Nootropics Nutraceuticals and Mental Health

Hey there everybody, and welcome to this presentation on nutraceuticals, nootropics and mental health. I'm your host, Dr. Donnelly Snipes. In this particular part of this series, I'm going to define nutraceuticals, nootropics and functional foods and explore in general what each of these is and their benefits. I am going to. If you guys seem to like this video topic, I'll put out more videos on specific nutraceuticals and nootropics in the coming days, weeks and months. So let's start out with what are we even talking about? Functional foods are fortified or enriched foods. So foods that are modified, we have fortified cereals, you know, enriched bread. They're fortified or enriched whole foods that have the potential to benefit one's health when they're consumed regularly at an effective level. Okay. Nutraceuticals are also whole foods that are repackaged from their whole food format and may be used to improve health, delay the aging process, prevent chronic diseases, increase life expectancy, or support the structure or function, function of the body. We're talking about some of the things like turmeric, for example, that may be used in order to as an antioxidant. There are a variety of nutraceuticals that, that we will talk about. Nootropics, on the other hand, are a type of nutraceutical. They're substances that specifically improve cognitive function, executive function, that means reasoning, decision making, problem solving, our ability to think clearly, memory, creativity, focus and motivation in healthy individuals. Nootropics are targeting dopamine, norepinephrine in particular. In many, many cases, functional foods, nutraceuticals and nootropics are not approved by the FDA to treat or cure disease. You're not going to have a box of enriched cereal that says it's going to cure or treat any disease. Federal quality control regulations are also substantially less on nootropics and nutraceuticals. Now, on enriched foods, on any of your enriched cereals and stuff, there is some quality control there. But on your nootropics and nutraceuticals, that's not the case. One study that was done found that over 20% of nutraceutical supplements were contaminated by heavy metals like lead, mercury or arsenic. It is important to know a lot of the nutraceuticals are very, very easy to grow, even if you only have a small backyard or if you want to investigate hydroponics or indoor growing. I'm going to talk about that at the end because that's one of my pass. Now, I have talked about this before, but it's really, really important. I cannot emphasize it enough, so I'm going to talk about it again. Cytochrome P450. Cytochrome P450 is a family of enzymes that metabolize ingested substances, including antibiotics, antivirals, antihistamines, birth control, blood thinner, psychotropics, statins and more. So pretty much every drug that's out there for the most part is probably metabolized to some extent by one of the enzymes in the cytochrome P450 family. That's important to know. Cytochrome P450 enzymes can be inhibited, like when you drink grapefruit juice, some of your medications, you may see it has a warning on the side that says, don't drink grapefruit juice. With this. If cytochrome P450 enzymes are inhibited, it means the levels of that substance in your system may go up drastically higher than they're anticipated to be. Grapefruit juice, echinacea and cbd, cannabidiol, are examples of things that you may not think of that can actually alter the level of certain medications in your body. So it's important, you know, they always say, tell your doctor about all of the medications, herbs and supplements you're taking. Well, this is the reason Cytochrome P450 can be activated now. That means it's increased in its action, so it clears the stuff a lot faster. It can be activated by things like St. John's Wort or even cruciferous vegetables. Those are your cabbage family vegetables like broccoli, kale, cauliflower, those sorts of things. Cytochrome P450 enzymes can also be inhibited or activated by other drugs, foods, nutraceuticals, resulting in clinically significant drug, drug or food drug interactions that can cause unanticipated adverse reactions, including but not limited to serotonin syndrome, which is life threatening, renal, which is kidneys or cardio, heart toxicity, anxiety, panic and more. So it's really important. I know I've said this like six times, but people seem to think that if you can get it on the shelf at Walmart without having to talk to the pharmacist, or if you can buy it off of Amazon, you can, then you can take it, no problem. Especially because it comes from a plant, that you can take it, no problem. It doesn't matter what other things that you're taking. And that is not correct. Some, some substances that you take Some herbs and those things may have a relatively minor effect. Some may have a relatively major effect. One of the drug. Drug interactions I can think of that I've heard about is people who take antibiotics at the same time that they take birth control pills. Doesn't work. Antibiotics