WELLNESS AUTHOR
Ann Shippy, M.D.
5 TIPS FOR A BETTER BRAIN n Functional medicine doctor, Ann Shippy, gives us her advice for better brain health.
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o matter our age, our brains can always use a little extra love and attention. While we may think that declining brain health is a normal part of aging and our lapses in memory are simply “senior moments,” I’m here to tell you that changes in brain function are anything but normal. Symptoms like poor cognition, lack of focus, memory loss and “brain fog” are signs of deeper imbalances, which are often restored by dialing in important pieces of the diet and lifestyle. In my practice, I see patients report declines in brain function in
AUGUST 2020
as early as their 20s and 30s. As a functional medicine doctor, it’s my job to understand why. I don’t just identify the symptoms and find a way to mask them; I uncover the root cause of the issue in order to promote healing at a deeper level. Sometimes a root cause is very clear — e.g. a concussion or traumatic brain injury — but what about for those of us that notice subtle changes in our clarity, focus, and mindset without a single event to attribute it to? What can we do about it? First, it’s helpful to understand that everything is connected in the body. While we once thought that the brain controls the body from
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the top down, we now know that it’s a two-way street. One great example is the gutbrain access. Communication between the brain and the digestive system goes both ways meaning the health of the digestive system, including the gut microbiome, greatly influences brain health. Because of this connection, anything that influences the gut (food, stress, toxins) also impacts the brain. Often, I find that when we restore gut health, brain symptoms diminish. As we walk through my list of the top 5 ways to improve brain health, keep these connections in mind. It might just give you some clues
