Ready to take your brain health to the next level? Ready to be proactive, or even reverse, the signs of brain aging? Then this episode is definitely for you! We are fortunate to have “Amazon” John Easterling, Plant Medicine Formulator, with us again this week. He dives into the plant medicine treasures he’s found in the Amazon Rainforest that beautifully support healthy brain function and help you ward off brain aging. 

ABOUT "AMAZON JOHN" EASTERLING

Since 1976 John Easterling has been an explorer and treasure hunter in the Amazon Rainforest. It was there, after a personal health crisis, he was introduced to the traditional use of medicinal plants by the Indigenous People in Peru. 

Since then his passion for plant medicine has only accelerated.

 Easterling's original degree is in Environmental Studies, he founded the Amazon Herb Company in 1990 and serves on the board of the Amazon Center of Environmental Education and Research. 

Amazon John’s 28 years of Plant Medicine experience have been profiled on TV and Radio including "Good Morning America" and "Fox and Friends".  His product formulations have sold over $100 million worldwide.

John has been featured in two PBS documentaries, World News Report "Amazon John and Rainforest Medicines" and Jean Michel Cousteau's "Return to the Amazon." 

Easterling believes the dramatic growth and interest in plant medicine is still in its early stages and will continue to significantly improve life experiences and healthy outcomes into the future.

Causes of Alzheimer’s and Dementia

• Beta amyloid plaquing.
  • “So when you get plaquing, your spark plug would foul, and you couldn't start your engine. So same thing here. You get that plaquing in there, and it just can't transmit to the next one, and you don't remember. You can't access that data where you put your keys.”
• Tau tangle, where you get the neurons that really just become tangled.
• Inflammation is a really big deal, and actually these other factors are really caused by it. It's a kind of inflammatory response from your brain to protect itself sometimes, developing this amyloid plaquing to seal off what it sees as an insult.
• Involvement of Candida in brain issues.
  • Recent research showed was that people did not think before that the Candida could cross the blood brain barrier. Now they found that it actually can.
  • It travels through your body doing that, looking for a place to reside where the biological terrain is right. If you introduce a lot of sugar and a lot of carbs into that terrain, they really love that.
  • When these Candida cross that blood brain barrier, the brain recognizes that as an insult, and then you have this coating process. The brain will try to coat that to seal it off.

Prevention

• Lifestyle and diet - low sugar, more green vegetables
• Probiotics after a course of antibiotics - maintain a diverse colony-forming units of probiotics.
• Maintain healthy inflammation levels throughout the body.
• Exercise - improves the microcirculation to the brain.
• Sleep - get quality sleep each night (7-9 hours).
• Lower your exposure to environmental toxins.

Botanicals to Improve Brain Health

Una de Gato - Cat’s Claw

• Primarily known for its ability to stimulate the macrophage phagocytosis activity, which is our immune system.
• Source of epicatechins and the brain derived neurotropic.
• Stimulates neurogenesis - the creation of new brain cells.

Camu Camu

• Tremendous source for a whole food vitamin C.
• Powerful anti-inflammatory.
• Increases the proper cycling of serotonin.
• Potent source of polyphenols, quercetin, and resveratrol.

Bacopa

• Reduces brain amyloid levels in mice by as much as 60%.
• Increases cognitive function in humans.
• An ayurvedic plant.

Cinnamon - cinnamaldehyde

• Able to break down tau tangles.
• It’s anti-inflammatory.
• Balances sugar levels.

Cacao

• Is anti-inflammatory.
• Helps increase microcirculation in the brain.
• Contains epicatechins, which have been shown to be very helpful for brain chemistry and to help to slow down the death of healthy brain cells

Pau d'Arco

• Many medicinal properties include antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anti-parasitic.
• Scientists have found that Pau d'Arco has a unique, two-pronged effect on fungal infections. ... In this way, it is able to kill off a variety of bacteria, fungi, and yeast, including Candida albicans.
• Good source of polyphenols.
• Anti-inflammatory.

Dragon’s Blood - Sangra de Grado

• Pure antioxidant by dry weight.
• Great source of proanthocyanidins.
• Anti-inflammatory.
• Helps facilitate the breakdown of plaquing in the brain.

Guayusa

• Substitute for caffeine.
• Enables ‘first time’ memories to be recalled.
• Anti-inflammatory.

Signs of Alzheimer’s and Dementia

People may experience:

• Cognitive: mental decline, difficulty thinking and understanding, confusion in the evening hours, delusion, disorientation, forgetfulness, making things up, mental confusion, difficulty concentrating, inability to create new memories, inability to do simple math, or inability to recognize common things
• Behavioral: aggression, agitation, difficulty with self care, irritability, meaningless repetition of own words, personality changes, restlessness, lack of restraint, or wandering and getting lost
• Mood: anger, apathy, general discontent, loneliness, or mood swings
• Psychological: depression, hallucinations, or paranoia
• Also common: inability to combine muscle movements, jumbled speech, or loss of appetite