Stop Your Brain From Shrinking

Dear Health Conscious Reader,

Did you know our brains shrink as we age?

Over the course of your life, your brain will lose five to 10 percent of its weight. It starts around your 20th birthday.

There are two things I want to tell you about today that can help prevent this very unfortunate consequence of aging.

One is an herb, and the other is a nutrient.

The herb I’m going to tell you about can actually help you to grow new brain cells.

For years, science believed that the adult human brain could not grow new brain cells. They thought we were born with all the brain cells we’ll ever have. And that when they were gone, they were gone for good.

But a breakthrough study by Princeton biologists Elizabeth Gould and Charles Gross put all that into question.

The study published in the Journal of Science detailed their new discovery – the daily growth of new brain cells in the adult macaque monkey. At the time, their results strongly implied that the same thing happens in humans.

Because of this discovery, we now know your brain can grow new cells.1

Putting back the growth factors that decline with age is the best way to slow down the shrinking of the brain.

One of the ways you can help your brain produce more of these growth factors is by taking an herb called Gotu kola.

In a recent study, Gotu kola extract helped increase neurite growth in human brain cells, proving that this supplement was responsible for this growth.2

Here are three of the most common ways to take Gotu kola:

  1. As an extract, like the one used in the study. Take 10 drops per day.
  2. As a dried herb. You can make a tea of the dried leaf, three times daily.
  3. As a powdered herb (available in capsules). Take 400-600 mg, three times a day.

Two of the most important structures that your brain replaces are your neurites and dendrites. These are the stringy root-like branches that are extensions of your brain cells.

They’re like the wiring of a computer network. They allow one part of your brain to communicate with the other.

Loss of this network during your life can lead to memory loss and degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Here’s what you can do to help prevent this from happening to you…

Acetyl L-Carnitine (ALC) is a nutrient that stimulates the brain to produce growth factors. Factors that help maintain and rebuild neurites and dendrites.3

It increases the effects of nerve growth factor, which acts to re-grow neurites and dendrites.

The best sources of ALC are grass-fed beef, poultry, fish, and dairy products. Fruits, vegetables, and grains contain relatively little.

You can also get it in supplement form at your local vitamin shop or health-food store. I recommend taking 500 mg twice a day on an empty stomach.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

  1. Sarter, M, Bruno, JP. “Developmental origins of the age-related decline in cortical cholinergic function and associated cognitive abilities.” Neurobiol Aging. 2004 Oct;25(9):1127-39.
  2. Garcia-Alloza M, Dodwell SA, Meyer-Leuhmann, M Hyman BT, Bacskai BJ. “Plaque-derived oxidative stress mediates distorted neurite trajectories in the Alzheimer mouse model.” J Neuropathol Exp Neuro. 2006 Nov;65(11): 1082-9.
  3. Barhwal K, Hota SK, Jain V, Prasad D, Singh SB, Ilavazhagan G (June 2009). “Acetyl-l-carnitine (ALCAR) prevents hypobaric hypoxia-induced spatial memory impairment through extracellular related kinase-mediated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 phosphorylation.” Neuroscience 161 (2): 501-14.