Getting enough protein as a vegetarian or vegan

This video talks about how vegetarians and vegans can get enough protein and be at their best.

• 0:00 Intro

• 0:21 How much protein do I need? (here’s a link to the Huberman Lab podcast referenced)

• 1:39 Challenges with getting enough protein

• 4:43 Sources of protein

• 6:37 Protein powders

• 7:10 Sample menu

• 8:22 Glucose curves with different types of food

• 9:16 Continuous Glucose Monitors as a tool

We're working on creating short educational videos this year and would love your feedback and topic suggestions!

Continuous Glucose Monitors and Mood

This video talks about how glucose levels impact mood, focus, and fatigue - and shows an example of what hypoglycemia looks like on a continuous glucose monitor. Learn more at KristenAllott.com

We're working on short videos this year and would love your feedback and suggestions for topics!

Did you do MORE of something to get through COVID?

A lot had to stop to get through COVID: going to the office, hanging with friends, traveling to new cities, and going concerts, movies, restaurants... All of these activities are connected to dopamine, the neurotransmitter that lights up when we anticipate things in our future. Additionally, dopamine will drive us to seek MORE of that thing that is out of our reach so we can have it more consistently. When we stopped doing things outside our homes, we needed to fill that space with high dopamine activities within our homes.

Now that COVID is shifting to allow us to go back to some of our old activities, our brains may not want to give up our new activities that feel as comforting as a best friend. When it’s hard for me to change a behavior, an activity, or the use of substance, even though I think that I should, I name it as an addictive behavior held in place by a dopamine neuro-net that needs retrained. Coping with COVID-driven isolation has been the perfect set up for developing many formal and informal addictions. Perhaps you or someone you know has gotten caught in the dopamine pattern of “more” and “do it again” during COVID in a way that is now longer comfortable?

This could be alcohol or drugs, but it also could be more of other sticky behaviors such as:

• Eating more ice cream

• Watching more Netflix

• Scrolling more through political commentary

• Surfing more on Youtube

• Sleeping more than 9 hours a day

• Reading more books

• Connecting to people more in virtual games

• Reclining on the couch more

Again, none of these are bad in and of themselves – it’s when you begin to recognize that you’re no longer comfortable with the time, frequency or amount of whatever the behavior has become. Remember, when dopamine is driving behavior, it just wants more time, frequency or amount.

When we do a behavior over and over again, we create a neuro-net that demands that that the pattern continue. I often tell a story about how I watched People’s Court for four years at lunch time and when my TV died my brain wanted to go watch more People’s Court at my friend Taryn’s house at lunch. I knew that dopamine wanted MORE. Really, after four years I had seen every possible way people can have a disagreement. I personally didn’t care for more People’s Court, but may brain had decided that it was necessary to have more and was going to find a way to get it even if it meant breaking into my best friend’s home to watch TV. It was just a casual habit that now sought to control my behavior.

Is there something that you are doing MORE of, that may now be preventing you from moving forward in this new (post-COVID) era?

For me, my husband and I started playing a card game at night before bed, which helps us get off screens before going to bed (which helps my sleep). After 19 months of this game, my brain just wants to play more Star Realms. I have noticed that if we don’t play there is a little thought that we have to play in order to go to bed. This, of course, is not true; this is just dopamine wanting more. We’ve started looking for another game to play that is just as interesting, but I know that I’ll have to play it at least 5-7 times before my brain will accept it. Until then, my brain’s reaction is, “This is a dumb game, let’s play Star Realms”.

I’m also trying to be more social on weekend evenings. Both my husband and I spend a lot of time with people virtually. I’m making time to socialize with friends during the time that I previously dedicated to Star Realms when socializing was limited. I know from working with people who are in recovery for substance and process addictions that I will need at least 3 or 4 things to choose from to do in the evenings, to keep me from going back to Star Realms as my evening solution. So, in addition to meeting up with friends, I’m including options for myself to read a book, stretch, call a friend, or go for a walk in the summer late evenings. The key is that they not only have to be on my list of ideas, but that I have to DO them in the evenings.