greatly reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills, so it activates the metabolism or excretion of the birth control pills. So they're not as effective. That warning being said, there is a very strong rationale for eating healthfully. And eating healthfully means including colorful foods, fruits, vegetables, and whole foods in your diet. You know, eating relatively well. So. So let's talk about some of the nutraceuticals and what they can do for you. Carotenoids are your yellow, red, orange pigments in plant foods. So think about foods that you eat that are yellow, red or orange. Tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, you know, the list goes on. Carotenoids are really strong antioxidants. That's good. Now, for those of you who don't remember, when your body functions, it produces by products, so think of a factory. When the factory is operating, it is making waste. They're cutting pieces out of a sheet of plastic, and then the pieces that the rest of the leftover plastic has got to be thrown somewhere, and that's the waste. When your body functions, it kind of does the same thing. It produces byproducts. And those byproducts are called free radicals. And when your body is operating well, then it is effectively able to clear out those free radicals as quickly as they're produced. So you've got a really effective waste management system. When you're under stress, your body starts producing free radicals. It starts working faster, working harder, producing more waste. But your waste management system can't keep up. That produces what's called oxidative stress. So when you get too many free radicals and your body can't effectively clear them, they build up and it causes oxidative stress. So again, think about that factory. Think about people trying to operate on an assembly line with trash cans that are overflowing on either side of them. It makes it hard for them to move around and do their job. Antioxidants that we ingest assist with the natural waste management system helping clear those free radicals. So score. Additionally, in your carotenoids, some are converted into vitamin A, which is great. You know, we always think about rabbits eating carrots and carrots, improving our vision. Vitamin A is essential for vision, along with a bunch of other things. Your retinoid creams that you use on your, you may use on your face. Those are a form of vitamin A. So carotenoids do have a significant place in the functioning and maintenance of our body. Examples include lycopene, beta carotene and ellagic acid. Now, most of us have heard of lycopene and beta carotene. The take home yellow, red, orange plant foods. Good. They are antioxidant in nature. We also know, and I may get to this in a few minutes, when free radicals build up when we experience oxidative stress. One of the main consequences of that is inflammation. Inflammation causes pain. So if we are adequately controlling our free radicals through effective ingestion of antioxidants, we, we are helping. It's not going to do everything, but we are helping our body prevent a situation that could contribute to inflammation. Flavonoids are found in almost all fruits, vegetables, lentils, beans, black rice and green peas. Any of your colorful foods have flavonoids or carotenoids or both in them. And it's important to recognize that. So yellow, red and orange aren't the only colors you look for. You also want to look for blue, you want to look for green, you want to look for black. Now a lot of times black, like black beans and black rice, they're actually kind of purple when you look at the water, but you know, they're really dark. And the darker the color, the richer it is in these compounds. So if you're eating something that's kind of this pale yellow color that doesn't have nearly as many carotenoids as something that's rich in color. If you're eating sweet potatoes, for example, when I select the type of sweet potato that I'm going to grow, I personally select sweet potatoes based on the color of their flesh and as opposed to whether they grow to a uniform size or whatever. I want a sweet potato that has the absolute darkest flesh I can find because it's going to be the absolute highest in carotenoids. Okay. So flavonoids are found in almost all fruits, vegetables, lentils, beans, black rice, and green peas. There are six types. And I just figured I'd put this out here just so you know. Flavanols, flavanthriols, or catechins, flavones, flavonones, isoflavones and anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are really prevalent in your black and your purple type foods. Flavonoids, like carotenoids are antioxidants. Resveratrol and quercetin are examples Flavonoids. We've heard of resveratrol coming from the red grape in red wine is what a lot of people think about when they hear resveratrol. Indoles are another type of nutraceutical. These are chemical compounds found in cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables are your cabbage family, they're your broccoli, they're your cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, those sorts