Exercising for brain health | Drs Dean & Ayesha Sherzai
09/19/22 • 107 min
1 Listener
In Episode #226, I’m joined by Drs Ayesha and Dean Sherzai to examine how exercise impacts brain health. We focus on two main considerations: what we know about the relationship between exercise and cognition, and how we can explain this relationship from an evolutionary lens. We discuss how movement impacts cognition, engaging your brain while exercising, and aging and brain health. We also cover neurogenesis, brain trauma, exercise and mood disorders, and motivation versus discipline.
Drs Dean and Ayesha Sherzai are no strangers to The Proof Podcast. As community favourites, we’ve previously covered topics focusing predominantly on the relationship between nutrition, neurodegenerative disease, aging, and other factors of brain health. In today’s episode, we step away from food to focus on the way exercise can impact our brain’s functioning and health.
Specifically, we discuss:
- Intro (0:00)
- Defining Exercise & Cognition (7:51)
- Studies on Exercise/ Brain Power (13:16)
- Normal vs Pathological Aging (16:34)
- Aging: What’s Possible (22:30)
- Evolution of the Brain (27:31)
- Combining Thinking & Movement (42:23)
- Improving Brain Function (50:40)
- Mild Cognitive Impairment (58:27)
- Exercise for Brain Health (1:01:05)
- VO2 max & brain health (1:09:53)
- Danger of Exercise (1:12:36)
- Can you reverse pathology? (1:24:51)
- Mood Disorders (1:29:00)
- Motivation vs Discipline (1:31:06)
- Outro (1:37:35)
To hear more from Drs Ayesha and Dean Sherzai, you can listen to their previous episodes #65, #78, #97, #117, #126, and #188. You can also head to their podcast, The Brain Health Revolution. Connect with them on Instagram @thebraindocs, and head to their website https://www.teamsherzai.com/ to discover their books and learn more.
The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends, and make sure to head to theproof.com/podcast to for the full show notes.
Enjoy, friends.
Simon
Want to support the show?
The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends.
Simon Hill, Msc, Bsc (Hons)
Creator of Theproof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill
Author of The Proof is in the Plants
Watch the episodes on YouTube, or Listen on Apple/Spotify
Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
Download my complimentary two week meal plan and high protein plant performance recipe book
In Episode #226, I’m joined by Drs Ayesha and Dean Sherzai to examine how exercise impacts brain health. We focus on two main considerations: what we know about the relationship between exercise and cognition, and how we can explain this relationship from an evolutionary lens. We discuss how movement impacts cognition, engaging your brain while exercising, and aging and brain health. We also cover neurogenesis, brain trauma, exercise and mood disorders, and motivation versus discipline.
Drs Dean and Ayesha Sherzai are no strangers to The Proof Podcast. As community favourites, we’ve previously covered topics focusing predominantly on the relationship between nutrition, neurodegenerative disease, aging, and other factors of brain health. In today’s episode, we step away from food to focus on the way exercise can impact our brain’s functioning and health.
Specifically, we discuss:
- Intro (0:00)
- Defining Exercise & Cognition (7:51)
- Studies on Exercise/ Brain Power (13:16)
- Normal vs Pathological Aging (16:34)
- Aging: What’s Possible (22:30)
- Evolution of the Brain (27:31)
- Combining Thinking & Movement (42:23)
- Improving Brain Function (50:40)
- Mild Cognitive Impairment (58:27)
- Exercise for Brain Health (1:01:05)
- VO2 max & brain health (1:09:53)
- Danger of Exercise (1:12:36)
- Can you reverse pathology? (1:24:51)
- Mood Disorders (1:29:00)
- Motivation vs Discipline (1:31:06)
- Outro (1:37:35)
To hear more from Drs Ayesha and Dean Sherzai, you can listen to their previous episodes #65, #78, #97, #117, #126, and #188. You can also head to their podcast, The Brain Health Revolution. Connect with them on Instagram @thebraindocs, and head to their website https://www.teamsherzai.com/ to discover their books and learn more.
The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends, and make sure to head to theproof.com/podcast to for the full show notes.
Enjoy, friends.
Simon
Want to support the show?
The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends.
