Change Your Brain Every Day - Which Supplements Are Best for Your Brain Type? PT. 4 with Dr. Kidd

Episode Date: July 12, 2018

In the final episode in a series on nutritional supplements, Dr. Paris Kidd is joined by Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen to answer your questions. Dr. Kidd touches on such topics as the best time of day to take supplements, taking supplements with food, combining supplements, and which supplements will help most for your brain type.

Welcome back. We are going to talk about frequently asked questions with our friend, world-renowned scientist and the chief science officer for BrainMD. And I've got a list here of… Thank you so much for being with us. Yes, thank you. I've got a list here from our community. One of them, which you answered in another video, but in case they didn't see the kid video, is about whether supplements can be taken together or they should be separated. Yeah. So supplements are easily compatible with each other. So they can be taken at the same time. Are there any that should be taken separate? Not that I can think of. It's really only the ones that

have to be, the few that have to be taken between meals or on an empty stomach that make a difference. But people can usually plan to take the majority of their supplements during or at the end of one of their large meals and best to take them early in the day with breakfast and lunch. Oh, so that matters. So time of day matters. Yeah. If they have some leftover and they want to take them early in the day with breakfast and lunch. Oh, so that matters. So time of day matters. If they have some leftover and they want to take them with dinner, they should make sure it's at least three hours before bedtime. Oh, interesting. So I sometimes get lazy and take mine before bed, so I shouldn't do that. Well, it depends on whether you want to have sweet dreams or not.

Oh, interesting. Okay. So they can actually interfere with your sleep is what you're saying. Now, they can give you a lively dream life. Let's put it that way. Interesting. Okay, well, that's really good to know. So time of day matters.

And I'm assuming if they should be taken in between or on an empty stomach, in between meals, that it will stay on the package. Yeah. Now, at BrainMD, and this is a way, by the way, to distinguish supplement products that are not scientifically formulated from those that are. We are very specific on our product labels about how to take the products. Okay. And where there are potential issues with medications or whatever, we're very specific about putting those right beneath the recommendations for use. Perfect.

We're very specific as far as we can be. Okay. What about fat? People ask all the time, do I need to take them with fat? Right. There's no need to take supplements with fats because we have our own emulsifier called bile, which has a type of fat that's very healthy. And as we begin our meal, the bile begins to be released and the bile disperses all of the nutrients and is designed biologically to optimize their absorption. So we make our own bile. So unless you have a really diseased liver, you really

shouldn't have to worry about that. So that's a myth. And I actually learned something because I always thought the fat soluble vitamins had to be taken with fat. So that's really good. Right. That is really a myth and the bile takes care of it. Fantastic. Okay, so those were two. Do you have any questions? Those are two that I had. Yeah, people are asking probiotics with vitamin D. You're saying you can take all of them together. What time of day?

You answered that. Which supplements? So I'll have a question. So our most popular products are systems, brain and memory power and brain and memory power max yeah and excellent they have two packets a day should they take them all both packets at once or they should take one in the morning and one in the evening well i always tell people that the bottom line is to get it done so if you're having a really busy day and you have or maybe you're going to travel or something and you have doubts about whether you're going to really get around to a second session, then take them both at once.

Otherwise, try to take one packet with each meal, preferably breakfast and lunch. Okay, so not at night. Again, I want to make sure that I understand that for myself. Preferably not at night. Okay, and then what I do want to point out here is there are people who are confused about the stimulating or calming supplements. Those should be taken morning or night or both or- Well, if it's stimulating, you should stay away from bedtime. There are actually very few stimulating supplements. The only two that I can think of

are SAMe, S-adenosylmethionine, which is like the very best supplement, single supplement for mood, and acetylcarnitine, which really cranks up the brain. And I can't think of any others that can be said to be stimulating. So focus and energy is okay for… Yeah, yeah. But you wouldn't want to take it at bedtime because it's meant to help you focus and boost your energy. Well, all supplements that work tend to increase a person's energy, but they don't give you that edge. That certain drug.

It's not like a caffeine high. They don't give you a caffeine high, that type of stuff, but they will give you more energy. So, Sammy, if I can repeat that again, Sammy, it should be more in the morning or earlier in the day. That's what I tell my patients. And I do that for focus and Energy, although I love that product because it not only has green tea in it, it has rhodiola, ashwagandha, ginseng, and choline. So many

good things. The Russians have rhodiola on the space station to counteract stress, and ashwagandha has been known to counteract stress, but also help you focus. It's really a great product. So if you're anxious and nervous, 5-HTP, GABA, you can take those in the morning and they'll calm? No, there's a widespread misconception about neurotransmitter building blocks like 5-HTP or even GABA. It's the nerve cells that are doing the work. So it's not that the brain is swimming in a pool of GABA or a pool of 5-HTP or serotonin or adrenaline or whatever. The nerve cells have to release those.

