fbpx Skip to content
Sara Gottfried MD
  • Home
  • About Dr Sara
    • Media
    • Contact
  • Books
    • Women, Food, and Hormones
    • Younger
    • Brain Body Diet
    • Hormone Reset Diet
    • The Hormone Cure
  • Upcoming Events
  • Blog
    • Recipes
    • Women’s Health
    • Hormones
    • Weight Loss
    • Cleanse
    • Stress Management
Sara Gottfried MD
  • Home
  • About Dr Sara
    • Media
    • Contact
  • Books
    • Women, Food, and Hormones
    • Younger
    • Brain Body Diet
    • Hormone Reset Diet
    • The Hormone Cure
  • Upcoming Events
  • Blog
    • Recipes
    • Women’s Health
    • Hormones
    • Weight Loss
    • Cleanse
    • Stress Management

Posts Tagged ‘bacteria’

Fabulous Fermented Foods: Take Your Health to the Next Level

By Sara Gottfried, MD | December 1, 2015

Most people know that a daily probiotic or the occasional yogurt is a good idea, but do they know why? And do they know the wealth of options that are out there when it comes to getting their daily dose of healthy bacteria? Here are some rock-solid reasons to add fabulous fermented foods to your…

Read More

GMOs: Guilty until Proven Innocent (Plus 5 Ways to Reduce Damage to Your Gut and Brain)

By Sara Gottfried, MD | October 23, 2015

Is it safe to eat genetically modified foods? What about if you eat the meat of an animal raised on genetically-modified food? At this point, the scientific community is still gathering data but my hunch is that GMs are not good for your body, and we need to apply the precautionary principle. Here’s why…. You…

Read More

PRAISE

“For the first time in my adult life I feel that I have gained control over food. I feel healthier, look better and have gained an interest in making sure that what I am putting into my body is the best it can be. And I lost 10 pounds in all the right places.”

– Janice Lunde, Dr. Sara’s Detox Challenge Participant

“Dr. Sara is the height of excellence! She is incredibly knowledgeable and gives very generously of her time. I feel so blessed to have been able to work with her.”

– Yvonne Varah

“You don’t have to settle for being stressed out, binging on sugar and chocolate, and aging prematurely. Stop blaming yourself and step into sacred action. It’s your birthright. You can have the joyous, mission-driven life you want, and Dr. Sara is here to show us how.”

– Marci Shimoff, New York Times Bestselling Author of Happy for No Reason and Love for No Reason

“Dr. Gottfried offers powerful and effective tools for addressing the most difficult health issues facing women and men today. She is warm and kind and has so much experience to draw upon, it’s inspiring. Thank you Dr. S!”

– Cassandra Mick

“Dr. Sara Gottfried is a modern-day healer goddess if ever there was one, and she also happens to be a Harvard Medical School graduate and rigorous physician-scientist.”

– Christiane Northrup MD, author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom

“Dr. Gottfried’s book and detox came at a time when I was ready to give in to old age. Hot flashes, low energy and libido, weight gain, increasing blood pressure and cholesterol levels were unacceptable to me. I now know that hormone levels and what I eat are a huge influence on how I feel and look. To now be able to control something that was out of control is empowering…”

Cheryl V., Dr. Sara’s Detox Challenge Participant

“My health coach told me about your book and I took the [hormone] test, and lo and behold, I found I was a mess, hormonally speaking. Now I’m getting on track and I love your videos and your book. I feel like I’m getting my life back again, when not long ago I truly thought I was losing it!”

-Tracy, Registered Nurse

“You don’t have to accept the hormonal hell of being tired, stressed, overweight, and never in the mood for sex as you grow older. In her fabulous new book, the brilliant Dr. Gottfried gives you an effective, easy-to-follow plan to balance your hormones and become lean, energetic, and loving life again. Stop settling and reclaim your sexy!”

–JJ Virgin, Author of Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy and The Virgin Diet

“I lost 10 lbs., reset my hormones and metabolism and eliminated my sugar cravings! I have also found that I respond to stress much differently, I feel it, notice it and move on from it. Stress no longer has a grip on me. Dr. Sara’s conference calls and detox information was invaluable. I am so grateful for this program. Thank you Dr. Sara!”

