A Tribute To Gordon Downie

By Travis Wade

My good man Gordon Downie just passed through town for the last time. I’m very sad I never got the chance to see him. I’m terribly heartbroken the Tragically Hip lead singer doesn’t have long to live. He is a Canadian icon and has a knack for Canadian references in his songs that sound so natural and unforced. No one can do it the way Gordon Downie can do it. FYI Trois Pistoles is a cute little town near the coast in Quebec that I passed through on my way to Gaspé.

I’ll never forget my first van and how the CD player was broken and I couldn’t get Gordon Downie’s poetry album out of the CD player. There was the time they were playing a word of mouth gig at the Trailway Pub in Vancouver as they often did. 75 people in a small pub and the Tragically Hip. I ran all the way there and after standing in line for about 10 minutes they announced they were sold out.

I found myself on the roof looking at ways to break into the Trailway when I came to my senses and decided, maybe not get arrested that day. Another time I raced to Rexall from a job near Lloydminster to see if I could get a ticket at the box office, but the band already started playing and the box office was closed. This time I didn’t have to break in, but I snuck in and sat down and enjoyed the show. I have seen the Tragically Hip more times than any other band at 7 times.

The Brain

Although I am very sad Gordon Downie is going to pass and there is nothing I can do about it I want to pass on information to all of you that prevents cancer and brain degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

As an EMT, dementia and Alzheimer’s was seen in almost every patient living in an assisted living establishment. It’s so common it has become accepted as something that is inevitable with age. This couldn’t be more false.

The truth is brain degenerative diseases can be avoided with proper nutrition and exercise. That’s where I come in. I listen to Health Talks in my spare time everyday and I listen to hundreds of doctors talk about all kinds of diseases like cancer, thyroid problems, Alzheimer’s, etc. It doesn’t matter what the problem is, I hear the same things for all of them. So here is how to be healthy.

Avoid GMO’s. Stay away from white foods – sugar, flour, grains, dairy, potatoes – all foods with low nutrient value and high carb/glycemic index load. Lower your toxic load as much as possible, avoid food sensitivities, heal your gut with bone broth, find out what’s in your microbiome, correct dysbiosis (imbalance of good and bad bacteria of the gut), detox from heavy metals and other issues you might have; common ones are SIBO – small intestine bacteria overgrowth, and Candida which is a yeast overgrowth.

If there is something major to overcome, medication might be necessary, however, proper diet and exercise will give your body the optimal environment to recover and prevent relapse.

There are always specific things to help with specific issues, but today I will focus on brain problems and cancer in tribute to Gord Downie.

Cancer

The specifics for cancer beyond the above mentioned methods is a raw foods diet. There are books written on this and studies show pharmaceutical intervention in the treatment for cancer is futile. Juicing vegetables is the basis of the raw foods diet. Without sugar to feed the cancer growth and all the antioxidants in plant foods, an environment impossible for cancer to grow is created and in so many cases it reverses cancer growth.

Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric and the research keeps showing the positive effects of this powerful antioxidant. It helps with cancer and brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. If you supplement then a quality fish oil that isn’t rancid may help. If your cheap omega 3s taste like a rotten fish, you might want to upgrade. Of course eating the actual fish is going to have the best effect.

A quality multivitamin is always recommended and Sayer Ji from Green Med Info has brand names he recommends. If you want a recommendation just give me a text. Vitamin D is the biggest nutrient deficiency in North America and I’m sure our American friends get more than we do.

You’re not going to get a better source for vitamin D than the sun. The sun also detoxifies. You can never get enough sun and especially where we live. Take off your shirt and take off your sunglasses; you absorb most of your light through your eyes and I’ve heard one speaker say up to 90% of your light is absorbed with your eyes.

Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s is now being coined type 3 diabetes because Alzheimer’s is actually insulin resistance of the brain. This just means insulin can’t take sugar into the cells of the brain and brain cells die. The best solution doctors are recommending is coconut oil. MCT’s are great for weight loss for various reasons, but also great for the brain. Coconut oil has been seen to help reverse Alzheimer’s.

Dave Asprey, the founder of Bulletproof Coffee refines coconut oil to isolate the C8 in the coconut oil. C8 in particular does a liver pass and you will be in full ketosis in about a half hour. It’s instant ketones in the blood and doesn’t need insulin to feed the brain.

One more supplement I need to mention is according to research an apple a day reduces chances of Alzheimer’s by 37%. The sugar from a fruit affects the body much different than sugar extracted from fruit. High fructose corn syrup didn’t exist 60 years ago. Stay away from anything processed.

I wish you lots of health, love and happiness!

Travis Wade

The only holistic personal trainer in Edmonton

Want To Get Started On A New Lifstyle Right Away?