Regardless of what your dopamine-driven behavior might be, is there something you want to diversify away from in order to create space for other activities that support what is really important to you?

If you would like to read about dopamine I would recommend Dopamine: The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race by Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long

If you want to change your behavior on something small or large. I would suggest staying in your responsive brain. Check out more of our resources related to addictions and recovery.

Favorite YouTube Videos for Health

Ten years ago when I opened my practice in Seattle, there were very few books that I could refer to my patients for reading–save a few nutritional physiology textbooks.  There is still no comprehensive book that I can suggest.  However, there are numerous books that are worth reading for individuals who struggle with anxiety, depression, sugar cravings, and weight gain.

One resource that our society had not developed ten years ago, but have at our fingertips today is YouTube.  I have selected four videos from four different authors worth knowing and reading.  Plan on investing a few minutes with each You Tube or video presentation.  You may find one strikes your interests more than the others.  That’s the place to start reading for valuable information.  I hope that you find them useful.

• Gary Taubes: “Why We Get Fat” IMS Lecture on Aug 12, 2010 Part 1 to 8 (10 minutes each)  

• Michael Pollan RSA: How Cooking Can Change Your Life (20 minutes) 

• Michael Moss CBS: Food Addiction: Is the Food Industry Creating an Epidemic? (4 minutes) 

• John Ratey: Exercise is the Best Medicine for Our Brain (33 minutes)  

ACEs contributes to the physical causes of mental health challenges

In a recent speaking event about the physical causes of mental health, a participant asked an insightful question: How does a background of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Events) impact or contribute to the physical causes of mental health challenges?

 The research around ACES show that the hormonal system, specifically the hypothalamic pituitary axis, can become over activated. This effects everything from the immune system to glucose control to brain development, and especially a person’s baseline response to stress. Despite knowing this, our front-line therapy for trauma is psychotherapy or prescribed psychotherapeutic medications.

While building the scaffolding of life skills, therapy typically provided often misses the most basic skills of self care for the body:

• Sleep: 8-9 hours at regular and consistent times

• Feeding oneself: eating regular meals at consistent times and the skills that support this (menu planning, shopping, cooking, understanding the importance of nutrient balanced meals)

• Movement: How to physically play

• Healthy breathing: practicing breathing through the nose

Practicing these skills provides a pathway for resetting the hormonal system, which provides a new set point for stress, entrains the pre-frontal cortex to being the primary driver for decision making, and supports the brain for wiring in new behaviors.

The ACES pyramid is useful image to capture the possible steps that contribute to mental health and addiction challenges. When we’re born into a family that has overwhelming challenges, such as poverty, community disruption, lack of economic and social capital, addictions and mental illness, we likely miss roll modeling of the tools needed to optimize our brains and bodies

Here are some of the things that might have been missed during a complex childhood, which may mean that the related skills were never learned:

• Having enough sleep. For an infant to get 12 to 15 hours of sleep, there needs to be an adult around to protect and care for them. Getting enough sleep is critical for the development of a child’s body, and the child learns what it feels like to have the neurological and physiological resources to learn and respond to their world.

• Having predictable meals, with enough nutrients, to build brains and bodies. It’s important for our circadian clocks, which are imbedded in our cells throughout our bodies, to be able to predict when we’ll get nutrients as well as sleep. This supports the natural rhythm of the hypothalamic pituitary axis, which helps the brain and hormonal system recover from trauma and reset itself.

• Opportunities for physical play, indoors or outdoors. Play is the building block for using movement to help prevent mental health and physical health problems. It’s physical action that tells our whole body that we survived a threat and can move by our own choices. Additionally, there is increasing evidence that movement and emotional control reinforce each other.

• Having access to nutrient dense foods with complex flavors. Experiencing food insecurity often means focusing on getting calories, or eating to survive, which means that nutrient-dense may be a luxury. This wires the pallets of children to expect foods high in sugar, fat and salt. If the sweet-bitter tastes of greens or the sweet crunch of carrots are foreign flavors and textures, they become rejected by the nervous system as not safe and limit the brain-body from the nutrients it needs to heal and thrive.