of things. They are thought to help prevent many types of cancer through modulating the metabolism of estrogen and regulating inflammation. Remember, every gender has a certain amount of estrogen and indels are very helpful at preventing hormone mediated cancers. They found in studies. Dim and i3c are two examples of indoles that people sometimes buy in supplement form in order to for health benefits. As a nutraceutical benefit. I read in one article, if you eat one pound of cruciferous vegetables a day, that's, you know, what you need now that you hear that and you're like, oh my gosh, that sounds like a lot. It's really not that much. A pound of broccoli is not hard if you eat 8 ounces at lunch and 8 ounces at dinner. But it's up to you. Other nutraceuticals to consider are dietary enzymes. I've talked in many other videos about how what we eat forms the building blocks for our hormones, our tissues, our neurotransmitters, all that stuff. And if we're not eating healthfully, then we are not providing the building blocks for our body to do what it needs to do. However, no matter how well you eat, if your gut microbiome is out of whack or you don't have the enzymes to break down those foods, then guess what, you're just gonna move it out. It's not going to be absorbed, it's not going to be bioavailable. Enzymes are really important. Enzymes enhance digestive system function and increase your ability to absorb and use nutrients. Now, most, well, a lot of people's dietary enzymes are just fine, thank you very much. But you will notice that if you eat something that you're not used to eating. I ate meat yesterday and I think I eat meat maybe three times a year and I ate meat yesterday and oh boy, my stomach did not like that. The microbiome, the enzymes weren't sure what to do with it. They were like, we don't have the equipment to deal with this. I'm sure they probably said something a little bit different than that. But it's important to recognize that Generally you maintain your enzymes by based on what you normally eat. Papain and bromelain are two types of enzymes out there. And your enzymes break down. Certain enzymes break down fats, certain breakdown proteins, certain breakdown carbohydrates. When I was raising angora rabbits, I would have to give my angoras papain or papaya tablets because it would help them break down the fur that they ingested when they groomed themselves. Otherwise they would get blockages. So who knew? Enzymes are found naturally in foods that we eat. Especially whole organic foods like honey, bananas, kefir. Oh, I love kefir and not the stuff you buy in the store that's half sugar. You can order kefir grains off of a reputable website wherever you want to. And they're a little bit pricey. When you the first batch you order you'll get like a tablespoon and it costs, I don't remember how much it costs, it was a little bit pricey anyhow. But they multiply and multiply like crazy. So yes, you're only getting a little bit to start with, but they will multiply and self perpetuate. The kefir grains that I bought five years ago, I am still using the byproducts of them to this very day. And the, you know, as I get too many kefir grains because they've multiplied too much. I feed some of them to my chickens and, and whatever. They're great for digestion. You can eat them. I don't like eating them as a human because the texture is kind of weird to me out but the chickens love them anyhow. Kefir super easy to make at home, especially if you are not lactose intolerant. You can get water based kefir, that's a whole different video. But fermented foods is kind of what we're getting at here with kefir and sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is also super easy to make at home. I've made it, I didn't botch it. It's easy. Avocados have dietary enzymes as well as pineapples which have papain, papaya, kiwi and even ginger. Now I know you can find pineapple and kiwi and even sauerkraut and avocado and bananas. And you can find all of these with the exception maybe of papaya and kefir in your local grocery store. My feeling most of the time is that nature knew what it was doing when it put together foods. So the nutrients and the enzymes may be in a better balance. And more bioavailable if it comes from an actual food as opposed to a megadose in a capsule. But that's my feeling. Another type of nutraceuticals are your fiber and prebiotics. Now this is different than probiotics. Prebiotics are a form of fiber that feed the good gut bacteria and also have antioxidant, anti inflammatory and lipid lowering properties. Inulin is an example of a fiber and a prebiotic. You can find inulin in asparagus, chicory root and dandelion greens. Now, it's better in order to get the most inulin out of it, to eat it raw or as lightly steamed as possible. I love raw asparagus from my garden. Now, once it's been out of the garden for a few hours, it starts, in my opinion, starts to get a little bit bitter. Not as crazy about it raw, but right off the plant. It's wonderful. And I just try to have, have to try to beat all my animals to it because