You had me at "Brain Food"

We've already established my complete adoration of everything healthy, so it probably won't shock you that I got way too excited when I started looking into this beauty:

It's one thing to feel like a 94-year-old grandmother at the age of 24. I can find ways to deal with that. But it's an entire horse of a different color to feel like you have lost your mind. I can't tell you how many times I would walk into my boss's office, get an assignment, then walk out and think, "wait. What am I supposed to do?" and then have to turn around and start all over again. It's SO frustrating! (Not to mention that he thought I was going crazy too!) I finally went to my holistic genie to find out what the heck was going on. She told me about research that she had been doing on brain function and how if our neurotransmitters (they bee-bop signals from neuron to neuron (i.e. hand: "I hurt." *insert neurotransmitter receptor traveling from hand to brain* brain: "hand hurts! Do not touch hot stove!") are even the slightest bit off, that it can lead to brain fog, fatigue, forgetfulness, and so much more.

Hmm.

She recommended that I 1) read the book "The Edge Effect" by Eric R. Braverman (I'll admit that it took me far too long to take the time to read this book, but, holy freaking mother of a moo thing, it makes SO. MUCH. SENSE.); 2) take this test to determine if I was deficient in any of the essential brain neurotransmitters; and 3) start the process of fixing the issue.

I took the test and, sure enough, I was highly deficient in Gamma AminoButyric Acid.

Here's what Gamma AminoButyric Acid Receptors ("GABA") are as defined by www.alleydog.com:

GABA functions as the major chemical messenger that slows and stops chemical reactions throughout the central nervous system. The receptor also reacts to other chemicals....that increase the inhibition of the neuron. When certain muscles are not inhibited and told when to stop moving, they can spasm painfully.  

(Emphasis added)

Now, in human terms: when your brain can't get all of the right neurotransmitters (the little gems that tell your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, your stomach to digest, your brain to be alert or to rest) to shoot to all parts of your body, you get wacky. Wacky in the brain, wacky in the joints....just plain wacky. They affect your mood, your sleep, your concentration, your overall health. Those little gems affect everything.

Now you see why they're important, right?

The general  idea behind being GABA deficient is that, if you suffer from chronic pain (inflammation, joint/muscle/bone), this has been shown to be caused in part by a GABA deficiency.

So, since 3 of my auto-immune diseases cause inflammation, the positive result for being GABA deficient wasn't really a shock. (Even though it kiiiind of was. Because, I mean, I didn't think I would ever say "brain deficiency" when talking about myself.) Finding out about the deficiency did excite me though, because that meant I was one step closer to finding a way to figure out how to let my body heal itself!

My holistic genie (I really shouldn't call her that, she may not appreciate it..but she is!) advised that I slowly start introducing the suggested "brain vitamins" for GABA deficiency into my daily supplement routine and I reluctantly....but quickly jumped on board. I found all of the supplements either on amazon.com or at my local health foods store and came up with a schedule for adding each one to my daily routine.

I say "reluctantly" because adding the brain vitamins to my supplements added NINE (9) supplements to my already extensive list of daily vitamins. Adding 9....to an already long list of about 30. NINE. Those nine (9) were:

Inositol (2,000 mg)

GABA (1,000 mg)
Glutamic Acid (1,000 mg)

Melatonin (3-6 mg)

Thiamine [Vitamin B1] (600 mg)

Niacinamide [Vitamin B3] (500 mg) 

Pyridoxine [Vitamin B6](50 mg)

Valerian root (500 mg)

Passionflower (1,000 mg)

Y'all, I'm just going to be straight-up with you. The list of supplements that I should take still continues to grow and.... swallowing that many pills in a single day can be hard on a girl. Seriously. Trust me, I don't take all of those supplements for the heck of it. I'm taking them since I've had to deal with an absorption issue (read: my body doesn't know how to process/digest the foods that I eat and absorb the vitamins and minerals. It just goes straight through my body. No processing and turning into energy. So lame). I'm supplementing (HA...pun intended) with vitamins until we can straighten out the absorption problem. And, boy, will I do just about anything to remove some of those supplements from this ever-growing list. 

Insert: MCT Oil.

Medium Chain Triglycerides ("MCT") are able to bypass the stage of liver processing and go straight to the brain and muscles 3 times faster than the capsules and powders listed above to give you [basically] instant energy! (Read: they are super easy for your body to process.) MCT is said to help with weight loss (which I'm iffy on. But, alas, another post, another time), nutrient absorption, and E-N-E-R-G-Y. Sounds like some sort of magic, right? There's a huge spiel about the science behind medium chain vs. long chain vs. short chain but it made my brain hurt and I'm not here to get all scientific. Ahem.

Using MCT Oil is biiiiiig in the Ketogenic (high fat/low carb) Diet. I'm not sure how I feel about the Ketogenic Diet just yet, but athletes love it when they are hardcore training. But. My Uncle is an avid cyclist ("avid" as in, when I visited a month ago, he said he was going on a quick weekend cycling trip. When I asked how many miles were in a "quick weekend trip," he responded, "about 240." Yeah. just a quick trip. Excuse me while I go die from walking a couple of miles), tried going Keto, and had issues with it.

Anyway.

The Keto people like MCT Oil mostly for its incredible ability to aid in endurance training/muscle building/fat burning/overall performance. While this is good and I salute all of the athletic souls on the planet, I love that MCT Oil is also (more widely) known as "brain food" or "brain octane" basically meaning that it breaks down easily (bypassing liver processing) and goes straight to your brain (helping neurotransmitters fire) and your gut (helping heal "leaky gut" issues). After simply discovering that it helps to heal your gut and make your brain un-wacky, how could I not give it a try? The possibility of dropping those same nine (9) supplements/ per day that I had recently added and replacing them with 1 tablespoon of this so-called beloved magic elixir was like sweet music to my ears.