• Breathing to support health, and not just survival. Neglect and abuse teach us to breath shallowly and through mouths. Shallow mouth-breathing becomes habitual, reducing the amount of oxygen available to our bodies and brains, and how we respond to carbon dioxide. Over the long term, this increases the risk of obesity, inflammation, glucose control issues, and reinforces the neurologically reactive patterns reinforced in childhood. Nasal breathing increases oxygen to our body and increase anxiety tolerance.

The research is clear that people can and do recover from challenging childhoods and traumas. Understanding that some of the basic self-care behaviors may be missing and intentionally addressing this issue supports recovery. Additionally, we – as a society – need to provide the resources such as food education, child care, mentoring, and financial support for families to learn how to care for their children as well as themselves.

What can be learned in therapy, with Dr. Jane Tornatore

The Connectors Group
When I work with an individual on improving their energy and mental clarity while also addressing other mental and physical health challenges, I often ask if they have done therapy and, if so, what they learned from it.

Often the response is that they told someone their story of childhood, loss, challenges... This, of course, is important, but what did they learn?

For myself, I has seen several therapists over time. With each therapist, I was mostly unclear about what I was learning at the time; I just wanted to feel better. In retrospect, I can see that I was learning:

• to tell my story and not edit out the uncomfortable moments

• how to have an observational self that is not the internal critic

• how to trust myself and trust others

• how to set boundaries for myself and others

• how to learn from my mistakes

• how to talk small steps forward, rather than try to leap into what I have not experienced before

• how to have hope

Recently, I was talking to my friend and colleague Dr. Jane Tornatore, who is one of the therapists that I refer out to when someone is struggling and is looking for more than “just talking” about what’s going on. I realized that part of why I enjoy referring to Jane is that she’s clear about what skills people need to learn to help their brains better integrate their experiences. Neuroscience supports that it’s this integration that helps people feel more stable and engaged in their lives.

This is a recording of the live webinar with Dr. Jane Tornatore, Dr. Kristen Allott, and Natasha Duarte..

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Meet Dr. Jane Tornatore:

Dr. Jane Tornatore is a therapist, speaker and author based in Seattle, WA. She has been in private practice for 15 years. Her style incorporates compassion, curiosity, deep listening, and heartfelt optimism, along with powerful shots of playfulness. Jane has dedicated her career and her life to helping people love themselves and have self-compassion. She received a Master’s degree at the University of Illinois, and a PhD at the University of Minnesota. Before going into private practice, she spent two decades working in the field of Alzheimer’s, including research and working for the Alzheimer’s Association. She has authored over 20 articles and just published a book—Everything is Perfect, Just Not ME! A Roadmap for Self-Acceptance. Learn more about Jane at: doctortornatore.com

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The Connectors Group consists of a wide range of individuals who are in positions to help other people navigate their lives better: mental health therapists, executive coaches, psychiatric nurse practitioners, supervisors and project managers, lawyers, teachers, and community organizers.

Recognizing and Addressing Addictions in the Time of COVID-19

Friday April 24th at 1:30pm Pacific Time

(2:30pm Mountain Time;3:30pm Central Time; 4:30pm Eastern Time)

The Connectors Group
For some people, this COVID-19 moment can be a set-up for additions, which can lead to long-term physical, financial and relationship challenges. Dr. Kristen Allott and Natasha Duarte have brought together three experts who will share different approaches to addressing addictions:

• Ambrosia Eberhardt – 12 step programs

• Andrea St. Clair - Outpatient and inpatient recovery, and alternatives to 12-step programs

• Alida Schuyler – Harm Reduction approaches

The below video is the recording of the webinar about Recognizing and Addressing Addictions in the Time of COVID.