they think it's pretty spiffy too. Chicory root is something that is actually dried and ground and used as a coffee alternative in France and by people like me who try to avoid caffeine. It is naturally decaffeinated. It does have inulin in it, so that is another benefit. Now, chicory root tea doesn't have a whole lot of inulin. Inulin, partly because it's a fiber, may cause some digestive upset when you first start using it. So it's important to gradually add new things to your diet. Just like when I ate meat yesterday, my body didn't really know how to handle it. Same thing's true with fiber and other things. Always change your diet slowly. Fos and inulin in garlic and onions are all is also a source of prebiotics that are really good to feed that gut bacteria. And I've talked in other videos about how a significant portion of your neurotransmitters are actually made in your gut by those bacteria. So if they're well fed and ready to go, then they're going to be a lot more effective at doing their job than if they're on strike. Beta glucan is another prebiotic that you can find in barley and whole oats. Now I've always had a hard time finding barley, but you can find whole oats pretty easily. And beta glucan is the prebiotic in that which you know. You've seen other advertisements about how certain oat based foods may help lower cholesterol if you eat enough of it over time. Well, that's because the beta glucan and pectin from apples. Now, in order to get enough pectin from apples to do a whole lot of good, you'd have to eat a lot of apples. But knowing that there is a particular prebiotic in apples that may feed a different subset of the gut microbiome is important. You know, not everybody in a family likes the same food. Not every bacteria in your gut microbiome likes the same fiber or prebiotic. So it's important to have variety. Fiber can also be found in flax seeds, oat bran, and wheat bran. Now, oat bran is different than whole oats. So recognizing this, wheat bran is actually also pretty high in protein as well. I use that to as a supplement for some of our farm animals, and I use human grade wheat bran in a lot of my baking probiotics. Now this is what you think of when you think of yogurt. Probiotics improve digestion and nutrient bioavailability. The balance of bacteria in your microbiome have been shown to improve mood and mental health and may reduce cholesterol and blood pressure. Now, when they talk about these things, a lot of times you'll notice hedge words. It's been shown in studies to do this or it may do this. They're not saying it will for you. They're saying, you know, this. This is what we've seen in, in things. There are over a hundred different types of bacteria and probiotics that you can get a lot of. Your yogurt only has maybe two or three. Some of your Greek yogurts may have six types of probiotics. Some of the supplements may have up to 14. But each probiotic, each type of bacteria does something a little bit different. And it's interesting to look at the studies, but I would encourage people not to get overly obsessed with trying to find the right probiotic, because this field is still very new. And it's possible that if you make one particular type of bacteria overabundant, you'll actually throw your system out of whack. Even worse, probiotics are found in fermented dairy products such as yogurts and milk drinks, fermented foods like pickled vegetables, tempeh, miso, kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut. So again with the fermenting. Another type of nutraceutical are your omegas. They help preserve the cell membrane health in the brain and facilitate communication between brain cells. So omegas are not just about reducing inflammation like a lot of people think they have a lot of benefits cognitively as well. Now, I bet you didn't know there are three main types of Omegas, Omega 3s, Omega 6s and Omega 9s. And the ideal ratio is 2 to 1 to 1. Now, most Americans don't get anywhere near that ratio. Let's talk about them a little bit. Omega 3s may prevent or moderate memory loss, depression, bipolar disorder, enhance the effectiveness of conventional antidepressants as seen in studies. So it says they may do this. We're not guaranteeing it's going to happen. Chia seeds, walnuts and fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines are all high in omega 3s. Fish oil, cod liver oil, those are also high in omega 3s. Omega 6s can be found in avocados, safflower oil and sunflower oil. They help stimulate skin and hair growth, maintain bone health, regulate metabolism, and maintain the reproductive system, but are also associated with increased inflammation when the ratio is greater than four sixes to every one. Three. Unfortunately, the average American diet ranges anywhere from 18 to 24 to one. So we are way, way out of whack, which is why we see a lot of inflammatory conditions. Omega 9s may reduce cardiovascular disease, stroke and anger and increase energy, memory and mood. So again, sunflower, safflower and soybean oils. But if you're living in the US and you're eating a typical US diet, you