Here is my human take on what MCT Oil is.

After doing months of research on this stuff, I've found that MCT Oil is commonly made up of 4 different part of a coconut:

C-6 (Caproic Acid) - Why this one is included actually stumped me for a hot minute. Apparently it tastes bad, can make your throat burn, and can give you tummy troubles. A lot of MCT Oil brands have C-6 included. Mine (pictured above) does not. 

C-8 (Caprylic Acid) - THIS is your "brain obtain" right here. It is the rarest part of coconut oil (contained in about 6% of the coconut). It also has the highest benefits (it has huge anti-microbial properties to name one) helping to obtain optimal gut and brain health. It breaks down easily and quickly turns into ATP (energy!) giving you a quick boost without a nasty crash that you would get from artificial energy drinks + supplements. It would take 18 tablespoons of coconut oil to reap the benefits of just 1 tablespoon of Caprylic Acid. (I oil pull with 1 tablespoon just about every day and nearly gag. I can't imagine trying to figure out how to down 18 tablespoons. Nuh uh.)

C-10 (Capric Acid) - This one is the second rarest part of coconut oil (9%), takes a liiiiittle while longer to process into energy, is more affordable than C-8, but is still crazy beneficial and turns into ATP rather quickly. It would take about 6 tablespoons of coconut oil to reach its 1 tablespoon.  

C-12 (Lauric Acid) - This just makes me chuckle because I have no clue why it's even listed with all of the nasty things people say about it. It's technically a Long Chain Triglyceride, requiring a pretty decent-size stop in the liver to process, can raise cholesterol (this isn't necessarily a bad thing because sometimes your levels get too low causing everything else to get wacky). Some say that it has anti-microbial properties -- which is does -- but the shorter-chain triglycerides are much more beneficial and 10 times easier to process, so why even bother to add it to an MCT Oil? Be careful in choosing your brand of MCT Oil because some companies will add C-12 because, since it's found in about 50% of coconut oil, it is hella cheap. Some are mislead into thinking that it actually does have the same benefits as C-8 and C-10, so they add it to their oil to make it more affordable. But it just isn't. My advice would be to avoid it. You are what you put in your mouth and I, personally, have spent FAR too much time healing my body to put crap back into it. (Take that advice as far as you'd like. 😗)

The Oil that I found only has C-8 and C-10 in it and, to be quite honest and fair, it wasn't that expensive. It was in the $30 range, but supplements just aren't cheap, guys! The company that I buy from, Left Coast Performance, is a smaller company so they can keep the price pretty affordable (and it has actually dropped in price since I purchased it the first time). People swear up-and-down about Bulletproof Brain Octane as it only contains C-8. I still haven't tried it (but....one day).

I've been experimenting with MCT Oil vs. my 9 supplements for 3 months now and, although I still take GABA, Valerian Root, and Melatonin because they help me sleep better at night, my brain fog is basically nonexistent! I'm still a human though and humans still have days when they just. can't. brain. (which happens around 5:00 every Monday through Friday for me), but I'm a buhlievah! I highly recommend reading (or listening to - honestly, why don't I listen to more books-on-tape? I would probably be more productive in that aspect if I did) The Edge Effect and taking the test. You may be surprised with what you discover about your brain!

XOXO,

Heather

Side note - since I just spent 98763428 hours making Pies for Thanksgiving. Because, well, Thanksgiving. And then testing recipes for some new pies, I'm curious. How do you say "pecan?" "Pea-can" or "Puh-con"? My granddad always made the best Pecan Pie this side of the Mississippi when I was growing up. And I do believe I have finally figured out how to make it Paleo and still come about as close as I'll ever get to that same sweet taste and beautiful memory.......

You thought I was going to give you the recipe, didn't you?! No such luck - this one's staying under lock and key for now. 😌 I'll give you a picture though, so you can salivate:

I did, however, just get an Instant Pot!!! If you don't know what an Instant Pot is..... Oi. It just so happens to be the coolest thing that sits on a counter and is electric and can cook a full fledged Boston Butt in about an hour. AN HOUR. I've been wanting one for years, but they're expensive and....life, y'all. 

Amazon had a sale over Thanksgiving and I caved and finally got my very own, beautiful Instant Pot. And it is amazing. It's maiden voyage was my very first ever try at making Bone Broth. Normally, you put the carcass/bones in the crockpot or on the stove and then it cooks for 12-24 hours to pull all of the nutrients from the organ meats and bones. Then you strain all of the bones and gunk from the broth and viola! Bone Broth is born. (I did, however, just discover that if you blend the bones into  the bone broth it becomes even more beneficial. Who knew? Probably a lot of people. I'm still learning, y'all!)

AND, since I love you so much, here's the recipe:

Bone Broth
Makes: 3 quarts + 2 pints

Ingredients:
1 whole Turkey carcass (or a hodge podge of beef bones)
4 quarts filtered water
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar (with "The Mother")
4 Celery Stalks, cut in half
3 Bay Leaves
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients in your Instant Pot. 

Press the "Manual" Button and adjust the time (+) to 120 minutes.

 

It takes about 20-30 minutes for it to fully pressurize, then it starts the countdown. 

Once it's finished, it will buzz. Or ding. Or make noise. Whatever you want to call it. Then you unlock the lid, remove the pot insert (it's hot - be careful), pour through a strainer into a bowl, then ladle into jars. 

Cool completely before securing the lids onto the jars. You now have bone broth. #boom