–Sophia, Dr. Sara’s Detox Challenge Participant

“The Hormone Cure is the playbook for your mojo, your mind, and your bootie. With every chapter I thought, ‘So THAT’s how that works.’ I wanted to call every girlfriend and give them the goods on how to glow… now and always.”

-Danielle LaPorte, Author of The Fire Starter Sessions and The Desire Map

Instagram

saragottfriedmd

saragottfriedmd
A few facts about exercise and memory. 🏃‍♀ A few facts about exercise and memory. 🏃‍♀️Regular exercise enhances memory and reduces dementia by 38 percent. (Meta-analyses have been performed in more than twenty-nine randomized trials and fifteen prospective studies. You can find all the references in the Notes section for BRAIN BODY DIET.) 🏃‍♀️Exercise increases the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is like fertilizer for the soil of your brain. 🏃‍♀️Exercise boosts neuroplasticity. What type of exercise? How much? 🏃‍♀️Aerobic exercise seems to be the best at preserving brain volume and memory as you age, perhaps because it boosts BDNF, particularly in women. 🏃‍♀️All types of exercise—aerobic, resistance, and multimodal—benefit executive functioning in women more than men. 🏃‍♀️Ideally, exercise four or more times per week, which is associated with halving the risk of dementia (Podewils, 2005). It’s never too late—even physical activity in patients 65+ with cognitive impairment and/or dementia can improve cognitive function (Heyn, 2004). Conversely, when you don’t move much, memory worsens and cognitive function declines (Buchman, 2008, 2012). 🧘My favorite mind-body exercise, yoga, also helps memory. Even those new to yoga improve — as few as six sessions have been shown to enhance working memory (Brunner, 2017). Many other studies confirm that yoga boosts cognitive performance. Specifically, kundalini yoga has been shown to improve memory and executive function in 12 weeks, and it boosts depressed mood and resilience among patients fifty-five and older with mild cognitive impairment. In fact, a study showed that kundalini yoga is better than memory-enhancement exercises, which have been considered the gold standard for managing mild cognitive impairment. What are you going to do today to boost your memory? . . . #memorycare #memorybooster #cognitive #cognitivescience #cognitivefunction #cognitiveneuroscience #cognitivehealth #cognitiveperformance #cognitivedecline #memoryloss #dementia #dementiaawareness #dementiasupport #alzheimersawareness #alzheimers #alzheimersassociation #womensalzheimersmovement #brainbodydiet
The gut/brain connection is critically important t The gut/brain connection is critically important to your sound mind. Your gut contains 100 trillion bugs that influence your well-being in various ways. The DNA belonging to these microbes, your microbiome, is involved in most if not all biological processes, including memory. Taken further, when the microbiome of a healthy person is compared with that of a person with memory impairment, there are changes in the bacteria, including Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia (Manderino, 2017). These phyla (division or grouping) of bacteria correlated with cognitive test performance. Why? Well, when your gut wall is leaky, your blood-brain barrier may become leaky. On a molecular level, the tight junctions between cells loosen, and the process of intestinal permeability is regulated by proteins (like zonulin and occludin) produced in the gut. Inflammation spreads from the body to the brain, and memory can suffer. As you age, the composition of the gut microbiota changes in the direction of less diversity and fewer good bacteria. You harbor more gram-negative bacteria, which secrete the dreaded lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and create inflammation in the gut that can travel to the brain. All these changes in gut microbiota can alter blood-brain barrier permeability. 👉Bottom line: the poor state of your gut can rob you of memory and a sense of calm. What can you do? ◾Reduce or avoid refined sugar altogether ◾Consume good fats like coconut oil, olive oil, olives, avocados, nuts ◾Increase your fiber intake as this prevents dysbiosis ◾Eat prebiotic food such as sauerkraut or kimchee ◾Exercise on a regular basis as physical activity improves brain function ◾Practice meditation for 10 minutes a day ◾Get more rest. When you don’t get enough sleep, inflammation rises in the brain Like, save, and share😍 . . . #memorycare #memorybooster #cognitive #cognitivescience #cognitivefunction #cognitiveneuroscience #cognitivehealth #cognitiveperformance #cognitivedecline #memoryloss #dementia #dementiaawareness #dementiasupport #alzheimersawareness #alzheimers #alzheimersassociation #womensalzheimersmovement #brainbodydiet
Levers that impact your memory: diet, gut function Levers that impact your memory: diet, gut function, physical activity, stress, and sleep plus social and mental engagement, toxins, and genes. Let’s look at diet first. ❓Did you know that your brain consumes up to 25% of energy in your body❓ This mismatch means that the brain is especially hungry for the nutrients you eat compared with other body organs. The enormous drive for energy means that brain cells are more vulnerable than the rest of the body to mitochondrial problems and oxidative stress, and once damage occurs, neurodegeneration and memory problems follow. What should you eat and what should you avoid? 👉Watch your sugar intake. Sugar is perhaps the best known offender when it comes to your ability to think, learn, and remember—and develop stroke and dementia, including Alzheimer’s. Eating more sugar doubles your risk of cognitive impairment. For women in their forties, you need to know that perimenopause is when the brain’s ability to regulate sugar in the brain begins to falter because of dropping estrogen levels. Importantly, cognitive loss occurs even without a change in weight from excess sugar consumption. So if you think your consumption of sugar is acceptable because your weight isn’t going up, think again. 👉Saturated fat may worsen memory. On the other hand, fats found in oily fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, anchovies, sardines) improve it. In one large prospective study in older women, saturated fat predicted worse cognition and verbal memory, whereas monounsaturated fat (think avocados, macadamia nuts, extra dark chocolate) was protective. Avoid trans fats. They are bad for word recall. Shocker. The worst combination for your memory is the high sugar/high saturated fat diet. Again no surprises there. Up next - how gut health affects your memory. And let’s not forget how traumatic stress affects memory! . . . #memorycare #memorybooster #cognitive #cognitivescience #cognitivefunction #cognitiveneuroscience #cognitivehealth #cognitiveperformance #cognitivedecline #memoryloss #dementia #dementiaawareness #dementiasupport #alzheimersawareness #alzheimers #alzheimersassociation #trauma #womensalzheimersmovement #brainbodydiet