Meet the panelists:

Ambrosia Eberhardt, Program Manager, Parents for Parents Program, Rising Strong, Spokane, WA

For the last 4 years, Ambrosia has been supporting parents entering Child Protective Services in achieving the skills and sobriety needed to regain custody of their children. She supervises and trains Parent For Parent (peer support) programs, and educates professionals about the complexity of the child protective services system. She uses her voice and experience to influence policy and law changes that impact the population she serves. Ambrosia co-founded a local advocacy group called Spokane Parent Advocacy Network, is a member and prior facilitator of the Washington State Parent Ally Committee, and is currently involved in taking this work internationally to support the creation of the International Parent Advocacy Network. Ambrosia empowers people to walk through complex situations and navigate the child welfare system successfully, using her own story to inspire hope in others. She teaches HOPE classes and champions a Protein for All program. Learn more

Andrea St. Clair, Client Care Coordinator, Counselor and Chemical Dependency Professional

Andrea began her work as a Chemical Dependency counselor in 1990 after completing the Addiction Studies Program at Seattle University. She has a BA in Holistic Psychology and Counseling from Antioch University and a MA in Mental Health Counseling from Argosy University. She draws from Person Centered and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapies to support clients in achieving wellbeing and the quality of life they desire. Her dedication to respectful holistic treatment and her quest for better ways to meet client needs led Andrea to a Positive Alternative. She facilitates groups, provides individual therapy, and is often the first person individuals speak with when they call A.P.A. for information about our program. Her ability to connect, offer compassion, and present a thorough picture of what may best suit their needs is reassuring to callers who often feel vulnerable when seeking help. This initial contact opens the door to treatment and desired change. She has been providing group and individual counseling and working as resources coordinator at A Positive Alternative since 2009. Learn more

Alida Schuyler, Recovery coach

Alida has been a professional life coach since 1997 and specializes in addiction recovery.  She works with clients who struggle with over drinking or over drugging, and supports goals of harm reduction, moderation, and abstinence. She developed one of the first trainings in professional recovery coaching, and is currently developing a nonprofit in Kentucky to provide housing, safety, and stability to women seeking recovery. Learn more

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The Connectors Group consists of a wide range of individuals who are in positions to help other people navigate their lives better: mental health therapists, executive coaches, psychiatric nurse practitioners, supervisors and project managers, lawyers, teachers, and community organizers.

Hope Centered and Trauma Informed: Remembering Hope in a Time of Fear

Dr. Kristen Allott and Natasha Duarte interview Chan Hellman, PhD, co-author of the award-winning book “HOPE Rising: How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life”. Chan introduces the language and science of Hope and shares his insights into how we can cultivate hope during these uncertain times.

This is a recording of a live webinar.

Chan M. Hellman is a professor of social work at the University of Oklahoma and Director of The Hope Research Center. He has written more than 150 scientific publications and has presented at numerous national and international conferences worldwide. Chan has also presented his work on hope with TEDx in the Spring of 2020. Chan’s research is focused on hope as a psychological strength helping children and adults overcome trauma and adversity. Chan is the co-author of the award-winning book “Hope Rising: How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life” with his co-author Casey Gwinn, published by Morgan James.

Worksheets for Staying in Your Responsive Brain

As we all navigate these uncertain times, remembering that protein-rich food is a tool to help us manage stress is now more important than ever. This will allow us to take in the ever-changing information about COVID-19 and make responsive, proactive choices rather than reactive, fearful ones. It also helps us relate to ourselves and those around us with compassion, understanding that we each have different tolerance levels and abilities to cope with this upheaval in our lives.

With this in mind, we want to (re)share some worksheets and tools that help take the stress out of figuring out how to feed ourselves.

If your anxiety is rising - remember the Lizard Brain Treat: A Lizard Brain Treat is a snack of sugar (a quick fuel) and protein (a longer lasting fuel). You want the quick fuel to get to your brain almost immediately, which will start to reduce the adrenalin causing you to be in your reactive lizard brain. Following this with protein extends the amount of time you’re in your responsive cortex brain, before needing to re-fuel. Our handout has suggestions for Lizard Brain Treats.

Optimizing Your Brain Food Log: We know that what we eat plays a large part in your level of energy and mental clarity, and can help us each be at our best. This worksheet will help you stay focused on managing your anxiety, anger, and depression by tracking your nutrient intake and helping ensure that you are getting protein, carbs, fiber and fat with each meal.

