Brain-Gut-Immunity

Anti-inflammatory foods

Here is a fabulous link to a website that lists a menagerie of anti-inflammatory foods.

Ultra Prevention

Here is a link to a website devoted to preventing illness and especially promoting brain health. It also happens to be a book by Dr. Mark Hyman. He has several including Ultra Wellness, Ultra Metabolism, Ultra Mind Solution, and the Ultra Simple Diet. We have the companion cookbook to Ultra Metabolism. It's fabulous and, I recommend it to everyone.

Stress busting (a mental/immune exercise) - Psychoneuroimmunology

In the previous link, Dr. Hyman mentions the deleterious effects of stress, especially the stress hormone cortisol (he refers to it as 'stress juice'). There are several components to this stress juice including cortisol, dopamine, norepinephrine, and the rampant metabolite of these is epinephrine (known commonly as adrenaline). However, the person to identify the link between the stress response and the stress hormone(s) released from our adrenal cortex was Walter Cannon who described this link in his book The Wisdom of the Body in which he defines it as the 'fight or flight' response. A little later, a Swiss scientist named Hans Selye built upon Cannon's work and dissolved any delineation between physical and psychological stress by physically and psychologically stressing rats and observing their adaptation response to the stressors which was consistent between the types of stress. Selye called this the General Adaptation Syndrome. Yet another scientist devoted his research to the effects of stress on the body. Dr. Herbert Benson devoted his career to combating the negative effects of stress on the body and mind by studying the 'relaxation response.' He essentially took a Yogi developed relaxation technique called Transcendental Meditation and distilled it into these simple steps:

1. Pick a focus word or phrase such as: One, Love, Peace, Shalom, Relax, Om, or . . . whatever is quieting to you.
2. Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
3. Close your eyes.
4. Relax your muscles.
5. Breathe slowly and naturally, and on each exhalation, mentally repeat your focus word or phrase to yourself.
6. Assume a passive attitude. Don't worry about how well you are doing. When other thoughts come to mind, simply say to yourself, "Oh, well," and gently return to your focus word.
7. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes.
8. Do not stand immediately. Continue sitting quietly for a minute or so, allowing other thoughts to return. Then open your eyes and sit for another minute before rising.
9. Perform this technique once or twice daily.

My professor and mentor, Edward Brown, DC, DABCI, published an article in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research in 2005. All of the Psychoneuroimmunology information I've shared with you herein can be read in complete detail in his article by following this link.

May you find wellness as enabling as I do. - Damian