probably already get a fair amount of omega 9s. And finally, hydrolyzed proteins. Your neurotransmitters are made from proteins. Your neurotransmitters are made from breaking down amino acids. So it's vital that you get enough proteins in your system. Too much protein hard on the kidney, so you don't want to overdo it. Just like anything in when we're dealing with the body, it's the Goldilocks principle. Too little, too much is bad. We want it just right. But you got got to find the sweet spot for you. Whey protein is associated with suppressing cortisol, so that's good. Whey comes from milk. Casein, which is also a milk protein, has been shown to reduce stress symptoms. Now, not everybody can handle whey or casein or milk proteins. Pea protein is an alternative and it's high in antioxidants and also has anti inflammatory effects. Now, I could do an entire video on each of these different proteins. The take home is to ensure that you are getting a complete protein, not an incomplete protein, and that you are getting enough protein without overdoing it. The average person who doesn't work out has a desk job. Whatever. They estimate that that person needs between 0.4 and 0.6 grams of high quality protein per day per pound. A person who exercises weight lifts has a really intense physical labor job, may need closer to 1 gram of high quality protein per pound of body weight per day. Now those are just really, really general guidelines and it's important to talk with your doctor or your registered dietitian to find out what the sweet spot is for you. You don't want to over tax your kidneys, but you want to make sure that you're getting enough protein in your diet. So I said a lot of these are really easy to grow. Yellow and red bell peppers, super easy to grow. The plants themselves typically get to be about 2 1/2ft tall and maybe 2ft wide at best. You can grow them in large pots, you can grow them in a relatively small area. And as long as they are well fed, whether it's because you've got awesome garden soil that is enriched with lots of compost or because you fertilize it, you don't need a whole lot. They are really strong producing plants. I typically get probably 20 to 30 fruits or 20 to 30 peppers off of each plant over the course of the season. So yellow and red tomatoes. Now, tomatoes are determinant or indeterminate varieties. Indeterminate varieties, you really need a lot of space because unless you keep right on top of them and keep them pruned, they can go kind of crazy on you in terms of growing everywhere. And huge determinate varieties grow to a particular size and then stop. So if you are limited in your space, you probably want to choose a determinate variety. And there are types that grow really well in pots. Snap and snow peas. Now peas themselves typically are vining plants, so they do better. They like to have a trellis of some sort. They don't have really heavy fruits, so it's really easy to grow them vertically up against. Just lean a trellis up against a wall. If you have a small area, even on a deck somewhere, just make sure to keep them well watered. There are a few kinds that you can get, bush varieties, so they are more easily manageable on a deck. And remember all of these things. If you let them grow, you know, and let some of your last peas go to the point that they're completely ripe, which is past when you really want to eat them, then you've got seeds that you can save and plant again the next year. Sweet potatoes Come in bush or vine varieties. Now the interesting thing with sweet potatoes or one interesting thing is the greens are very edible and you can saute them or bake them a lot like and use them a lot like you do spinach. So it's a twofer plant. You get the vine as well as the sweet potato itself. The bush varieties do a lot better in small spaces, but they still require a fair amount of space. You can get those big tubs at Walmart or Home Depot or whatever that people usually put ice in and put drinks in and stuff at picnics. Those are really good to grow. Bush varieties. You're not going to get a huge yield, but you will get some butternut squash. Super easy to grow, super resistant to most of those nasty squash bugs, but it needs a lot of room. There is no containing butternut squash so you can try to grow it on a trellis. It will need to be supported, which tends to be a pain in the butt. But if you've got room, that's my go to. I prefer butternut squash over sweet potatoes actually and definitely over pumpkin because pumpkin succumbs to just about every insect and disease out there. Spinach is another easy grow vegetable that's high in those flavonoids. You can grow it even inside. Spinach is not fussy. You can grow it hydroponically. You can grow it in a windowsill. You can grow it however you want to. It prefers cooler temperatures. It doesn't like temperatures over 80 degrees. So growing it outside during the summer, not going to work very well unless you've got a really nice cool shady spot. If it's in mostly shade, it's not going to grow nearly as well as if it's in sun. You will get some. So you may