Go-To Meals Worksheet: Having a plan in place so you don’t have to think about what meals to prepare in the moment can be helpful. Having 3 ideas for each meal can help you stay on track with getting enough protein, balanced with carbs, fiber and fat. Use the Go-To Meals handout to list meal ideas that are simple to throw together or ones that you really enjoy preparing. Remember, there are no rules against eating dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner! The goal is to have some ideas that you don’t have to think too much about. Pin the completed handout on your fridge for easy access.

For more suggestions and tools, check out the Education Page and subscribe to our Optimizing Brains & Bodies podcast.

Lizard Brain Treats Help You Feel Better Quickly!

A Lizard Brain Treat is a key intervention to help you feel better now.

When you’re feeling on the edge and having a hard time with acute anxiety and worry, it’s hard to remember what you can do in the moment to help yourself.

If you are experiencing any of the below, try a Lizard Brain Treat! Even though you may not feel hungry, fueling your brain will help you reduce your anxiety and symptoms.

1. Are you having a panic attack?

2. Are you uncomfortably anxious or irritated?

3. Are you waking at 3am in the morning, with your mind racing?

4. Are you overly or underly emotional for the situation?

5. Have you not eaten for more than 3 hours?

6. Do you want to feel better in 10-15 minutes?

Lizard Brain Treats

A Lizard Brain Treat is a snack of sugar (a quick fuel) and protein (a longer lasting fuel). You want the quick fuel to get to your brain almost immediately, which will start to reduce the adrenalin causing you to be in your reactive lizard brain. Following this with protein extends the amount of time you’re in your responsive cortex brain, before needing to re-fuel. Choose one quick fuel and one protein from the lists below – or from your favorite foods.

Ideas for Quick Fuels:

• ¼ cup of juice

• 1 piece of hard candy

• ¼ cup of soda

• Honey stick

• 1 tbl of jelly

Ideas for Protein:

• ¼ cup of nuts

• ¼ cup of nuts

• A stick of jerky

• ¼ cup of cottage cheese

• 2 tbl of peanut (or other nut) butter

Combined sources work too (as long as they aren’t sugar-free)!

• ½ cup of a protein shake

• Protein bar

• ½ a PB&J sandwich

Generally speaking, your anxiety will drop by 10-20% within 10-15 minutes.

Download this information as a handout and post it on your fridge or keep it near your desk.

Juice for Anxiety?

A participant in a recent training sent me a follow up email with a question about the Lizard Brain Treat. She gave me permission to share it here.

Hey Kristen, 

 Hope you had a safe travel home.

Thanks again for a great conference!  I have been getting more protein into myself this weekend and am feeling less irritable with my 4 yo daughter, so already showing benefits for the every 3 hour protein plan!  I also walked the half mile to work today vs driving! You have inspired me so much!

I was sharing some the info with my Mental Health colleagues today and they said “juice”? That has way too much sugar, what about fruit and nuts?  I said “Hmmmm, I’m not sure”, and had to look it up. I saw that you recommended just a ¼ cup juice, not a whole bottle…for lizard brain symptoms.  I also have a colleague who has diabetes, and he said, “I can’t have juice, no diabetic should have any juice.”  What words of wisdom do you have for that question?

Sincerely, Molly

Molly -

Thanks for doing the experiments. 

If people object to juice, they don’t have to use juice. I just find it effective in shifting a person’s mood immediately when they have lizard brain symptoms, such as anxiety, irritation, agitation, or early morning waking for 2 hours.

A ¼ cup of juice is not a lot of sugar. Remember, it is not just juice. We are also adding nuts or a protein source, since the juice will be burned quickly. 

I did a quick search:

·      Apple juice has 28 total carbohydrates in one cup, so ¼ cup has 7 grams of total carbohydrates

·      Granulated white sugar for 1 teaspoon is 4.2 grams of total carbohydrates. 

·      Dried cranberries have 26 grams of total carbohydrates in 1/3 cup. 

Note that dried fruit takes longer for the glucose to get to the brain since the sugar has to be released from the fiber.

