The 3 Pillars of Brain Health

At first glance, brain health may seem super complicated.

But, you don’t need to be a Functional Neurologist like me to know how to take your brain health and your life to the next level. You just need to know a few basic principles, and then act on them.

Let me break down the 3 Pillars of Brain Health for you, a holistic approach to brain health that I pieced together after healing my own brain.

I’ve used it to help thousands of patients heal their brains and it's important information if you, too, are on a quest to heal yours. 

The first pillar of brain health is your Physical Brain

Your physical brain consists of all the different brain cells that make up your brain and nervous system, and the communication pathways that exist between them. These form the structure of your brain.

Problems in this pillar can muffle the communication between your brain cells and lead to symptoms like chronic migraines, ADD, and post-concussion syndrome.

The second pillar of brain health is your Chemical Brain

Your chemical brain is the neurochemical environment that your physical brain exists in, the neurochemical milieu so to speak. 

Things like inflammation, hormonal imbalance, weak mitochondria, free radicals and toxins can lead to imbalances in your chemical brain, and impair the communication of your physical brain causing symptoms such as brain fog, poor memory, and anxiety.

Other factors that can impact your overall brain health and fall under the chemical brain:

1. If you have things such as blood sugar disorders like diabetes or hypoglycemia, where your blood sugar is too low
2. If you have inflammation or neuroinflammation where your flooded with inflammatory chemicals called cytokines in your nervous system
3. If you have mitochondrial dysfunction where you don't make enough ATP or energy to fuel your brain cells

The third, and most under-appreciated pillar, is your Emotional Brain.

This surprises most people but your mindset, the thoughts you think, and how you handle stress is a critical piece of the brain health puzzle.

There are 2 major steps you can take to start making a change in your Emotional Brain

1. Develop effective stress management practices
   
2. Shift your mindset about how you think about yourself, your health, and the world around you 

I’d love to talk with you more about the 3 pillars of brain health, which is why I filmed this video for you on my Thursday night show.

Click play to watch the video below and let me know in the comments what questions you have for me. Would love to hear from you!

Now that you understand the 3 pillars of brain health, you can begin to understand how all of those things contribute to overall brain health. These pillars are the foundation from which we're going to begin talking about the different actions you can take to support each pillar over the coming weeks. 

If you are struggling with a neurological condition, these actions in the next few blogs are going to be very important for you. However, even if you're just hoping to have a healthier brain, each week I'm going to give you actionable information and steps that you can take to do just that. 

Here's to your health!

Dr. Titus Chiu