want to experiment. There is a method. If you go on YouTube and you type in Kratkey Method K R A T K Y Kratky method. It is a completely off grid hydroponic system. So there's no pumps, no electricity, no expensive stuff. You can actually do it in a one of those 32 ounce yogurt containers. So that's kind of interesting if you want to try that. Broccoli, kale and cabbage, they are also very finicky when the temperature gets above 80 degrees. So if you live in one of the warmer climates, can be difficult to grow because you know, you just really don't have a long enough cool grow growing season. But the sprouts are actually higher in those indoles than the plants themselves. So if you grow broccoli sprouts, kale sprouts, cabbage sprouts. You can do that obviously inside. Very easy. There's lots of videos on YouTube for how to do that. And then integrate those into salads or even eat them straight, you know, they. I don't mind them straight. They're a little bit peppery or whatever. But asparagus is another good one. Remember, it's high in inulin. It is very adaptable to a range of soil types, but you need to wait until it's three years old. So you buy. If you buy a one year root, then you plant it. Then after the second year, you'll be able to actually start harvesting the asparagus. And that plant will produce for you for 10 to 15 years easily. Strawberries. My experience with growing strawberries, I grow organically, so I don't use pesticides or insecticides or anything like that. They're most productive and easiest to handle. Handle. If you grow them either from hanging bags or in a strawberry tower or even hydroponically. Blackberries, these are really big bushes. They can get to be 4 or 5ft high or taller, but you can prune them down. Primocane blackberries are blackberries that fruit on new growth. And that's what a lot of people really look for because they don't want to have to wait till the second year. And then there's a whole system of pruning and everything that you have to learn. If you get traditional blackberries, but if you get primocane blackberries or primocane raspberries, then they will fruit not only on current growth, you know, from last year, but. But then the stuff that it grows this year, later in the season, it'll fruit on that too. So prima primocane blackberries, really easy to grow, really adaptable. And they. You can get the primocanes that are now thornless. There are only, I think, four or five varieties that are thornless primocane, but they do exist, which is really super nice. Goji berries. Goji berry plants will start producing when they are two years old. They can get a little bit big, but they are. You can train them kind of as a shrub or an ornamental in your yard and pick your own Goji berries. It produces better beginning year five, but it will start producing at two years old. Blueberries, some people can grow them, some people can't. I've never had luck with them. They're very temperamental. They want very acidic soil. But if you can grow them and you like them more Power to you. Onions, Garlic. Echinacea, super easy to grow. You can get onions from. You can get onion sets from either the regular Home Depot, Walmart type of place or you can go to your local farm co op and get onion sets. And those are basically little, you know, quarter size, maybe nickel sized onion plants that have been started for you. And if you plant the sets then you can harvest in usually 90 to 100 days, garlic. You can get garlic from the store and, and break off each little clove, plant that in the ground and eventually you'll be able to harvest it as well. Onions and garlic have a long growing season, you know, like 100 days or more. So it is important to be patient and learn when you're supposed to harvest it. I'll give you a hint. You want to wait until the greenery dies off. If it's growing green, it's not putting energy into the roots. So you got to wait till the greenery dies off before it starts building up that bulb if you will. Echinacea flowers, super easy to grow. Just get some seeds, plant them, they will readily self seed and the root that you plant and each plant, once it starts, will grow in size every single year. And then you can divide the roots and transplant those or you can use the roots to make tea, sage and oregano. Those are harder to start from seed, but you can get those in your local garden center as started plants. And they are super easy, super easy to grow as well. And they are also super high in antioxidants and all kinds of nutraceutical compounds if you will. Food. Imagine that food provides the building blocks to keep your body factory running. It's nothing special, it's just good quality food. In the next few videos, if you guys like this series, I will highlight some of the more popular nutraceuticals and nootropics and their purported benefits and potential concerns. If you like this series. If you're interested in particular nootropics or particular health benefits of foods, please drop a comment below so I know which ones to focus on in which order. Hope you enjoyed this video and have a great day.