Sleep is the time of healing and repair. How can y Sleep is the time of healing and repair. How can you have that full repair conversation every single night? Lifestyle remedies to get your 7-8.5 hours of quality sleep, including 90 mins of deep sleep: 🔵Limit light at night - kick ALAN (Artificial Light at Night) out of your bed so no screens at least an hour before bedtime. 🔵Take vitamin D - it appears to have direct brain effects on your regulation of sleep 🔵Limit alcohol - if you struggle with sleep, try this first. While it may initially feel like it relaxes you, alcohol raises cortisol and disturbs your sleep. 🔵Reduce caffeine intake - try giving up coffee and see how much longer you sleep at night. 🔵Magnesium improves sleep in people with insomnia. I usually start my patients at 200-300 mg per day in the form of magnesium glycinate. For those with insomnia, I recommend up to 500 mg at bedtime 👉Track deep sleep length and quality with wearables such as the @ouraring. Poor sleep quality is an epidemic that so many people simply take for granted as part of a busy lifestyle. Yet not having healthy sleep patterns can contribute to a host of health problems: accelerated aging, high cortisol, weight gain and depression, just to name a few. Studies show a link between weight gain, lack of sleep, and insulin resistance. Furthermore, sleep debt leads to dietary indiscretion and weight gain because you’re too tired to make wise food choices. In other words, get that solid seven to eight and a half hours that your body really needs. Follow the link in my bio for more sleep tips. . . . #sleep #sleepwell #sleepbetter #sleeptips #sleepproblems #sleephelp #deepsleep #cortisol #vitamind #vitamind3 #womenfoodhormones
Bedtime may be the most important time of the day Bedtime may be the most important time of the day for your brain’s health and neuroplasticity. During sleep the brain restores neuron networks so they are ready for action once more when you awaken. During sleep, the space between brain cells expands 60 percent more than when you’re awake. This allows the brain to fush out built-up toxins with cerebral spinal fuid (CSF), the clear liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It’s called the glymphatic system and it works best when you’re sleeping on your side, not on your back or tummy. Sleep is the time of healing and repair, when growth hormone and melatonin are at their highest. Autophagy occurs, which is an important editing process that allows your body to remove damaged mitochondria and proteins. 👉All said, sleep is like hitting a refresh button on the hippocampus. When you don’t get sufficient sleep, memories are misfiled or dropped. Sleep deprivation interrupts the movement of information from short-term into long-term memory banks by impairing function, encoding, and consolidation. Fortunately, sleeping more to make up for a sleep deficit restores memory, meaning that symptoms of poor memory from lack of sleep may be reversible, up to a point. Unfortunately, aging is associated with worsening quality of sleep, including shorter duration and more time awake after you fall asleep. People tend to awaken more frequently starting in middle age and to experience a profound decrease in the deepest stage of slow-wave sleep as they get older. Even though poor sleep is associated with poor cognitive function, including memory, the good news is that older adults are more resilient around the cognitive hits of sleep deprivation and fragmentation compared with younger adults. Still, it’s worth improving sleep in order to enhance cognition, performance, and memory, regardless of age Like, save, and share😍 . . . #memorycare #memorybooster #cognitive #cognitivescience #cognitivefunction #cognitiveneuroscience #cognitivehealth #cognitiveperformance #cognitivedecline #memoryloss #dementia #dementiaawareness #dementiasupport #alzheimersawareness #alzheimers #alzheimersassociation #brainbodydiet
Inner Healing Intelligence I’ve been studying t Inner Healing Intelligence I’ve been studying this elegant, very complex process in depth for the past few years and I’m curious about your experience. It’s not the doctor that heals, it’s your body and psyche that creates inner healing. The doctor, clinician, or therapist is meant to guide your own unfolding. What’s my role as doctor? Remove the obstacles, like with a wound - cleanse it, debride if needed to create fresh edges, place gauze and fluffs, then suture together. We can do things to stimulate and support healing but we can’t drive it. Healing is not about the doctor fixing or saving, but rather allowing and integrating with deep presence. I’m feeling the energy of innate healing intelligence today, immersed in nature here in the mountains of Northern California. I’m starting to recover from an illness and my body has needed an enormous amount of rest. Same rules apply in the psyche when it comes to innate psychological healing—we all have an inner drive toward wholeness and repair, even with embedded trauma and toxic stress. Similar to the weird sport of curling. It’s about preparing the ice, removing obstacles to allow healing to happen, then witnessing what occurs next. Preparation includes the topics I’ve covered in my books—how you eat, move, love, connect, think, and supplement. How you create purpose and meaning. But the healing itself can feel distinct from the preparation when you attune to it. I believe the concept was originally developed by Stanislav Grof, and later refined by Michael Mithoefer, Clinical Investigator and Medical Director at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). I’ve been learning about innate healing intelligence in my Hakomi training, which is mindfulness-centered somatic psychotherapy. I am planning to use it when I begin to offer ketamine-assisted treatment. Psychodelics like ketamine can melt your usual defensive structures so that healing occurs. What is your experience with your own innate healing capacity and wholeness? How do you experience it? #healing #wholess #health #hakomi #keramine #nutrition #ketamineassistedtreatment #grof #maps #somatictherapy 📷 @davidgottfried ❤️
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Blog Categories