So the nerve cells get them from the blood supply to the brain. So it takes time. And then the nerve cells process them and the nerve cells regulate what they want to do, etc. Okay, so So that takes time and that's more of a, okay, got it. So you can take those just generally with your other supplements and they'll... Right, right. But let's talk about one thing that's really important to you, which is sleep. Oh dear Lord. And so when I'm working with a patient who has sleep issues, if they have trouble going to sleep, we'll use restful sleep and maybe I'll add some magnesium to it.

Oh, my gosh. I love you guys for that. If they worry and they can't let go because they have a little mouse in their head on an exercise wheel and the mouse can't get off. Well, then I'll use serotonin mood support. Right. Because it helps calm down the part of the brain that makes you worry. And sometimes I'll use both of them together because they can't get to sleep and they worry. No, the saffron and serotonin mood support will go right to what we call receptors,

the little antennae on the outside of the cells. And the saffron then has a GABA-type effect. And so that can give an almost immediate calming. Maybe that's why I felt kind of high. Yeah. I'm telling you I felt high. But anyways. So, you know, so some of these herbals will have a straightforward, more or less immediate effect. Yeah. That's why we use them very carefully, but also very effectively. And I'm constantly monitoring the research on that. But what I like, this is really interesting. So my little sleep cocktail, I'll sometimes take my sleepy time tea also. But I take three restful sleep and I take between four and 800 magnesium, milligrams of magnesium, depending on what's going on in my life. I literally, I couldn't drive after. I mean, I'm like out. I'm like, can't keep my eyes open. But I'm not an easy sleeper because of all the stuff I've been through, you know, physically, biologically. So that combination just knocks me out.

And it changed when you had a baby. Oh, no, I didn't. I used to be able to sleep on the top of a picket fence. I could sleep anywhere, anytime, anyhow. But after I had a baby, I can hear a noise other end of my house with earplugs in. I can hear anything in my house and I am up and down the hall, ready to fight. You can almost never go wrong by taking that much magnesium because magnesium is such an incredibly important mineral. It's wonderful. It's so important all over the brain. And we're coming out with a brand new magnesium.

It's 150 milligrams but it's a wafer. Talk about how you developed that. Well, it's been a long time coming, but we were told by you and the Amen docs that you really need a magnesium product. So I felt that it might be nice to do a chewable. I like that because they come in big horse pills a lot of times and they make me gag. And then you suggested we use the same beautiful sugar-free orange flavor that we have in the kids neurovite so we use that to make this magnesium chewable and it's 150 milligrams per chewable you take two or three of those and you should be all set i like that that's fantastic that's most of my questions do you have any other ones that you want to add to that that's sort of the general you, if we just think, Paris, what are the objections people have had

to supplements? I don't want to take so many pills. That's why we developed the Bright Minds powder. Is there really any science? I like that a lot. I may not... It may not, like, work immediately. I mean, when do you get, for example, with omega-3 fatty

acids, when do you get the optimal benefit from the omega-3 fatty acids, when do you get the optimal benefit from the omega-3 fatty acids? With the omega-3s, it takes four to five months to build them up in your cell membranes. One point I wanted to make with respect to supplements is that it's a very good idea to get tested for as many of the vitamins and minerals as you can and for the omega-3s. We do that. There's a very, and for the omega-3s. And we do that.

It's a very easy test called the omega-3 index. And if you can get your omega-3 index above eight, then you have protection against all sorts of things that can go wrong in the body. But even with a powerful supplement like our omega-3 power, it still takes a few months to get the index to go up. Now, with the cheap omega-3 products, as you takes a few months to get the index to go up. Now, with the cheap omega-3 products, as you would find in many pharmacies, the basic omega-3, you might take it for years and never get past eight on the omega-3 index. Well, what's funny is Lorenzo, our copywriter,

when he first came to see us, he'd been taking omega-3s for years. And when we tested his level, it was five. And I'm like, you need to throw that out and take this. So I convinced him to take Omega-3 power and two months later we tested him again and it was 10. Yes, yours is awesome. So realistically... I'm not very competitive so... Realistically, and I've looked into this very very carefully and you know i have my

obsessive side too it really takes at least two soft gels per day of our omega-3 power but it won't hurt me to take 3 or 4 absolutely not no if you have an issue if you have any sort of issue with your brain that's affecting your productivity right you want to go to four or what if you have like a history of health issues where you have a tendency toward inflammation? Anything where you feel you need help, you're best off to take four of the omega-3 power. Well, it has been a joy to be with you. Thank you so much. Please watch our first video with Dr. Kidd on general information.

It was just an overall video on why should I take supplements. It's loaded with just so many more details. You have been so helpful. Thank you. It's been such a blessing to have you with us. Thank you. It's really a pleasure to work with the Amen family. Thank you for being part of our family.

Thank you. Stay with us.