Sandrine Thuret: You can grow new brain cells. Here's how

It has only been out there for 3 whole months. Has your doctor updated your neurogenesis stroke protocol yet? If not, you need to fire that doctor. S/he is incompetent.  What excuse is your doctor giving you for not following this?

Sandrine Thuret: You can grow new brain cells. Here's how

Can we, as adults, grow new neurons? Neuroscientist Sandrine Thuret says that we can, and she offers research and practical advice on how we can help our brains better perform neurogenesis—improving mood, increasing memory formation and preventing the decline associated with aging along the way. 

My colleague Jonas Frisén from the Karolinska Institutet, has estimated that we produce 700 new neurons per day in the hippocampus.

And if we give antidepressants, then we increase the production of these newborn neurons, and we decrease the symptoms of depression, establishing a clear link between neurogenesis and depression.

Calorie restriction of 20 to 30 percent will increase neurogenesis. Intermittent fasting -- spacing the time between your meals -- will increase neurogenesis. Intake of flavonoids, which are contained in dark chocolate or blueberries, will increase neurogenesis.

 

How about sex? Oh, wow!  Yes, you are right, it will increase the production of new neurons. However, it's all about balance here. We don't want to fall in a situation -- about too much sex leading to sleep deprivation.

Well, I'm screwed in that last category and not literally.