Change Your Brain Every Day - Why the Coronavirus is Hitting Americans So Hard

Episode Date: January 11, 2021

As the new year begins and a new surge of coronavirus stokes the flames of fear in our country, we may be compelled to ask why it is that the COVID numbers appear to be so high in comparison to some other countries. In this episode of The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel and Tana Amen share their thoughts on the cause of this phenomenon, and it’s probably not what you think. The Amens then give you tips and strategies to keep yourself healthy and safe in the new year. 

Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. In our podcast, we provide you with the tools you need to become a warrior for the health of your brain and body. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is brought to you by Amen Clinics, where we have been transforming lives for 30 years using tools like brain spec imaging to personalize treatment to your brain. For more information, visit amenclinics.com.

The Brain Warriors Way podcast is also brought to you by BrainMD, where we produce the highest quality nutraceuticals to support the health of your brain and body. To learn more, go to Brainmd.com. Welcome back. You know, if you are new to the Brain Warriors Way podcast, the Brain Warriors Way podcast is really based on the book you and I wrote together, The Brain Warriors Way. Right, which is based on mastery. We love the whole brain warrior concept. And the idea behind it is you're in a war. Right. And never more true than now.

Watch The Social Dilemma on Netflix, and it'll clearly give you the idea. Well, and we just came out of, we're not even out of a pandemic yet. We've been quarantined, people are getting sick, the social uprising, the political nonsense, it's clear. That you're in a war. Especially for your mental health. Everywhere you go, someone is trying to shove bad food down your throat that will kill you early. That we often say the real weapons of mass destruction are highly processed, pesticide sprayed, high glycemic, low fiber, food-like substances stored in plastic containers.

But now I actually feel like the news is neck and neck, if not a head. Well, the news, in fact, in the next episode, we're going to talk about something called doom scrolling. And so if you have the bad food, I mean, you got to ask yourself, why has America been hit so hard with the coronavirus, including coronavirus deaths? And I would submit it's because we're one of the unhealthiest places on earth with 72% of the population overweight, 42% obese, diabetes or pre-diabetes affecting 50%, 5-0% of the population, that hypertension actually

affects 60% of the population is hypertensive or pre-hypertensive, this is not okay. And in the Brain Warriors way, we talked about the answer to these epidemic problems is not to see them as single or isolated disorders, but to see them as the same expression of the unhealthy lifestyle that we have been gifted by our society. And if you are going to survive and thrive, you have to become a brain warrior. And in the book, we talk about this concept of mastery, where is mindset? Are you a sheep or are you a sheepdog? Do you follow the crowd? Do you do what everyone else says? Or do you think for yourself? Are you highly trained? And pets now completely need to be sheepdogs. And you're my favorite sheepdog. Thank you. Right? I mean, we have a beautiful white shepherd

he's not a sheep dog he's a therapist he is the sweetest thing ever come here for those of you that are watching we'll introduce you to aslan this is aslan he's so sweet so but he doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body he's a a therapy dog. And sheepdogs are gifted with the gift of aggression, just like wolves are. The difference is their intention. Or protection. And the A is assessment. Yeah. That you have to know.

I mean, that's why we do imaging at Amen Clinics. Or you can go to our brain health assessment and know your brain type and how healthy your brain is. We also say, and the beginning of the year is a great time to get your important health numbers checked. Like your best defense against COVID is your immune system. That's the thing I've been working the hardest on because that's what got hit so hard for me after 10 medical, you know, after 10 surgeries for medical issues and going through so many treatments and having the cancer come back and all the medications they put me on. I knew when I heard about COVID, I'm like, okay, like immunity is my strongest defense, but immunity is my strongest defense. Right. So a good vitamin D level. BrainMD has a new product we love,

NeuroC. It's a liquid. It is a liposomal vitamin C, which is the important type of vitamin C to take. Along with smart mushrooms and happy saffron, which by far my favorite BrainMD supplement. I take it every day. But it contains zinc, right? Contains zinc. So that's another important one. And saffron, a brand new study out showing that saffron actually attacks the spike protein that is found on COVID-19. So your best defense is your immune system. And I'm still, I'm shocked that people, they're still studying people who get COVID, especially the ones who get it really badly that don't have it like a cold, right? That they get really sick and get hospitalized. They're still finding that these people are low in these nutrients, that they're

low. And I'm like, we have such an ability now to spread this news. So for the average person, these supplements aren't expensive. And for some people, we get it. For some people, they are. But I feel like we need to do a better job of making these available to everyone because this is going to save us so much in the long run. The S is sustenance, which we talked a lot about, eating the right food. So avoiding the weapons of mass destruction. And basically think of a plate, as many plants as you can put on that plate that are colorful, high quality protein, healthy fat. Lots of fiber.

