Hi Greg! You can learn more about supplements under the tab “Nourish My Brain”, but a great place to start for better overall brain health is with the Brain Power Basics. This power packet includes all the essentials: multivitamin and minerals, fish oil, probiotics, and phytonutrients all in one. It’s a great overall brain optimizer and a great place to start. For more specific recommendations, review your personal comprehensive report on the dashboard page, which recommends specific supplements based on your brain type. And if you had a SPECT scan with us, your supplement recommendations would be on your Final Report. Hope that helps!

The supplements discussed do that very thing–work on increasing blood flow. You also want to make sure you are getting adequate exercise (interval training is one of the best options), attend to stress in your life with meditation, creativity, counseling, etc., eat a whole foods diet (low/no sugar, plenty of veggies and clean protein), and keep learning new things! All of these activities increase blood flow to the brain, and keep all of our systems healthy and in balanced motion. What brain type are you?

Hi Zoe,

This discussion about how to optimise our brains is very interesting. I do understand the factors that contribute to a healthy brain: exercise, stress management, nutrition, sleep, and supplements. However I am worried about taking the supplements not to create a dependency of the brain on them, especially the ones boosting your dopamine and serotonin.

Your response would be highly appreciated. 

Cristiana

Great question, Cristiana! I think it helps to remember that the food we eat affects our brain and body health, and we “take” it every day! Supplements are no different. If we need the nutrients they provide, then yes, we are “dependent” on them, but just as dependent as we are on food, water, sleep, etc. We may need them for healing, or for optimal health, and that is okay!

There are other ways to keep serotonin and dopamine up, like by eating whole, fresh foods, high quality, organic protein, healthy fats, lots of filtered water, having a healthy gut flora, etc. but depending on our bio-individuality and the quality of of our nutrition intake, it may be hard to get all that we need through food. Therefore, it’s possible that supplements may be long term, or it may be that you need less of them as you improve your diet, exercise, stress levels, etc.