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 root cause of the underlying issue. It is important to understand that the brain is integrative in that it is inextricably linked to the rest of the body. Research on the blood-brain barrier demonstrates that the brain can often become the weak link for the body when there is excessive inflammation.
An analogy that is used by Dr. Tom O'Bryan in his book, You Can Fix Your Brain, likens health issues to a waterfall. When patients develop health issues that become detrimental to their lifestyle, it is as if they have fallen down the waterfall into a pool of water. Often times, it is very difficult to stay afloat. While trying to find a life-jacket to stay afloat is important in the interim, it can never be a long-term solution. Instead, an individual, with the help of a physician, should attempt to find a ladder back to the top of the waterfall and identify why they fell into the pool in the first place. In this analogy, the life-jacket is traditional medicinal solutions such as pharmaceutical drugs. Meanwhile, the ladder is any lifestyle or nutritional changes that allow the individual to reach a point in which he/she is able to identify why he/she spiraled. It is important to note that pharmaceuticals are important to stay afloat, so it is highly recommended by physicians to continue taking medication. However, only through lifestyle changes can an individual set themselves on the path to health and wellness.
In my own journey to wellness, I was helpless in the pool of water trying to find any life-jacket I could find to keep me afloat. After visiting countless physicians ranging from medical doctors to naturopaths, I was having a difficult time finding relief for my symptoms. Often times, I would settle for pharmaceuticals to reduce pain and inflammation. However, in the human body, there is always a reason for pain and inflammation. Only through lifestyle changes such as eliminating gluten, dairy, and sugar from my diet, as well as exercising regularly, and reducing toxic exposure was I able to find my ladder back up to health. During this time, I was experiencing brain fog, reduced attentiveness, memory loss, and other neurological deficits. The truth is that my journey to health was only possible through maintaining a healthy diet abounding with vitamins, whole food supplements to boost my immune system, and a commitment to eliminating toxic exposure to metals and electromagnetic radiation.
Nutritional Neuroscience is the reason that I am a functioning, healthy adult. It is also the reason why I chose to study this discipline within my undergraduate study. Simply put, nutritional neuroscience is the discipline that studies the various components of the diet such as minerals, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and dietary supplements have on neurochemistry, neurobiology, behavior, and cognition. Primarily, nutritional neuroscience address autoimmunity. Autoimmunity is the mechanism in which the immune system attacks the organs and tissues in your body and brain. Through nutritional neuroscience, physicians are afforded the tools and metrics to reverse organ and tissue damaged initiated by the body attempting to protect itself.
-Sean
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