Nutritional Neuroscience

Apples used to be my favorite fruit. High in fiber and rich in b-complex vitamins, apples seemed like a very versatile fruit to add to my regimen of daily fruits and vegetables. I remember apples being the first fruit that I would reach for as I left the house for highschool each day.  However, it was not until I went to a functional medicine seminar with my dad that I realized that apples, when not bought organic, can be detrimental to both brain and overall health. Don't get me wrong, eating apples has been correlated with a reduced onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Natural, organic apples are excellent for overall health. However, it is the pesticides and herbicides, primarily glyphosates, that are damaging our immune systems.  Apples contain more pesticides than any other fruit or vegetable. Surely, an apple a day no longer keeps the doctor away.  As many as 80% of apples grown in the US have a chemical called diphenylamine spray...

These days, it seems as if everyone is stressing the importance of drinking enough water. From athletic coaches to medical doctors to advertisements, we are constantly being inundated with information related to drinking water. However, what is often not explicated is the effect of water on both the structural integrity and functionality of the brain.  As a general rule of thumb, I have often been advised to drink half of my body weight in fluid ounces of water. Essentially, I should be drinking about 80 fluid ounces of water each day since I weigh about 160 pounds. Until I begin counting the number of ounces each day, I never realized how much water 80 fluid ounces is.  Our brain is about 75% water, so it makes sense why the brain demands water for proper cognitive function. When your brain is functioning on a full reserve of water, you will be able to think faster, increase attentiveness, and experience greater clarity.  Besides supporting brain structure and morphology...

When I was in middle school, my father, who is a chiropractor in the Chicago suburbs, always emphasized the importance of taking "fish oil supplements" daily. Often, he would urge his patients to work omega-3 fatty acids into their daily regimen of supplements, while also eating organic foods. Only now, after studying the nervous system, do I realize the importance of adequate omega-3 fatty acid levels.  In the United States, fish oils are a lucrative business grossing more than $1 billion each year. However, their success in sales is not mutually exclusive with their health benefits.   Omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients that regulate your brain's structure and ability to perform. Specifically, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) play a discrete role in the structure and function of the brain.  EPA has anti-inflammatory properties that can turn off the genes for anti-inflammation in the gut and turn off other inflammatory genes. Meanwh...

As a child, I often had my vitamin D levels tested during my bi-yearly check-ups at my pediatrician. Because I was an active youth who spent a decent amount of time outside and maintained a relatively healthy diet, my vitamin D levels were nearly always within the recommended range. However, as I grew older, and my extracurricular involvement tended more towards indoor environments, I began to see decreases in my vitamin D levels. Looking back, stress due to my academic workload during high school and my early undergraduate years also contributed to the depletion of my vitamin D reserves. As I learned, vitamin D is necessary for nearly every cell in the human body. It is no wonder that my vitamin D reserves were depleted when I was experiencing health issues during my high school years.  Vitamin D has proven to be essential for the regeneration of the intestinal lining. It supervises the function of the tight junctions, the space between the cells in your gut that could allow large...

With the exception of one course during my undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt, my Neuroscience education primarily consisted of courses oriented towards understanding brain morphology and neurodegenerative diseases. Often times, many neurological disorders would be explained in the context of a case study. When anatomical structures within the brain were compromised such as when a patient presented with a neurodegenerative disease, a common solution to the issue was to prescribe pharmaceuticals. However, rather than solving the root cause of the disease, symptoms were treated. To use an analogy for this framework, it is as if there was a decaying tree with withered branches. Attempting to treat the branches is futile if the roots of the tree as well as the trunk are unhealthy. Many courses during my undergraduate studies emphasized the phenomenal success rates of neuropsychological drugs. However, these pharmaceuticals do not come without side effects and often do little to treat the ...

Hello! My name is Sean Gallagher and I am a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University '20 where I studied Neuroscience and Philosophy. For two years, I was involved in research that studied early life development and the transition to parenthood. During this time, I studied the correlations between stress and the development of the amygdala/pre-frontal cortex circuitry. Since adolescence, I have been fascinated by the adaptability and regenerative properties of the human body, particularly the brain. During my undergraduate study, I began to delve into the structural and biochemical factors that affect the human brain. Interestingly enough, these factors can influence the emotional, cognitive, structural, and behavioral capacities of the human being. Within the scope of this blog, I hope to explore the role of nutrition on the health and wellness of the human brain.  Conventional western medicine seems to be fixated on prioritizing assuaging symptoms rather than addressing the root ...