Hi Docs,
Are there any supplements worth taking that protect the brain from stress?
What do you mean?
Oxidative stress
Did you know that you experience oxidative stress every time you exercise, as there is increased oxygen flux through your mitochondria? Oxidative stress is not inherently “good” or “bad”; rather, the acuity/chronicity and other physiologic context influences the ultimate effects on the body.
Our strongest recommendations for mitigating adverse oxidative stress are described here:
https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog…ove-my-health/
If you are not meeting all of these targets, we would recommend focusing on that before looking at supplements. With that said, the supplements that would counteract oxidative stress are generally known as “antioxidants”, and the available evidence does not support routine antioxidant supplementation.
I hear the term “Neuroprotective” being thrown around a lot. Does it have any other meaning besides oxidative stress, like protecting the brain from psychological stress, damage, cell death …?
I am recovering from depression. The worst of it has long gone, and I’m doing therapy, but the damage to my brain over years of chronic stress has impaired my central nervous system. It has now found a new baseline, which contributes to anorgasmia. I’m not depressed in terms of mood, but my CNS is depressed, and I don’t know if I’ll ever recover. Is there any way to “jumpstart” it? If I were stress-free - protecting my brain from further damage - how long would the nervous system take to recover? This is an important question, and I’d like to know if there are any studies on that … certainly there should be some on drug addicts who recovered, which might have some value.
There is not much evidence or understanding of long-term changes to the CNS due to depression. I would not assume that anorgasmia is related to “CNS” damage. Depression itself can interfere with libido, of course, as can a number of medications including many antidepressants. If you haven’t discussed that with your psychiatrist, now would be a good time.
there have been studies looking at “neuroprotective” drugs in disease states such as anoxic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s, but the only thing that has really panned out so far (to my knowledge) is hypothermia in acute anoxia, which doesn’t help us much in regular life. As far as the neuroprotective or “nootropic” supplements touted here and there, they remain in the category of snake oil, as their claims are unencumbered by evidence.
in my view, the best way to care for your brain is the same as the way you care for your heart, as your brain has tons of minute structures supported by a microcirculation: Have normal blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol (or do what it takes to get them). Exercise regularly. Don’t smoke or overuse alcohol. Get enough sleep and be on a regular schedule. Treat depression or other mental illness with meds and/or therapy. Maintain nourishing personal relationships and manage stress proactively. Easy, right?
keep training. I’m glad to hear the worst of your depression is behind you. I am sure there are more positive changes in store for you if you stay the course.
jfsully
Yes, but this is a large rabbit hole that I don’t think is worth going into here.
I’m glad to hear your depression is improving, but I don’t think it’s either accurate nor helpful to fixate on the idea of your brain/nervous system being “damaged”. I agee with Dr. jfsully that anorgasmia has a number of possible causes - the most obvious being any antidepressant medication that you may be taking (and if not, there are other possibilities that can be evaluated by your physician as well).
I would also point out that the idea of being “stress free” is not a realistic goal for anyone who is alive. This is analogous to our rehab clients who might want to live “pain free”, but this is an unrealistic goal. Rather, we aim to develop the skills & strategies to more effectively respond to these stressors and self-manage as much as possible – and this is taught in several forms of psychotherapy, as you may know.
in my view, the best way to care for your brain is the same as the way you care for your heart, as your brain has tons of minute structures supported by a microcirculation: Have normal blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol (or do what it takes to get them). Exercise regularly. Don’t smoke or overuse alcohol. Get enough sleep and be on a regular schedule. Treat depression or other mental illness with meds and/or therapy. Maintain nourishing personal relationships and manage stress proactively. Easy, right?
Exactly - this basically sums up what’s suggested in the article linked above. Once those are all addressed, I’d probably take some creatine, but that’s about it.
My sleep has been very poor for a long time, but I’m 3 days into a new sleep schedule. I forced myself to go to sleep at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each morning. Things are much easier now. I will continue with this sleep habit. Perhaps my circadian rhythm will adjust, and my anorgasmia will be cured, since I tend to have brain fog/depression in large part because of poor sleep quality. I will also go see my doctor in June for an at-home sleep study to see if I have a problem with breathing.