Is your brain function less than optimal? Maybe you're forgetting things more than you'd like to, or maybe you're feeling scattered, or slower to process information and more burnt out from thinking work. Fatigue can significantly impact brain function. So can inflammation in your gut. BDNF, or brain-derived neurotrophic factor, is a protein made by cells throughout your body that plays a key role in brain health, as it impacts neuronal growth and survival (and repair), learning and memory (neural plasticity), as well as mood (by modulating neurotransmitters) and metabolism (supporting glucose metabolism, satiety and energy).
There can be a number of causes of suboptimal brain function (see my post on the Better Brain Protocol for various underlying issues), for today, let's dig into some of the tools you can use to raise your BDNF and support your brain.
Later - when you're ready for a full assessment, reach out and book an individualized appointment for your personalized care plan - which considers family history, diagnosed conditions, medications you are using and takes a critical look at labs to rule out and assess for contributing factors.
Ways to raise BDNF:
In addition to daily exercise, enough sleep, and eating an anti-inflammatory (vegetable-forward) diet, consider these 3 tips:
1) Lion's mane mushroom - whole food or extract (hericium erinaceous)
Best consumed daily, this functional food is exceptional brain food with a regenerative power for your nerves - both central and peripheral (meaning supporting nerve impairment in the brain, gut, and throughout the body)! Because of its gut-brain connection, it also benefits your digestion - reducing inflammation, feeding a healthy gut microbiome and repairing the lining of your GI tract. Its affinity for your nervous system includes an ability to remyelinate nerves in your brain (a process that is a feature in conditions like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Multiple Sclerosis and any conditions where oxygen to the brain is reduced - including sleep apnea and brain injuries/concussions. Also, low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1), B12, and vitamin D are associated with demyelination. The research on lion's mane's remyelinating power is still in the early stages so stay tuned! For mental health, lion's mane supports mood by reducing inflammation, as well as supporting dopamine and serotonin. It combats the demeylinating effects of chronic stress on your nervous system.
TIP: make sure any supplement you use is a hot-water extracted form, standardized to the % beta glucan content - which should be a minimum of 25-40%
If you need product recommendations, please reach out!
2) Lemon balm (melissa officinalis) - dried or fresh leaf, or tincture
This herb makes the list for brain supporting tools, as it is also a supportive player in sleep and gut disturbances. It's known to benefit the nervous system, and more recent research suggests it affects BDNF. Lemon balm can help to increase oxygenation of tissues and balance mood by raising the calming neurotransmitter GABA.
TIP: Try this in a tea form in the evening, especially if you are in need of more restful sleep.
3) Caffeine & Coffee - the double-edged sword (consider green tea!)
While there is research on the benefits of caffeine - including its ability to raise BDNF, there is reason to be cautious about your total coffee intake. Two Harvard studies showed that too much coffee increases the risk of dementia - most recently (2024), it was found that drinking more than three cups of coffee a day was linked to faster cognitive decline over time. Likely the polyphenols in coffee and green tea provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, but other components of the coffee may have a negative effect at too high of a dose. There are studies that show drinking 1-2 cups of coffee per day have a protective effect against Alzheimer's disease - though perhaps green tea would have the same effects.
TIP: If you have anxiety or get the jitters from coffee, try green tea (other benefits of green tea: a calming compound L-theanine, as well as blood sugar balancing EGCG which breaks tau protein clumping that occurs in Alzheimer's disease, although it is not easy to get the EGCG molecule into the brain)
Green tea brewing tips: Remember that green tea is brewed at a temperature less than boiling, and lower than coffee (burnt green tea doesn't taste good!) - if you boil water, it needs to sit for over 15 minutes before it gets down to the right temperature to add the tea leaves - or use a kettle with preset temperatures: ~ 140 F (for gyokuru - my current favourite green tea type - highly recommended!) to 180 F (for sencha).
Other foods and herbs that have been found to raise BDNF:
Turmeric root (or the extract curcumin)
Saffron
Rosemary
Cinnamon
Extra virgin olive oil
Pomegranate
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