Some people don’t have the control to drink only a ¼ cup of juice and will drink a full cup or more. This can be a problem. Additionally, sometimes when people are watching their carbohydrates, as with diabetes, it’s easier to eliminate this food category altogether.

I tell people who are opposed to juice and are anxious/irritable/early morning waking to try the juice to see if it works. If it works and helps them regain emotional balance or go back to sleep, then we work to find a food that will have an equivalent response. It is different for each person. Here are some of the solutions that have worked: dried cranberries, carrots, honey sticks, 1-2 large smarties.

The Smarties candy is an interesting one. It’s made of dextrose which converts quickly into glucose. The large ones are about the size of a penny.

My goal for the juice is to quickly get some glucose to the brain to turn off the adrenalin that is firing up the lizard brain. Here are some common scenarios where I find ¼ cup of juice (or equivalent) effective.

• Slowing down anxiety and panic attacks

• Irritable teenager who is frustrated

• Waking in the early morning with thoughts racing

• Not hungry in the morning at waking

• Really groggy in the morning at waking

Hopefully that is helpful. Kristen

10 Tips For A More Enjoyable Holiday Season

It is never too early to create a plan to build willpower and practice waypower for your holiday eating, especially if your desire is to weather the season feeling your best and without unreasonable weight gain.

These 10 tips may serve as a thoughtful steps through the challenges that come during the most food-seductive time of year.

1. For the months of November, December and January, mark the days on your calendar for “free eating” - a time to enjoy eating whatever you want.

2. When sugar cravings are especially high during the holidays, turn to protein: eat protein every 3 hours.

3. This is the time of year when exercise routines are often disrupted, so plan shorter workouts such as 10 minutes of walking, complete 20 squats, do a 20-count of plank, or 10 sit ups. I like calisthenics because I can break up the exercise routine throughout the day and still receive the benefits.

4. In early December make an appointment for after January 15th to meet with a friend for a walk, see a nutritionist or exercise person of choice and start a new routine. By mid-January you’ll know what your goals are for the New Year and will be open to assistance and ready for action.

5. Include on your gift list a fitness band (a step-tracker, or other similar device) along with time from a tech savvy family member or friend to assist you in setting up the gadget. Fitbit and Jawbone are two programs that I have observed as really excellent, but there are others as well. Don’t forget: walking 10,000 steps a day changes health. This level of movement prevents diabetes, improves the quality of most sleeping and supports positive mental health. Increasing your daily movement will be far easier than you might imagine, when using one of these convenient programs.

6. Commit to eating a protein-rich breakfast daily.

7. Consider purchasing a full spectrum light for where you eat breakfast. It is a less expensive alternative is buying a full spectrum lightbulb for a lamp you already have.

8. Be outside at least 10 minutes a day, even on rainy or cloudy days.

9. Thoroughly enjoy food that you are eating, regardless of what it is. Stop to notice the taste, color, texture, and what you really like about it. Don’t feel guilty; guilt comes with no benefits. Have a plan to get your eating back on track the next day.

10. If you are tired, try a 20- to 40-minute nap.

For more Waypower ideas, check out our Holiday book, Surviving the Holidays, available on Amazon.

Who's in Charge - Your Brain or Your Mind?

What is the difference between your brain and your mind? Dr. Dan Siegel has been very helpful by distinguishing the difference in his many books. Here’s how I think about the difference: the brain is the hardware that keeps track of information, repeating behaviors and keeps us alive; the mind is software that can manipulate the information in response to the present moment. The brain is powered by the body and by the input and output about our environment and relationships from our senses. The mind arises from our brain, body, and relationships, and provides the observational self.

I am grateful for everything that my brain automatically takes care of... breathing, brushing my teeth, driving my car home when I am tired, putting clothes on in the mornings. These are habits that support the functioning of my life. Of course, we can have good habits and bad habits. Another way of thinking about behaviors is who is choosing the behavior and for what reason? Is it our brain or is it our mind?

Let's do an exercise to demonstrate changing a habit that the brain is in charge of: brushing your teeth. Let's imagine that you are going to do whatever it takes to not brush your teeth for three days. You can use breath mints or chew gum, and we can acknowledge that your teeth will not rot in the three days.  Ok, don't stop reading, I know that you are not going to do this exercise. The point is that when the brain is in charge of this behavior, it takes a lot of energy to change that wiring and we will feel uncomfortable in the process.

