Michelle names five herbs she'd take to an island for brain health. Turmeric tops her list for reducing brain inflammation and improving mood. She also recommends St. John's Wort to fight depression in isolation.
Michelle, if you were gonna only have access to, let's say, 5 kind of your go-to for cognitive health, cognitive performance, if you're gonna go on an island somewhere, you didn't have access to others, what would you grab and what would you wanna?
I would definitely start with turmeric. We know it is anti-inflammatory. I think one of my favorite sort of lesser-known benefits of turmeric is how it reduces inflammation in the brain and how that can actually improve, you know, mental health conditions or emotional imbalances by reducing the inflammation specifically in the brain. I would also bring St. John's Wort.
It might be a little depressing on this island all by myself.
I might need a little bit of mood support. I would take mucuna pruriens. That's dopamine bean colloquially. I love that plant. I think I like to have some kind of dopamine support in my, my stack, if you will. Then I would bring rosemary. Rosemary is very well studied. Memory, focus, concentration, but particularly memory.
The Library of Minds: Brain Coach: How to Stay Sharp When AI Does the Thinking | Jim Kwik