  • Adrenal Fatigue
  • Balance
  • Caffeine
  • Blood Sugar
  • Cleanse
  • Dr. Sara’s Book Club
  • Energy
  • Exercise
  • Food and Detox
  • Guest Experts
  • Hormonal Imbalance
  • Hormones
  • Hot Flashes
  • Recipe
  • Sex Drive
  • Sleep
  • Stress Management
  • Sugar Cravings
  • Symptoms of Menopause
  • Weight Loss
  • Women’s Health
  • Yoga

DR. SARA'S Guide to Tracking Your Blood Sugar

I want you to care about your blood sugar more than you care about your retirement account!

sara-transparent

Learn How to Track Your Sugar

Enter your details below to receive
my FREE Guide

Please enter your name.
Please enter a valid email address.
Get the Guide Now
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

 Copyright © 2022 Gottfried Institute. All Rights Reserved. Contact  |  FAQ | Privacy policy  |  Terms and conditions  |  Return Policy

Information on this web site is provided for informational purposes only. The information is a result of years of practice experience by the author. This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information on this web site for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read on this web site. Information provided on this web site and the use of any products or services purchased from our web site by you DOES NOT create a doctor-patient relationship between you and any of the physicians affiliated with our web site. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This website uses cookies to enhance your experience and to help us improve the site. Please see our Please see our Privacy Policy If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive these cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT