Dr. Steven Masley

The Better Brain Solution by Dr. Steven Masley

December 22, 2017 By Trudy Scott 9 Comments

My friend and colleague, Dr. Steven Masley, has developed a groundbreaking book and wellness program, The Better Brain Solution (my Amazon affiliate link) with a release date of January 2, 2018.

The Better Brain Solution is based on what he sees in his clinic and is supported by research published by Dr. Masley and his colleagues: Lifestyle Markers Predict Cognitive Function

Published data from his clinic shows that we can improve executive function and brain processing speed by 25-30%, with the 5-step plan he developed, focused on adding the right foods, nutrients, activity, stress management, and toxin avoidance. As insulin resistance is the primary cause for cognitive decline and losing brain processing speed, he believes this approach can help prevent at least 60% of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Masley also writes about partial intermittent fasting for improving cognitive performance:

Recent studies have shown that partial intermittent fasting can be as effective—and sometimes more effective—in improving cognitive performance than traditional fasting; plus it also improves blood sugar control. Avoiding calories (especially carbohydrates) for at least fifteen to eighteen hours will initiate ketone formation and shift fuel usage from glucose (sugar) to ketones (a molecular by-product of fat-burning). The brain’s energy-producing factory, the mitochondria, then uses those ketones for fuel. Simply put, in ketosis, cells convert fat rather than sugar into energy, and the brain seems to like that.

And he reviews these partial intermittent fasting options, recommending #1 as the easiest one to follow for most:

Fasting overnight for 15–18 hours (basically skipping breakfast) 2–3 days per week
Very-low-carb fasting every other day
Very-low-carb fasting 4–5 days per month

The MCT oil and coconut oil discussion is a valuable one but if caffeine is an anxiety trigger for you, simply skip the coffee and MCT oil/cream recommendation. He has a section for ApoE4 genotypes and it’s worth mentioning this here as it has come up on previous blog posts. Dr. Masley’s advice:

Keep to a modest intake of saturated fat from animal protein and dairy products. Because ApoE4 genotypes are less able to utilize MCT fats effectively as fuel, you have less reason to use MCT oil, coconut oil, and other coconut products.

There is an entire chapter on valuable nutrients. Here is a snippet on curcumin from the book – showing both cognitive and mood benefits:

Beyond its anti-inflammatory, arthritis-relieving, antioxidant, and cancer-fighting properties, curcumin has been studied for its effects on cognitive decline. The challenge is that original forms were poorly absorbed, while larger doses (which might be the most effective for addressing cognitive decline) have caused significant gastrointestinal symptoms.

Recently, improved curcumin formulations have been introduced, with much better rates of absorption and gastrointestinal tolerability. One study that used these newer forms of curcumin has shown improved cognitive function. Dr. Katherine Cox and her Australian research team evaluated 60 healthy adults (without memory loss), age sixty to eighty-five. Subjects were randomized to receive 400 mg of a well-absorbed curcumin formulation and a placebo, and sophisticated measures were used to assess their cognitive function pre-and post-therapy. Even after only three hours, researchers noted improved cognitive function with curcumin, but none in the control group. After four weeks, those receiving curcumin showed better cognition, plus subjects reported more energy and less anxiety.

Additional studies in humans have shown that giving curcumin decreased blood levels of beta-amyloid (the brain protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease); and in mice, giving curcumin enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis (regeneration of brain cells), helping to increase the size of the brain’s memory center.

In particular, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity shows promise for high-risk individuals with ApoE4 genotypes, but that is yet to be proven. For now, I’m going to keep taking curcumin for my joints, with the hope it will protect my brain as well.

In the chapter on toxins and brain health, Dr. Masley discusses inorganic copper:

Only recently has copper emerged as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, and the data are startling. In animal studies, giving mice inorganic copper supplements (also called copper-2 or divalent copper), compared to giving a placebo, caused increased beta-amyloid production in the brain, plus an elevated rate of Alzheimer’s disease. If you recall, beta-amyloid is the sticky protein that overaccumulates in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s disease.

Researcher and physician George Brewer, M.D., MACN, has studied the relationship between inorganic copper intake and the dramatic recent increase in Alzheimer’s rates. He draws a very strong relationship between copper pipes used in home plumbing and the rapid rise in Alzheimer’s rates in the United States.

Keep in mind that for some individuals, even organic copper can be an issue when it comes to anxiety (this is not discussed but is my contribution to the discussion).

And some additional comments from me: if you’ve been following me for some time, you know I support the mental health research showing that grass-fed red meat is beneficial to consume more than only once a week. I also say no to tuna and sword-fish especially if you suspect mercury issues are a factor in your anxiety or cognitive issues. I would also like to point out that benzodiazepines are not mentioned despite the research showing the role it may be playing.

I truly value the work of Dr. Masley and this book is wonderful for improving cognitive function (and even depression). I also really like the perspective he brings as a heart doctor and chef, the research that is woven in to the book and his advice, as well as the fun factor he teaches, like learning a new language!

In advance of the release of his book he is offering the following:

The Brain Symptom Quiz When you get your results you will receive Dr. Masley’s Better Brain Shopping Guide – The top 12 foods to boost your brain and the critical foods to avoid! Be sure to look out for his special offer that includes a copy of his new book.
A sneak 3-video advanced viewing of the March 2018 PBS show

If you’d just prefer a copy of the book you can also pre-order here: The Better Brain Solution – How to Reverse and Prevent Insulin Resistance of the Brain, Sharpen Cognitive Function, and Avoid Memory Loss (my Amazon affiliate link)

Feel free to ask questions or comment below.

Cholesterol Myths and The Healthy Heart Summit (starts next week)

July 6, 2015 By Trudy Scott 6 Comments

The Healthy Heart Summit (ONLINE and FREE) July 13-20, 2015

Dr. Steven Masley created The Healthy Heart Summit to address the great deal of misinformation that exists on lifestyle and heart disease – far too many myths are still believed.

Heart disease is the #1 cause of death for men and women. Yet, it is often addressed with stents and bypass surgeries that only treat the symptoms, not the causes. It’s time to dispel the myths and misinformation about the causes of heart disease, and learn how to give you and your family a long, healthy life together.

Here are some snippets from Dr. Masley’s interview with Jonny Bowden, known as The Nutritional Myth Buster, and author of The Great Cholesterol Myth

jonny-bowden

So from a pure weight loss point of view, it doesn’t matter if you eat your meat at McDonald’s or if you eat it from grass-fed Kobe beef from wherever. It probably is a wash in terms of weight loss, maybe not in terms of inflammation. But if you want the health benefits and the weight-loss benefits, then you’ve got to go to what we call smart fats, which are fats that actually support your metabolism, help balance your hormones, creates satiety, and do all the wonderful things that fats do without any of the bad things that what we call mean fat or unclean fat.
Smart fats would include the monounsaturated fats that we see so prevalent in the Mediterranean diet. And that would come from olive oil, macadamia nut oil, a couple of the other nut oils, oleic acid. That’s the monounsaturated fat. That’s a good fat.
Omega-3s, obviously, particularly the ones from fish oil, the DHA and EPA, the long-chain fatty acids have myriad of health benefits on the brain and on visual acuity and on attention and behavior and all kinds of depression (and anxiety). Those are smart fats.
All the recent studies have shown no harm from saturated fat. They’re neutral. For years, we’ve been villainizing them. And all the recent data would say that saturated fat from animal protein, from dairy, from these plant sources (like coconut), it’s harmless.
We now know that there are about 4 or 5 kinds of HDL and about 4 or 5 kinds of LDL. And they don’t all behave the same. And it’s not really 100 percent accurate to say that all HDL is good. Most of it is. But there’s a couple that may be a little inflammatory and some that are less good than others.
There’s a very big distinction between what’s known as LDL-A particles and LDL-B. Now, if you look at LDL-A particles under the microscope, they look like a big cotton ball. And they do just about as much damage. They’re just pretty innocuous. They’re not necessarily beneficial. But they don’t do any harm. It’s like a tennis ball thrown at you. It’s not going to do any harm. The others are like golf balls. And they’re very nasty inflamed oxidized particles. And they can cause damage. Now, the newer more modern tests (advanced lipid profile) looks at these particles.
Stress can cause a heart attack all by itself. We talk about voodoo death and Walter Cannon, the psychologist in the 20s who first discovered this phenomenon. You can die from fear. Your arteries are clear. But stress really can promote heart disease. It can even cause heart disease. So these are things that we don’t tend to look at nearly as much. And instead, we’re obsessively focused on this molecule of cholesterol, which is pretty harmless and very important for the brain and for the heart and for everything else in the body.

