest that that may not be in someone’s best
interest. So it’s really important to find information and brands you trust.
Wendy: Can you tell us a little bit about your work doing brain imaging?
What’s involved with that? How does someone go about getting a scan? What
does an appointment look like?
Dr. Amen: So we’ve seen people from all over the world. We’ve seen people
from 111 countries. And the reason they come here is what we do is we’re very
different. So I have six clinics around the US, three on the east coast, three on
the west coast. And I just saw someone today. And we’ll take beautiful
histories. You have to understand the story of somebody’s life. And then we’ll
do two scans, one at rest, one when they concentrate, because we want to see
well how does your brain work.
So most psychiatrists actually never look at the organ they treat, which we
think is just a huge mistake. And so we do a study called brain SPECT
imaging. SPECT looks at blood flow and activity, looks at how the brain works.
And it gives us this very cool 3D image of good activity, too little or too much.
And then our job becomes balancing it. And one of the things we find is that
people fall in love with their brains when they see it. And then they do a better
job of taking care of it. And that’s what hooked me on imaging many years
ago.
Wendy: What are some of the most important findings, as a clinician, that
you’ve discovered from doing brain imaging?
Dr. Amen: Well, a couple of things, mild traumatic brain injury is a major
cause of mental health problems. And nobody knows because mental health
people never look at the brain. And so we need to do a better job of protecting
the brain, which is why I did the first and largest study on active and retired
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NFL players at a time when the NFL was just not telling the truth, that they
had a very large problem. Now, for people who’ve seen the movie Concussion,
we know that playing football causes long term brain damage. We just need to
stop lying about the fact that, oh, we don’t know that.
Wendy: Yeah, and from reading your book, I learned that even just a mild hit
on the head, or seemingly mild, can have major consequences decades later in
behavior, cognition, and mental health.
Dr. Amen: And there’s just no question about that. People think they need to
have lost consciousness in order to have a bad brain injury, but it’s just not
true. Consciousness is a brain stem phenomenon. And you might severely
hurt the front part of your brain, for example, and never have lost
consciousness. The brain is soft, about the consistency of soft butter. And
your skull is really hard, with sharp, bony ridges. We need to do a better job of
protecting it.
The other thing I learned is that all psychiatric illnesses -- ADD, anxiety,
depression, bipolar disorder, addictions -- are not single or simple disorders in
the brain. They all have multiple types. And knowing that and understanding
that really helps you treat people better, faster. So, for example, with
depression you can have really low activity in the brain. That can make you
depressed. Or you can have really high activity in the brain. And how would
you ever know where you were unless you looked?
Wendy: And so is there anything being done to kind of change the status quo
where someone goes to their psychiatrist and gets an evaluation, and they’re
just given medication without any kind of real diagnosis or looking at the
brain?
Dr. Amen: Well, we’re working on it. And I know other people are, too. But it’s
happening way too slowly.
Wendy: Yeah, because I know many people, many friends in fact, that just
have some mild depression in their lives and are put on an SSRI. That doesn’t
work. They’re given another one. That doesn’t work. They even have a third
one, and then come the antipsychotics. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Dr. Amen: Well, it’s that shotgun approach that is really detrimental to
people. And it’s funny. In 1980, when I told my dad I wanted to be a
psychiatrist, he asked me why I didn’t want to be a real doctor. And it sort of
hurt my feelings at the time when he said that. But years later I sort of see the
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wisdom in it, that we’re not acting like real doctors. Just think about it. What
other medical professional doesn’t look at the organ they treat? You would
think if a cardiologist didn’t look when you had chest pain that he would be a
quack.
Or a gastroenterologist, if you had stomach pain, and nobody looked at what
was going on in your stomach, you would think well, that’s crazy. Or if you
had bone pain, back pain, hip pain, and somebody just manipulated that joint
and would go oh, well I know what you have, and we’re going to do this. But
not enough people question the craziness in psychiatry, where we really need
to be doing a better job.
Wendy: Do you think that amino acid therapy, such as using 5-HTP,
tryptophan, GABA, tyrosine, etcetera are better alternatives to medication?
Dr. Amen: I think it depends on the situation you’re dealing with because
depression is a lethal illness. So sometimes we’ll use medicine if we think it’s
more appropriate. We tend to start with natural treatments because that’s our
bias. It’s our training. But at the same time we’re not opposed to using
medicine when it’s appropriate.
Wendy: And I saw a snippet on 60 Minutes about how many antidepressants
can have a placebo effect, especially when it comes to mild depression. And
then SSRIs really should be used for more major causes of depression. Can
you comment a little about that?
Dr. Amen: Yeah, there’s actually very little compelling evidence that if you
start on antidepressants you have a better outcome than if you started with
exercise. So I’m always thinking of myself first do no harm. Yet at the same
time, if I have somebody that’s failed the supplements, and I see it going in the
wrong way, the benefit I have is I have a sense, based on your scan, which
antidepressant you’re likely to respond to.
So I can get into the right ballpark by looking at someone’s brain. And that’s
actually how we developed our supplement line. It was based on the patterns
we saw that seemed to make the most sense.
Wendy: What are some of the other products in your line that people really,
really respond to and really, really like?
Dr. Amen: They love Restful Sleep, which is our multiple mechanism sleep
product, because sleep is just such a problem and so important. Craving
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Control, right before I got on the phone with you, we had a testimonial about a
woman who couldn’t give up sugar. She had cravings all the time. But on
Craving Control it went away. So that was pretty exciting for us. Attention
Support for kids and teens who need more focus is very popular for us, focus
and energy. That has green tea, rhodiola, ashwagandha, and ginseng. It’s one
of our best selling products.
And our sort of hero product that we get perhaps the most testimonials on is
NeuroLink. That uses GABA, 5-HTP, and L-tyrosine together to sort of raise
those neurotransmitters together. We’re a huge fan of that, in large part
because of what people have told us.
Wendy: So many children today are being diagnosed with ADD, ADHD,
attention deficit or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. What, in your
opinion, is the cause of this? And are there natural approaches to addressing
it without medication?
Dr. Amen: Well, it’s going up in our society. There’s no question about that.
And our society is encouraging it. So I think ADD is real and when left
untreated it has serious consequences: higher incidences of school failure,
incarceration, divorce, job changes, financial ruin because of the impulsivity
and short attention span. And because it’s inherited, that you tend to get it
from the people you came from, with the impulsivity, on average ADD girls
have their first baby at 20, where women that do not have ADD on average get
it at 26.
So over 100 years you’ll see five generations and more children per generation
in an ADD family than you will in a non-ADD family. So that all by itself will
increase its incidence in a population. And then if you add to that we’re not in
the sun anymore, so we have vitamin D deficiencies, because kids are inside
playing games. The diet shifted dramatically in the early 1980s when we went
to low fat diets. And 60 percent of the solid weight of your brain is fat.
So if you add TV gadgets, less exercise, less vitamin D with a disorder that is
inherited and people having more babies earlier and more of them, you can
just see how it can be impacted. And then we know that the higher pesticide
load you have in your body, or the higher pollution load in the environment
that you’re breathing, also increases the risk, as well.
Wendy: Can you talk a little about the importance of fats and cholesterol in
the diet and how they impact the brain and how devastating low fat diets and
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Description:to be a substitute for advice from your physician or other Dr. Amen: Well Change Your Brain, Change Your Life is sort of a summary of my life's work. tryptophan, GABA, tyrosine, etcetera are better alternatives to medication?