And fiber. Fiber is just so good to strengthen your gut health. It's got prebiotics. You want the right kinds of fiber to which if you're eating the right foods, you're going to get it. But you want to be feeding those good bugs in your gut. So you not only need the good bugs in your gut, you got to feed them. And fiber does that. The T is training. You have to train your brain, you have to train your mind to do the right things. Right.

And so I often say, you know, one of the reasons that I chose the metaphor of a warrior when I was sick and I felt so weak and I felt like I was out of control. My life just felt out of control was because I thought, what is the opposite of me? Because I need something the opposite of me right now. And so I latched onto this idea of being a warrior. Um, cause I was just so fascinated with, you know, just, just the sheer power and ability and agility of these, of these people that protect us. And so that's kind of what I latched onto. And one thing, when I started practicing martial arts that you learn is, you know, warriors don't show up on fight day and think they're going to win unless they've been training every day. And so that's you need to think about your health that's how you need to think about your mental health you don't show up on fight day when when there's a war going on and think you're going to win if you have not been training every day e is essence which is basically why do you care? You wrote most of that chapter in the book. It's about

turning pain into purpose. Which is why I wrote my book, the one that just came out, The Relentless Courage of a Scared Child. It's about using those terrible stories, the things you've been through, your trauma to be someone else's transformation ours responsibility brain warriors are responsible that you know you are modeling hell or you are modeling illness by your behavior now responsibility as tana always says, is not about fault or blame. It's not about blame. It's about the ability to respond. Right. But let us not forget, it's not just about us.

It's about generations of us. When a baby girl is born, she's actually born with all of the eggs she'll ever have. So when you had Chloe, you were actually carrying the genetic material of your grandbabies. And this is so important to think about. That's why we need to be brain warriors. And why is years long. This isn't a program to lose 10 pounds. This is a program to get control of your brain and your body for the rest of your life.

And so, you know, once you're a warrior, you don't stop being a warrior. You know, it's something you take in. And as you know, I'm 66 now, that as I get into my 70s, 80s, 90s, I need to be more serious about my health, not less serious. You know, I love my four children, and my five grandchildren, but quite frankly, I never want to have to live with them. I never want to be dependent on them and I don't want to be a burden. But the only way that's going to happen as I go

into my older years is if I take good care of myself. And you know, I did a great video recently with Natalie, who is the director of our social media. And she's amazing. The minute I met her, I knew I had to hire her. She at 15 years old broke her neck and she's a quadriplegic, not was, is. And so find an inspiration. So she's one of my people that I look to for inspiration because it's hard, especially in a pandemic, there are days, like I'm constantly in pain,

which I never had before. So I've got constant back pain now. Um, I won't take anything for it. It's just who I am. And there's this, there's this tendency to want to go, okay, I'm going to baby this. I'm going to get into this now. Don't, don't get me wrong. I want to protect myself. I don't want to cause more damage, but whenever I think I can't do something or I just, I'm not going to do it today. I always think of Natalie. Natalie is a quadriplegic and every single day she gets up and works out. They told her she'd never walk again. She can walk with a walker across the room. I mean, she's astounding to me. So whenever I think I can't do something, I think of someone like Natalie and I'm like,

I can do something. I may not be able to do everything. I may not be able to do what I normally do. I can't go do karate today, but I can do something. So find someone that inspires you. On what you can do. And find a mentor. And that's the mindset of a brain warrior. Right. And so just basic training for brain warriors, mindset, are you a sheep or a sheepdog?

Assessment, we have to assess our brains and our bodies. Sustenance. What you eat matters. Training. We have to train our brain to look for what's right rather than what's wrong. Essence. Know why you care. Responsibility.

It's not about you, just about you. It's about generations of you. And years long. It's not for six weeks. It's for the rest of your life. What did you like? Write it down, post it on any of your social media sites, hashtag brain warriors way podcast. So relentless courage of a scared child out this week, January 5th. If you, congratulations. Thank you. If you either take a screenshot of this, if you are watching right now, take a screenshot of this, or you can go to relentlesscourage.com, get a screenshot of the website with the cover on it. Tag 10 friends, send it to 10 friends,

tag them, then tag me at Tana Amen, or you can go to brainwarriorswaypodcast.com and send me a message there, letting me know you tag 10 friends, show me that, that screenshot. And for the month of January, I will send you a signed copy. If you're enjoying the Brain Warriors Way podcast, please don't forget to subscribe

so you'll always know when there's a new episode. And while you're at it, feel free to give us a review or five-star rating as that helps others find the podcast. If you're interested in coming to Amen Clinics, use the code PODCAST10 to get a 10% discount on a full evaluation at amenclinics.com. For more information, give us a call at 855-978-1363.