So yes, stress and anxiety play a big role in heart disease and this is the topic of my interview: Anxiety/Stress, Depression and Heart Disease

Tune in to hear Jonny Bowden, my anxiety interview and these speakers (and many more):

Steven Masley, MD, FAHA, FAAFP, FACN, CNS – The Optimal Evaluation for Your Heart
Brenda Watson, CNC – A Healthy Gut for a Healthy Heart
Anna Cabeca, DO – Sexual Function and Your Heart
Mark Hyman, MD – Diabesity and Heart Disease
David Perlmutter, MD – How Heart Health Impacts Your Brain
William Davis, MD – The Impact of Wheat on Heart Disease and Health
Susan Albers, PsyD – Mindful Eating for Your Heart
Josh Axe, DC, CNS – The Best Food and Activity for Your Heart

30-day Heart Tune-up with Dr. Steven Masley

January 30, 2014 By Trudy Scott 8 Comments

steven-masley-susanne-bennett — Dr. Steven Masley and Dr. Susanne Bennett

Dr. Masley is celebrating the release of his new book, “The 30-Day Heart Tune-Up, a Breakthrough Plan to Tune Up Your Heart, Energy, Waistline, and Sex Life.”

I received an advance copy and it’s great! I’ve been a fan for awhile! Who couldn’t love a doctor who is also a nutritionist and chef and shares videos of him doing wonderful cooking demos! I first heard Dr. Masley present on “The Sexy Younger You Summit” and then I had the pleasure of meeting him recently at the Mindshare Summit in Florida.

Dr. Masley is a board- and fellow-certified physician and nutritionist, author, speaker, and award-winning patient educator with over twenty-five years of research and clinical experience. He was recently named a Fellow by the American Heart Association.

And now I have brought him and his passion to you via an interview we just did. We discussed so much and he shared so many gems. Here are some of the highlights:

Why a little bit of stress is healthy and how important love and support is
How romance and a cuddle raises oxytocin and lowers cortisol
How we have disease-care and not health-care and why we must focus more on blood sugar than cholesterol
For every woman who dies of breast cancer, 6 women die from heart disease
His 4 tests for assessing risk for heart disease: (the four Fs to fantastic heart health): fitness, fiber, body fat and food/nutrients. His top advice is to be fit (he has a fitness test in his book) and eat 30g of fiber a day!
The carotid IMT/ intimal medial thickness test (this was new to me!) and the advanced lipid profile
How statins don’t help reduce the risk of heart disease in women and some of the side-effects. I was aware of muscle aches and memory loss but did not know that they lower testosterone levels and raise blood sugar
The five new categories of food that will prevent and reverse heart disease: fiber, lean and clean protein, healthy fats, beneficial beverages and fantastic flavors. I love his last category – herbs, garlic, ginger, turmeric! Yummm!
The top two foods that cause heart disease: Refined carbs/sugar/flour (I recently blogged about No Sugar!) and trans fat/partially hydrogenated oils. Not fat, and not cholesterol!

The wonderful thing is that by following these guidelines, your heart will be healthy and you’ll likely feel less anxious! If you are super-sensitive to caffeine, like me and many of my clients, then just use common sense when it comes to Dr. Masley’s suggestions for dark chocolate, coffee and green tea. We did talk about this during the interview.

I really wanted to interview Dr. Masley because heart disease is the number 1 killer of women, and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined; and because of the link between anxiety and risk of heart disease: a recent study found that people in the highest third of anxiety symptoms had a 33 percent higher stroke risk than those with the lowest levels.

You can listen to my 30-Day Heart Tune-Up interview with Dr. Masley here.

Dr. Masley is offering a 30-Day Heart Tune-Up Gift Package.

The digital package includes:

Know Your Risks – The Tests You Must Have that Your Doctor May Not Be Ordering
Are You Getting What You Need for a Healthy Heart? Nutrient Guide
Join Dr. Masley in His Kitchen & Whip Up his Favorite, Delicious, Heart Healthy Recipe

I signed up and it’s great information. Great gumbo recipe and super seeing him in the kitchen surrounded by all the delicious ingredients!

Of course, be sure to get a copy of his new book “The 30-Day Heart Tune-Up, a Breakthrough Plan to Tune Up Your Heart, Energy, Waistline, and Sex Life.”