Many things can get wired in as a brain-habit that we may want our minds to stay in charge of. Food is an example. One day I had a handful of chocolate chips after lunch. Then, it happened another day and another day. Eventually, my brain decided that the rule was handful of chocolate after a meal. Ok, lunch and dinner... sometimes breakfast. I often eat and then leave the house and because what happens together wires together, my brain rule began to ask me if I needed a handful of chocolate chips to leave the house. Sure why not? Ok now my brain is asking for chocolate after every meal and as I prepare to leave the house. At some point, my mind said "Hey, have you noticed that I’m eating chocolate chips 3 to 6 times a day? My brain said " I just need them."

Having a habit hard-wired into your brain means that those wired circuits need to be used and if you stop the behavior your brain make you feel uncomfortable, anxious, or agitated just like you would if you tried to stop brushing your teeth.

Now there is a tug-of-war between my brain and body and my mind. Sometimes my mind says "no chocolate chips," but if I am not paying attention they just get grabbed before I have a chance to decide. I could just decide to not buy chocolate chips but I’ve tried that in the past and I just replace the habit/addiction with something else that’s in the house. 

When I want to make sure I’m not in a brain rut, I apply the choice of three: when we have three choices, we make better choices (check out the book Brain Rules by John Medina). So, if I need a signal that a meal is done, here are my three choices:

1. chocolate (but not everyday),

2. a piece of fruit, or

3. a moment of silence about the meal, where I relive the meal - particularly if it was a meal that I would like to make more of. By reviewing the meal, I am signaling that is should be remembered and I am increasing gratitude.

When I am leaving the house, I try not be on the phone, and to stop to see if I have everything. I found that the chocolate grab also helped slow me down so that my brain had time to remind me that I forgot to something. So stopping to review and breathe is also helpful and it gives me time to ask myself "do I have everything?"  I have not created three options here because the brain has about 7 slots to juggle everything making one of three choices when I know I am in a rush will just assure that I leave more thing I need at home, so I just try to be mindful about leaving.

Meals and exercise are good opportunities to slow down, where we can practice being mindful of our choices rather than run by brain-driven rituals. Having 3 options that we try and cover each week will also increase the variety of nutrients that we eat or the ways we move our bodies; making sure we don’t get bored has the added benefit of preventing burnout on any particular food or exercise.

One of the things you’ll notice is that I treat my brain and my body as if they are good friends who are always traveling with me. They each have their individual jobs but none of us get to dominate the discussion.

I wonder if anyone else has a committee? How do you experience your brain and mind?  Feedback on this article is welcome

Short Cuts: Ways to keep your mind in charge of your brain

We all need routine to make our busy lives efficient. We need to put things on autopilot to function. But sometimes we become too efficient. Part of what governs what the brain does is “what happens together wires together”. As the behavior happens hundreds to thousands of times, it becomes a brain-habit and we feel uncomfortable if we deviate from it.

Examples of this are: We eat the same thing for breakfast every day, we always watch a show at 7pm, we have alcohol with every dinner, we do only one form of exercise… However, if we maintain three options for any given activity, we are more likely to vary our choices and not get bored and stop or consistently turn to addictive foods, screens, or substance.

So what are your three go-to options for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, before bed activities, and ways of moving your body?

To help you with the meal and snack options, we have handouts for omnivores and for vegetarians.

Food of the Month: Artichokes

When I am talking to people who say they dislike veggies, I always ask are there a few that they like. If they can’t think of any, I start naming veggies that they might like. 

I usually start with artichokes. Most people, but not all, like artichokes. Usually, the expense comes up. “Well, they are over $4 per can at the market.” Yes, and at Trader Joe's, artichokes canned in water are less than $3 per can and they will not rot in a week. How many veggies have gone to waste by not eating them in time? Fresh is better, of course. But we are looking to do a little better than what we we're currently doing and trying to create sustainable behavior.

