How Reconnection Can Boost Brain Function

The gut is designed to help us digest food, absorb nutrients, keep invaders out, and even produce helpful compounds like the neurotransmitter serotonin, among so many other powerful functions.

That’s why the whole body, including the brain, will suffer when the gut is out of balance.

We can nurture our 100 trillion microbial friends through diet to cultivate vibrant health, but only if we feed them the right way, with real foods that are anti-inflammatory and rich in fiber. We want to support bacterial diversity to have a strong ecosystem; creating a beneficial relationship between the bacteria all over our body, from the gut to the brain, skin, and even the placenta in women who are pregnant.

Food gives us the power to do that.

This week’s guest on The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. David Perlmutter, sat down with me to talk about our favorite mutual interest: food as medicine. Dr. Perlmutter’s specialty is eating for brain health and he shares how the gut microbiome ties into staying mentally sharp and what we can do to keep our own brains healthy at any age.

Another one of Dr. Perlmutter’s passions is reconnection. He shares how “disconnection syndrome” is wreaking havoc on our health in multiple ways, like the disconnect between our environment and DNA or the disconnect within our communities because of the constant distraction presented by electronic devices. He believes that the survival of our planet is predicated on reconnection and shares what we can do to make a change for the better.

Our brains play a huge role in enabling us to be connected or not, and what we eat can either leverage or deplete our ability to stay focused, present, and connected with others. Dr. Perlmutter brings the relationship between the microbiome and the topic of connection full circle; he’ll leave you feeling inspired to start reconnecting with those around you right away and provide you with the instructions of how to do just that.

We discuss this and so much more in this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy. I hope you’ll tune in.