Mona Sharma on Today Show

This morning in today's checklist, we are covering all the ways to feed our brain, our hearts, and our gut for a healthier body. Holistic nutritionist Mona Sharma joins us with a different way to think about what you put on your plate. Mona, good morning.

Good morning. Good to be here.

So I've always heard, you know, that the type of food that you eat is so important, but why is that?

Well, let's take it back. Well, first of all, the brain, the heart and the gut, our bodies work as a network. So our brain, our heart, our gut are constantly communicating. Right. So before you even get to the food, start your off with using your opposite, your non dominant hand to do things like pick up your morning cup of tea.

Oh, interesting.

Brush your teeth with the non dominant hand.

With a non dominant hand so you can grow new neural pathways that are going to help with focus and cognition and brain aging.

Something as small as that can take that.

Something as small as that habit stack. Right. So brushing your teeth, drinking coffee, we do that every day.

Okay. So obviously blueberries are good for you, but why is that?

Blueberries are great. Jim Kwik calls these brain berries. They're really rich in anthocyanins, which have neuroprotective qualities. Great for brain aging. Also throw them into recipes. Green tea, incredibly neuroprotective.

Rosemary, rosemary, spring in here. Interesting.

Try adding rosemary to herbal tea like green tea or to coffee in the morning. It has rosmarinic acid, which is fantastic. It's neuro protective. Also really great for memory and focus. It's aroma. It kind of smells really good.

It gives you that, like salty craving too, because it has that savory kind of like, flavor to it.

Yeah.

And it tastes really good.

It does. I like it.

All right, from our brain to our heart, let's talk about heart health here. How can we show our heart some extra love this season?

Yeah. You know, after having two heart surgeries, I can tell you nothing else.

You've had two heart surgeries?

I've had two heart surgeries. Really nothing matters if you do not have your health.

Amen.

Amen. So the first thing we can look at is increasing your fiber every day. So eat the rainbow and colorful fruits and veggies, but also good quality fats. So I made my own trail mix here.

You make your own.

Make your own. You don't get the added oils or fats or salt, sugars.

So what do you put in it?

Keep it raw, add some sea salt, but get some sweetness from currants and stuff like that walnuts, pumpkin seeds are incredibly neuroprotective. Great for the brain, help you feel satiated and full, which is a benefit. Right. But we want these good quality fats for our heart.

Okay, now this looks yummy and sweet and delicious and I'm here for that. So let's talk to me about this one.

Do you like sweets?

That's an understatement. But I'm trying to reel it in. It's just so hard.

I know, and I love this recipe.

So, okay, so what is this?

This is an avocado chocolate mousse. So cacao is an amazing flavonoid, which is heart protective. We've got avocado in, which is a good quality fat. It is loaded with fiber. It's gonna help make you feel full. It's also low glycemic. We've added in some peppermint and some pomegranate with the pomegranate seeds for a bit of texture. If you want it colder, you can keep it in the freezer.

Okay.

I'll just cool it down.

Okay. This is yummy.

Go ahead.

The last thing is gratitude. You know, the most simple things we always think about adding. We don't think about the basics. So in the morning, just think about feeling grateful in your body. Give me two minutes of that and you'll bring your heart into coherence. When you're in heart coherence, you decrease stress and inflammation to the body.

I believe that mono.

Let's talk about the gut. We've covered the head, we've covered the heart. Let's talk about our tummy here. Yeah, this is interesting.

Gut microbiome, easy thing.

Sauerkraut.

Every single night at dinner, pull sauerkraut out onto the table. It's a great amused boost. You're going to feed the good bacteria in the gut.

Microbiome without the hot dog on top.

Of meatball without the hot dog on top. Something else that I love is aloe vera. It's cheap, it's easy. You scoop out the filet. You can mix this with some water or make it into a smoothie. My kids love it. They can't taste it. Aloe vera is really calming and soothing for the gut. Microbiome great for digestive issues.

Can you taste it?

I can't even taste it. Can you taste it?

Give it a taste.

It's actually really yummy.

I've added it with pineapple and some hemp seeds and some peppermint. A lot of really guts and working.

This is really good.

This is actually really good.

Yeah.

You know what it is like, we'll see aloe. I'll see it at the store. And we just don't know what to do with it.

I know it's intimidating. Yeah.

But this is delicious.

Buy it, filet it right away, throw it in into a bowl blender so that it's ready to go, and just add it to all your recipes.

What's it. This is delicious.