Silicon Valley Health Institute | Neurotrophins, Stress and Body Health - Ray Griffiths (March 2021) @SiliconValleyHealthInstitute | Uploaded April 2021 | Updated October 2024, 7 hours ago.
“Neurotrophins, Stress and Body Health” is the presenation shared by Ray Griffiths, MSc, mANP, mBANT at the March 31st, 2021 Zoom meeting of the Silicon Valley Health Institute.
Neurotrophins are wonderful proteins that can be seen as our brain nourishers – they act as interfaces between what we eat, think, feel and do, and the brain. The human brain is three times larger than other large primates and therefore requires enormous amounts of energy to power it.
Neurotrophins act as an energy management system that help to decide where brain energy should flow. Eating good food, exercising, being with good people and being in an uplifting environment will all support our neurotrophins, to help deliver ample energy and nourishment to the brain. Eating badly, stress and a sedentary lifestyle will have the opposite effect and deplete the brain of energy, and predispose us to mood disorders and depression. Being bored or uninspired will also have a negative effect on brain energy – why would the brain waste valuable resources on something that we have no interest in? Neurotrophins are sensitive to stress and a large part of the presentation will explore the effects of stress on brain and body health – particularly exploring the positive effects of taking time to relax and activate our parasympathetic nervous system, and in turn our healing vagus nerve.
Another important aspect of neurotrophin activity is neurogenesis in our hippocampus – a vital brain structure that supports our mood and memory, to help protect us from depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The hippocampus grows 700 stem cells every day that have the potential to become adult hippocampal neurons – however, poor diet, stress, lack of exercise and inspiration may all block their growth.
Talking of stress, it is not all bad – it’s only excessive stress that is bad. Humans have evolved as hunter gatherers who thrive on novel environments which need exercise to discover them. Inspiration, exercise and a life truly lived are what get our brain fired up and energized! In fact small amounts of stress are designed to help us prevent aging and sickness through a process called hormesis. A small amount of stress triggers the production of our own internal antioxidants and activation of our anti-aging proteins. Humans live four times longer than we should for a mammal of our size. We have wonderful anti-aging mechanisms that we can tap into to help our brain and body live a long and healthy life – but we need to nourish ourselves at every single level of our being to tap into this longevity resource gifted to us by evolution.
___________________________________________
Visit the Silicon Valley Health Institute (aka Smart Life Forum) at
svhi.com
facebook.com/thesvhi
twitter.com/SVHIBayArea
tinyurl.com/siliconvalleyhealth
Smart Life Forum, Inc. (SLF) is a California nonprofit corporation organized under state law for educational and scientific purposes as a public benefit corporation. Our primary mission is to provide credible health education to the public with an emphasis on optimal wellness, anti-aging medicine, and longevity.
PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION TO SUPPORT THIS ORGANIZATION.
svhi.com/donate
“Neurotrophins, Stress and Body Health” is the presenation shared by Ray Griffiths, MSc, mANP, mBANT at the March 31st, 2021 Zoom meeting of the Silicon Valley Health Institute.
Neurotrophins are wonderful proteins that can be seen as our brain nourishers – they act as interfaces between what we eat, think, feel and do, and the brain. The human brain is three times larger than other large primates and therefore requires enormous amounts of energy to power it.
Neurotrophins act as an energy management system that help to decide where brain energy should flow. Eating good food, exercising, being with good people and being in an uplifting environment will all support our neurotrophins, to help deliver ample energy and nourishment to the brain. Eating badly, stress and a sedentary lifestyle will have the opposite effect and deplete the brain of energy, and predispose us to mood disorders and depression. Being bored or uninspired will also have a negative effect on brain energy – why would the brain waste valuable resources on something that we have no interest in? Neurotrophins are sensitive to stress and a large part of the presentation will explore the effects of stress on brain and body health – particularly exploring the positive effects of taking time to relax and activate our parasympathetic nervous system, and in turn our healing vagus nerve.
Another important aspect of neurotrophin activity is neurogenesis in our hippocampus – a vital brain structure that supports our mood and memory, to help protect us from depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The hippocampus grows 700 stem cells every day that have the potential to become adult hippocampal neurons – however, poor diet, stress, lack of exercise and inspiration may all block their growth.
Talking of stress, it is not all bad – it’s only excessive stress that is bad. Humans have evolved as hunter gatherers who thrive on novel environments which need exercise to discover them. Inspiration, exercise and a life truly lived are what get our brain fired up and energized! In fact small amounts of stress are designed to help us prevent aging and sickness through a process called hormesis. A small amount of stress triggers the production of our own internal antioxidants and activation of our anti-aging proteins. Humans live four times longer than we should for a mammal of our size. We have wonderful anti-aging mechanisms that we can tap into to help our brain and body live a long and healthy life – but we need to nourish ourselves at every single level of our being to tap into this longevity resource gifted to us by evolution.
___________________________________________
Visit the Silicon Valley Health Institute (aka Smart Life Forum) at
svhi.com
facebook.com/thesvhi
twitter.com/SVHIBayArea
tinyurl.com/siliconvalleyhealth
Smart Life Forum, Inc. (SLF) is a California nonprofit corporation organized under state law for educational and scientific purposes as a public benefit corporation. Our primary mission is to provide credible health education to the public with an emphasis on optimal wellness, anti-aging medicine, and longevity.
PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION TO SUPPORT THIS ORGANIZATION.
svhi.com/donate
