Dr Ayesha Sherzai
Plant-based diet key to good brain health F
or a long time, says Ayesha Sherzai, the brain was this elusive organ that nobody had a better understanding of but thanks to neuro imaging and technology we now have a better view of what our brain looks like and how it functions. “When we look at imaging like angiograms and MRI we have found that the brain is one of the most vascular organs in the body.” Referring to a graphic representation (image opposite) presented as part of the Holistic Holiday webinars, she said you can tell there are more blood vessels than brain tissue. “There are millions of tributaries traversing inside and outside of the brain carrying oxygen and vital nutrients to different parts of the brain. This amazing organ is responsible for so many things. It’s our personality, its our feelings, our emotions it’s how we see things. It’s how we process information, it’s our memories. So, imagine when a highway is blocked - that is what stroke is all about. “Stroke essentially means when there is damage to these arteries, whether it is not getting blood to part of the brain or the blood vessels are damaged and blood is not reaching a particular part of the brain. You can see from different neuro imaging how plaque forms inside the arteries and blocks these pathways. “There are two main types of stroke. With an Ischemic stroke, plaque forms inside the arteries and that plaque causes the formation of clots and there is an impediment to the flow of blood. Then there is Haemorrhagic stroke which means that the walls of the arteries get very weak and damaged, and they break so there’s bleeding into the substance of the brain. “Both types are incredibly dangerous but 80 to 85% are Ischemic stroke, the clot type. For Haemorrhagic stroke the mortality is
16 wholefoodliving.life | Winter 2021
Dr Ayesha Sherzai MD is a stroke neurologist and with her husband, Dean, is part of teamsherzai.com. Dean is a medical doctor and behavioral neurologist. Both have devoted their careers to exploring the prevention of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. In this article, Ayesha discuses the role of lifestyle in preventing the most debilitating disease: stroke. very high. There are other types of stroke. When we talk about stroke, people are used to talking about having a paralysed arm or leg or not being able to see or speak – something really profound.
Silent strokes occur often “But there are silent strokes that occur all our lives. These are tiny and occur in different parts of the brain because the smaller arteries, the capillaries, they get either blocked or damaged because of multiple factors. “People may not notice this. They may carry on with their lives and have minimal symptoms like a mild headache or some mild memory problems or some mild symptoms like numbing or tingling in one part of the arm or leg. “It’s a very important fact because when you accumulate a lot of silent strokes people tend to have cognitive disorders. It’s called a vascular cognitive impairment. So, essentially, over many years people lose their speed in processing information. They take their time to remember things, they take their time to understand things. Their walking gets slower, their speech gets slower. They kind of feel a little disconnected from everyone else.