Simon Hill, Msc, Bsc (Hons)
Creator of Theproof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill
Author of The Proof is in the Plants
Watch the episodes on YouTube, or Listen on Apple/Spotify
Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
Download my complimentary two week meal plan and high protein plant performance recipe book
Previous Episode
Is dairy good or bad for us | Dr Alan Flanagan
In Episode #225 I sit down with Alan Flanagan, PhD to discuss the health implications of consuming dairy. We have a broader conversation about misinformation and public health before specifically examining the health outcomes of dairy consumption. We also cover whether you can trust industry-funded studies, the representation of dairy on social media, and how much information we actually have.
Misinformation is an ongoing occurrence in online nutrition conversations. The capacity to spread misinformation to huge audiences is only a few clicks away, and many laypeople aren’t equipped to accurately evaluate these claims. Similarly, there are many instances where ideology may influence people to ignore the evidence. Dr Alan Flanagan joins me today to discuss this in the context of dairy.
Specifically, we cover:
- Intro (0:00)
- Why we’re discussing Dairy (2:32)
- Social Media & Industry Funding (13:22)
- Cardiovascular Disease (23:40)
- Dairy Compared to What? (35:58)
- The PURE Study (52:48)
- Metabolic Health (1:02:33)
- Blood Glucose (1:10:32)
- Weight Gain (1:15:56)
- Inflammation (1:21:19)
- Cancer (1:29:24)
- Acne (1:38:23)
- Bone Health (1:43:45)
- Bringing it all Together (1:58:50)
- Outro (2:02:03)
To connect with Dr Alan Flanagan, you can do so via his Instagram. You can also learn more about Alinea Nutrition at https://www.alineanutrition.com/. Listen to his past appearance on the podcast at Episode #159, where we discuss keeping your heart healthy through diet.
The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends, and make sure to head to theproof.com/podcast to for the full show notes.
Enjoy, friends.
Simon
Want to support the show?
The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends.
Simon Hill, Msc, Bsc (Hons)
Creator of Theproof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill
Author of The Proof is in the Plants
Watch the episodes on YouTube, or Listen on Apple/Spotify
Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
Download my complimentary two week meal plan and high protein plant performance recipe book
Next Episode
Carnivore diet, veganism and nutrition misinformation | Dr Alan Flanagan
In Episode #227, I sit down with Alan Flanagan, PhD and Drew Harrisberg to discuss the carnivore diet and veganism, assessing many of the popular claims made by health and nutrition “influencers”. We discuss Big Pharma, social media censorship, and vegan protein intake. We also zoom in on the ethics of veganism, spotting a legitimate academic, and why socioeconomic and environmental factors impact nutrition decisions.
In the current social media climate, it is crucial that we develop the skills necessary to analyse the validity of nutritional claims. During this week’s episode, The Proof welcomes two fan favourites to the show to cover a broad scope of topics in a well-rounded discussion, uncovering the reasoning behind a number of these claims and informing listeners on how to assess them.
Specifically, we cover:
- Intro (0:00)
- Training Injuries (7:40)
- Climate Change (14:44)
- Misinformation & Liver King (18:54)
- Should Platforms Censor? (30:25)
- Mark Zuckerberg on Rogan (35:30)
- Paul Saladino & Trusting Science (39:50)
- Big Pharma/ Big Food (50:14)
- How to Communicate with Transparency, Asking the Right Questions (57:35)
- Danger of Bodybuilding (1:09:13)
- Socioeconomic Barriers to Healthy Living (1:16:38)
- Identifying with Diet (1:32:39)
- Vegan Protein Intake (1:39:20)
- Well-Planned Veganism (1:57:53)
- Habits of Social Media Quacks (2:00:29)
- Alan’s Diet (2:16:00)
- Canola oil in a healthy diet? (2:28:17)
- Seed Oil Debate Episode (2:32:08)
- Veganism & Ethics (2:36:33)
- Red Meat & Carnivore Diets (3:00:22)
- Meal Timing & TRE (3:27:45)
- Supplement Recommendations (3:39:07)
- Conclusion (3:41:46)
To connect with Drew, you can reach him via his Instagram or website, Drew’s Daily Dose. Listen to his previous appearances on the show on your favourite podcast app.
To connect with Alan Flanagan, PhD you can do so via his Instagram. You can also learn more about Alinea Nutrition, an online nutritional education hub founded by Dr Flanagan, at https://www.alineanutrition.com/.
Enjoy, friends.
Simon
Want to support the show?
The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends.
Simon Hill, Msc, Bsc (Hons)
Creator of Theproof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill
Author of The Proof is in the Plants
Watch the episodes on YouTube, or Listen on Apple/Spotify
Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
Download my complimentary two week meal plan and high protein plant performance recipe book
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