What are the brain killers?
Dr. Martin calls the brain headquarters, the federal government of the body, and says it takes the first 25% of the food you eat. Over the years he has put the label "brain killer" on a handful of things. Pull them together and you get six.
He points to a shift in 2022, when the research moved from blaming plaque in the brain to energy in the brain: the mitochondria, the battery packs. So his brain killers are the things that wreck the blood vessels, drain the batteries, or stop the brain cleaning itself while you sleep.
This is not the same list as brain fog. If your problem is a foggy head today rather than protecting your memory for later, start with what causes brain fog in women over 60.
1. Sugar, and what it does to blood supply
Sugar is first on his list. He thinks about the brain the way he thinks about the eyes: it is all about blood supply.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1709It's sugar. Sugar destroys blood vessels. And it should be so obvious to even a first year medical student.
Then he runs down the organs and lands on the brain.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1709What destroys kidneys? Sugar. Not salt. Not cholesterol. What destroys your brain? Sugar.
For him that is the link behind Alzheimer's being called type 3 diabetes, and he says pre-diabetes already puts you on the Titanic. The full story on that label is in what is type 3 diabetes.
2. High fructose corn syrup
He separates high fructose corn syrup from ordinary sugar. He calls it the antichrist of sugars, in everything from cereal to ketchup, and says fructose goes to the liver and the brain instead of being handled like glucose.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1709It's a different puppy. It ain't good for you. It ain't good for your brain. It's processed differently and it creates an inflammation in the body.
In an earlier episode he used the words outright.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 861High-fructose corn syrup. It is a brain killer. It is an anxiety accelerator. It is a depression motivator.
He is not talking about whole fruit. Eat a fruit if you want one, he says, but do not drink it, because juice puts the fructose into your liver in a nanosecond.
3. Statin drugs
This one surprises people. Your brain is made of cholesterol, he says, so why drive it down? His bigger point is CoQ10. He says statin drugs destroy CoQ10, the spark plugs of the mitochondria.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1709Worst medication that you can ever take for your brain, in my opinion, is a statin drug, okay? Is a statin drug.
He is careful in the next breath: he says he cannot tell you not to take it. That decision belongs with you and your doctor. He goes further on this in should a woman over 60 take a statin.
4. Sleep apnea and broken sleep
He read out a headline calling sleep apnea the most underrated brain killer in the world, and agreed. Your brain has its own clean-up crew, the glymphatic system, that works while you sleep. Sleep apnea breaks up the sleep cycle and cuts oxygen to the brain.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1572Well you have to prioritize sleep when it comes to the brain, okay?
Then he added what the article left out. Insulin, he says, gives you a fatty tongue, and that means less oxygen to the brain.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1572Insulin resistance is often at the root of sleep apnea.
And a sleeping pill is not the answer.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1572And there's no repair taking place when you're sedated, so don't sedate yourself. You need to get sleep.
If getting to sleep is your problem, see why can't I sleep after 60 for where he looks first.
5. High cortisol
He says cortisol does the same damage to the memory cells that sugar does. The drip, drip, drip of cortisol keeps you awake, so the brain never gets washed.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 788You don't sleep, your cortisol goes up. Your cortisol goes up, you don't sleep.
And he ties it to memory.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 788Dementia and Alzheimer's coming to a theater near you, because the cortisol is a brain killer.
His first steps: get your cortisol tested, change your diet so insulin comes down, and keep the bedroom cool and dark. Can't sleep at night? Take a 15 to 20 minute nap in the day.
6. Yeast after antibiotics
The last one starts in the gut, where he says the ugly bacteria is yeast. He credits antibiotics with saving lives. His problem is overuse, because they kill the good bacteria with the bad.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 641And that creates havoc, because now you get an overgrowth of candida and fungus. It comes in, there's no bacteria to stop them. And folks, it will kill your brain.
He believes the poison yeast makes can reach the brain through the blood, and ties it to Parkinson's. His answer is a probiotic to replenish the gut. Women who keep getting yeast infections will find more in what sets off yeast infections in older women.
How to protect your brain from the brain killers
His advice comes back to food. Cut the sugar and high fructose corn syrup first. He says 21 days forms a habit and double that seals it.
"If you do nothing else in your life and you read labels and you cut way back on sugar, you're going to do your body a huge favor."
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1709Then feed the brain what it is made of.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1709And no, one of the best things you can do for your brain is to eat an egg. Why? It's got choline.
Steak gives you L-arginine for blood supply, he says, and creatine. And there is DHA, which he calls huge because it lubricates the blood vessels.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 170960% of your fat in your brain is DHA. And the only way to get DHA is to get it from the animal kingdom.
He takes DHA himself every day. Add a probiotic for the gut, protect your sleep, and get your cortisol and your blood sugar checked. For his full case on fish oil, read why Dr. Martin wants DHA after 60.
Common questions
What are the brain killers?
Dr. Martin names sugar, high fructose corn syrup, statin drugs, sleep apnea and broken sleep, high cortisol, and yeast that overgrows after antibiotics.
What is the biggest brain killer?
For Dr. Martin it is sugar, because sugar destroys blood vessels and the brain depends on its blood supply.
Is sleep apnea a brain killer?
He agrees with the headline that called it the most underrated brain killer: it cuts oxygen to the brain and stops the brain cleaning itself at night.
Do statins affect the brain?
In his opinion a statin is the worst medication for the brain because it destroys CoQ10, though he says he cannot tell you not to take one. Talk to your doctor.
What foods protect the brain?
He points to eggs for choline, steak and other meat, and DHA, the fat your brain is made of, which comes from the animal kingdom.
Feed the fat your brain is made of
Dr. Martin takes DHA every day to protect his brain. DHA Upgraded is the clinic's high DHA fish oil, in softgels, for the days the fish is not on your plate.
60-day money-back guarantee. Take it alongside better food, never in place of it.
