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MENTAL FATIGUE, INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 613

Hosted by Amanda Williams, MD, MPH.

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InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: [00:00:04] Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast where our degreed health care professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that Invite Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code podcast at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started.† [00:00:34]

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Amanda Williams MD, MPH: [00:00:40] Do you ever feel like you are just mentally fatigued, or have brain fog? This is a very common issue that many folks deal with on a regular basis and we just accept it as normal. But is it really normal? The answer is no. Of course, we want to be able to stay focused, have good attention and be as productive as we possibly can be each and every single day. We know that there’s many different factors that can play into us feeling mentally drained and maybe it’s stress, certainly lack of sleep, usually those two things go hand in hand, but we know that there are a lot of things that we can do in terms of lifestyle modifications as well as incredibly supportive supplements that can kind of give us that extra boost that we need to make sure that we are staying as sharp as we possibly can. I am Dr. Amanda Williams, scientific director at Invite Health and today I do want to focus on brain health and what we can do as far as the foods that we are consuming because our body needs fuel, and if we are having foods that are not yielding us adequate healthy fats, good antioxidants ,vitamins and minerals, the neurotransmitters in your brain will have a difficult time in terms of releasing at the appropriate time and in the appropriate amounts. So we know that adherence to a Mediterranean style way of eating is really the best thing when it comes to optimizing our brainpower and our focus.† [00:02:15]

 [00:02:16] Certainly multiple studies have been done at this point in time that indicate that when people adhere to a Mediterranean diet incorporating in high amounts of omega three fatty acids, which we know are brain boosters, this really helps with the structural as well as the functional components within the brain. So I always say you can have the skinny brain line and the fat brain line, and of course we want to choose the fat brain line. We want to make sure that as we grow older, that even under stress and chronic disease states that our brain volume remains nice and full. And we know that omega three fatty acids certainly are very helpful to this. So incorporating in healthy fats like salmon, seeds and nuts into your diet, would be incredibly advantageous, but we can also look at adding in additional omega three fatty acids through supplementation of fish oil or Krill oil and the Invite Health Krill oil Advanced is a wonderful formulation, because not only is it packed with powerful omega three fatty acids, it also has a key fat known as a phospholipid, it is called phosphatidylcholine which is really important for acetylcholine, which is a key neurotransmitter for memory and focus. So having the Krill Oil Advanced is an excellent choice when we are dealing with those issues.† [00:03:40]

[00:03:40] When it comes to the brain fog and just that mental fatigue, we know that sleep is definitely a major driving force to our brains ability to stay sharp and if we are not getting adequate sleep, 8 hours per night is what you should be getting. Then we know that the brain will struggle just with everyday tasks. So if you recognize that you are not getting good quality sleep, first and foremost, we want to try to figure out why that is. What’s the root cause? Is it that you have too many things going on in your life and your brain has a hard time at night to just kind of shut down and go into that rest state? If that’s the case, we want to work on stress management techniques. Throughout the day, of course, zero in on our diet. But we can also look at incorporating in different nutrients, such as melatonin, which is that key sleep hormone, and we know is very important also for our immune system and for GI health. So through the action of melatonin supplementation, for many folks, they will find that this creates a significant amount of daytime balance for them because now they’re getting more restful night’s sleep and they can stay more focused and sharp during the day.† [00:04:58]

ICYMI: WHAT IS BRAIN FOG? – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 517>>LISTEN NOW

 [00:04:59] We also have to look at sleep hygiene, folks, because if we are, you know, going to sleep, when you’ve got the television on, you’ve got your cell phone next to you, any of those blue light emitting devices. This can certainly become disruptive to a normal, healthy sleep cycle. So we know that we can look at diet. We certainly know that incorporating exercise into our routine is very beneficial when it comes to brain health. And we can even do different brain challenging games, which can help us when it comes to focus, even, coloring, for example. I know it sounds silly, but even if you sit down for 10 minutes a day and you color, this will allow kind of a recalibration, one can say, of the brain connectivity. So this is a good way for stress management as well as for brain focus and attention. We can also look at incorporating in nutrients such as the Tranquil Tx, to manage stress throughout the day. That’s that wonderful combination of Passionflower extract, it has lemon balm extract along with Chamomile, so the goal with the utilization of the Tranquil Tx is to promote a sense of calm throughout the day, which can help with the focus during the day as well as helping to support better sleep at night. We also know that we can zero in on energy boosting nutrients that can really be beneficial when it comes to those issues with brain fog and lack of attention. So we can turn directly towards that key adrenal adaptogenic herb, which is Rhodiola extract. We know that Rhodiola extract has been studied in so many different settings when it comes to energy, endurance, muscle recovery in folks who have generalized anxiety disorder. We can see how it helps the regulation of our sleep wake cycle, but we also know that it helps to promote energy and focus, and so the more we can regulate the adrenal response, and we have proper signaling pathways back to the brain, the better we’re going to do with staying sharp. So adding in Rhodiola extract is certainly something that I would think would be incredibly advantageous but we can’t overlook the importance of activated B vitamins as well.† [00:07:26]

 [00:07:27] And our methyl B formulation is kind of my number one go to for so many people because there are different reasons as to why you may not get it adequate B vitamin absorption throughout the day. It can be your diet, clearly we can look at that, but we can also look at genetic factors. If you have a genetic mutation that impacts the way that your body is absorbing and utilizing B vitamins, this certainly can lead to issues. So through taking methyl B each day, this is going to help to support that brain connection. Once again, looking at that center of the brain where we’re dealing with all the different neurotransmitters, to keep us calm, to keep us happy, to keep us focused. This is a very powerful product that you can incorporate into your daily routine. One capsule a day of that methyl B, can really pack a punch when it comes to brain focus, and the other product that I always turn to when it comes to focus and attention is Cerebral care. This is my go to, number one product, because the cerebral care is a complete comprehensive, brain nourishing formulation. It hits all of those key components as to when someone’s dealing with issues with lack of attention or brain fog. It has inositol in it, which is in its own right, is like a miniature B-complex, and it really helps with the neuronal communication, allowing the different brain cells to speak with each other, one could say and through that action we get better signaling pathways. So you partner up that inositol in the cerebral care formulation along with acetyl L-carnitine, a major energy driver for the brain, because it can cross that blood brain barrier. We’ve got phosphatidylcholine in that, the form that we’re actually using is prescribed in Europe as a medication for people who have cognitive decline, so Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. So we know that the utilization of glycerylphosphorylcholine really packs a punch when it comes to our brain’s ability to do what it is supposed to do each and every single day, which is, allow us to do, day to day task allow us to stay, focus, pay attention, to be able to actively learn new things every day and then to retain those memories. So the Cerebral care is always my number one.† [00:10:12]

ICYMI: NUTRIENTS FOR STRESS AND SLEEP SUPPORT – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 507>>LISTEN NOW!

 [00:10:12] And then we build upon that with things such as Methyl B. If we know sleep is an issue, we look at the melatonin. The Rhodiola extract to power up our energy reserves throughout the day. But at the end of the day, if you are dealing with brain fog or just feeling mentally drained, by all means speak with one of our nutritionists so we can help get you on the right path so that you feel much more energetic, much more focused and much more productive throughout your day. So that is all that I have for you for today. I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts ,or by visiting, Invitehealth.com/podcast. Do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health and we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.† [00:10:12]

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