Plus they are super healthy for you. I like them in terms of helping with energy and mental clarity for a number of reasons:

First, they are high in antioxidants such as Vitamin C and A.

Next, they are great for our liver in that they help the liver produce bile. Bile helps our us absorb fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K. Bile also helps kill bacteria that is on our food and neutralize the acid from our stomach so that it does not injure our small intestine.

Lastly, and back to food and mood, artichokes are high in fiber. Fiber is one of the mechanisms that help with glucose control. However, there seem to be other mechanisms at work because they're more effective at this than can be accounted for by the amount of fiber. Probably because it supports the liver.

The take-home message is to put canned artichokes in the kitchen cabinet for when you are in a rush and won't otherwise get your veggies in.

Here's a study about artichokes for further reading.

Eat to Support Sleep

This month we are discussing how to improve sleep. Eating protein before bed can help with nightmares, night terrors and night waking.

But what kind of protein and how much?

If we look at the Optimizing Brains Chart (page 2), we see that 3 ounces (about the size of a deck of cards) of any kind of meat or fish is about 20 grams of protein, which is roughly what a person can absorb and muscle can use in an hour.

For sleep we may not need that much. I suggest starting with 2 ounces (not quite a deck of cards), or 10-12 grams of meat or fish protein. I usually just have people have meat without anything else.  For vegetarian sources, 2 tablespoons of nut butter, or ½ cup of quinoa or cottage cheese often does the trick.

How to help your brain recover more quickly

Have you ever thought about how important our brain is for getting through our day? Our brain is involved in everything we do: sensing, breathing, thinking, walking, speaking, interacting, choosing… to name a few. Research is showing that movement/exercise is one of the best activities we can do to support and heal our brains. Exercise prevents and improves brain-related diseases such as:

• addiction
• ADHD
• major depression
• Alzheimer's disease
• plus most physical health diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancers.

When we sit and think all day we are using just a small part of our brains. What if when we are tired and unclear mentally, it is because the part of our brains we have been using at work is just tired and the other parts are just waiting to be used?

I have recently been introduced to this idea. A few years ago, I was in a motor vehicle accident that disrupted my vision and balance. Now, when I over-use those nerves beyond their current capacities, I get symptoms of fatigue, visual changes, nausea, neck pain and tinnitus. For a while, it was recommended that I stop and do nothing when this happens, because everything is related to vision and balance. When I had to spend a long time in a car, for example, it would take days to recover.

Another idea is that I can switch and use non-tired parts of my brain. My Z-health trainer, Jennifer Nerio at TAISO Fitness, has shown me over and over again that if I use other parts of my brain that are not tired my symptoms resolve faster. Now, doing movement on the ground can help me recover in minutes rather than days.

This reminded me that I used this same concept when I was in medical school.  I would study, study, study and when I could not study any more, I would do 10 pushup or sit ups. By doing movement that I was familiar with - most importantly movement that I was not seeking improvement with, I was able to rest the neuro-nets that I was using for studying.  By the end of the set of muscle movement, I could go do more reps of mental movement on gross anatomy.

Where can you do cross training for the brain when you are intellectually or emotionally tired, remembering that the movement should be something that feels safe and comfortable?

If you are curious and want to glance through more science about the overlap of cognition, emotions and movement, I suggest the Wikipedia article on the “Neurobiological effects of physical exercise”. If you want to get more in depth, I recommend the book Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. 

How practice affects brain function

Here's an interesting TED-ED video on the value of practice, what makes good practice, and how practice actually improves brain function. Lots of things can be practiced, from music to knitting to developing a healthier diet or new habit.

Key elements of practice are (nearly) daily repetition, constant curiosity about how to do something better, and working at the edge of a know skill set without jumping in too deep.

Importantly, by going through the process of trying something, messing up or finding room for improvement, and trying again, practicing gives us skills to deal with anxiety in other areas of our lives as well.

Mastering any physical skill takes practice. Practice is the repetition of an action with the goal of improvement, and it helps us perform with more ease, speed, and confidence. But what does practice actually do to make us better at things? View full lesson.