Or

Would You Like A Plan To Achieve Your Fitness Goals?

Learn More!

Sign Up For Online Personal Training!

Online Personal Training!

How To Increase Brain Function

By Travis Wade

Neural plasticity is the regeneration of new brain cells. You thought that was impossible? No, it’s possible. I’ll tell you how but first I have to explain a little bit about proprioception. Proprioception is the innate ability to know where your body is in space. There are a lot of proprioceptors on the feet which allows us to balance. More proprioception firing causes increased neural plasticity, brain function, and heightens all of our senses.

Inversely, inflammation in the body causes stiffness of the muscles and joints which decreases proprioception firings. Less proprioception firing decreases brain function. A good anti-inflammatory diet and learning proper mobilizers will help with stiffness. Come see me or send me a message for more help with the diet and exercise details.

Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Exercise

Neural plasticity requires Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor or BDNF. Intermittent fasting is still fairly new but has been around long enough for some studies that show it increases BDNF by up to 400%. Intermittent fasting just means narrowing your eating window down. For most people this would be skipping breakfast and not eating for three hours before bed. There are methods to the madness on intermittent fasting and healthy ways to do it. For details on intermittent fasting done right, contact me.

BDNF has massive protective factors on your neuromuscular junctions. Neuromuscular junctions are where the nerve stimulates the muscle. When people age part of the reason why people lose their strength is because of the breakdown of the neuromuscular junctions. BDNF is great to help prevent that.

In the Journal of Neurology, they state that physical exercise decreases age related brain shrinkage, increases cognition, and promotes neural plasticity. I’m sure we are all shocked with these findings, right? It does this in so many ways but a couple are increasing proprioceptive firing, increasing BDNF, and increasing blood flow.

Exercise also decreases the amount of stiffness for more proprioceptive firing. I’m sure you’ve noticed the more we move the more we feel alert. Exercise also increases myogenic regulatory factors which protect nerves.

Incidentally, leg strength is the biggest determining factor in brain function, (and your vertical BTW). Ya nerds still hate squats? Make sure you use proper form or you’ll wreck your body. Book a consultation with me. Correcting form is very individualized and needs in person attention but you can check out my video here for a quick overview on squats.

High Intensity Interval Training

High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT training is the best cardio exercise you can do to stimulate BDNF amongst other benefits. If you don’t know how to do this, book a consultation with me. It should be done once a week for massive cardio improvements and brain health. There are many different kinds of HIIT training and can also be individualized for your needs.

A Healthy Diet

A healthy diet is crucial to brain function and most of us have heard about the benefits of vegetables, however… according to the Open Heart Journal, healthy fats are crucial for brain function. Don’t skip your Omega 3’s.

I’m pretty sure most people are on to the fact that healthy fats are good for you in so many ways. There are hundreds of books written on this now and I’ve seen a few that have an avocado on the cover. Doctors are still recommending a plant based diet but a high fat plant based diet. I recommend an avocado a day and a handful of healthy nuts, grass fed butter, and coconut oil.

Neurotropic Factor

Anything that is a neurotropic factor is something that increases neural plasticity or brain cell production. BDNF is the most powerful neurotropic factor we have discovered but others exist. Coffee berry extract has shown to increase BDNF by 143%. I still don’t know where to get coffee berry or coffee cherry extract, (not to be confused with coffee bean extract). A couple other neurotropic factors are mushrooms and Dave Asprey’s Brain Octane Oil.

Mercury

Now for the grim truth we don’t want to think about. Some very smart people did a study at the university of Calgary to show the effect of small amounts of mercury on neurons. You have to see this unbelievable video. Detoxify your mercury.

We are all exposed to mercury. It’s in the air, tap water, and our food. The solution? Stop breathing, drinking, and eating. Or detoxify your mercury. Get as much sunlight as you can preferably in the morning. It has infrared light which is a great detoxifier. Selenium and zinc are also mercury detoxifiers.

The culprits: Tuna, sushi, coal burning, amalgam fillings, vaccines, occupational exposures, florescent light bulbs, thermostats, batteries, red tattoo dye, skin lightening creams, over the counter products such as contact lens fluid, neosynephrine and more. Reduce your exposure as much as possible.

If you are like me, you’ll have to get your fillings removed. The main way humans are exposed is contaminated fish and amalgam fillings. See a biological dentist about getting the fillings removed. A conventional dentist can do more harm than good by drilling out old fillings without proper precautions or protection.

Amalgam fillings might seem petty but it’s estimated that you get 3-17 ppm of mercury from them daily. They get approved as being safe but when they are removed they are considered toxic waste and are illegal to throw in the garbage. It’s ok to put them in your mouth but it’s not ok to put them in the garbage. You have to see this unbelievable video.