Raena Morgan: Hi, I’m Raena Morgan with iHealthTube. We’re visiting with Dr. Parris Kidd today. He is the author of PS: Nature’s Brain Booster. And, it’s really an exciting book because it gives us a lot of promise, especially those of us who are aging baby boomers. Welcome Dr. Kidd.
Dr. Parris Kidd: Thanks Raena. I worked very hard on that book.
Raena Morgan: I bet you did because it’s pretty extensive, and it’s pretty promising too. One of the things that you say in here is that we have to tirelessly urge our bodies and our spirits on toward health and happiness. Is this a battle, or is it a path?
Dr. Parris Kidd: Well, I suppose Raena, that we could say that life is a battle, isn’t it?
Raena Morgan: Oh, it is.
Dr. Parris Kidd: I mean, life, life in a way, is a struggle, and we have high points and low points, but what I was getting at there is that over the past couple of decades the neurobiologists have found that the human brain is incredibly adaptable. The old dogma that came down from the Middle Ages that the brain was fixed and couldn’t rebuild itself is just not true.
Raena Morgan: It’s not true?
Dr. Parris Kidd: The brain actually has lots of stem cells. The brain is constantly remolding itself. Study indicates that in the cortex there can be a 7% turnover of connections each week.
Raena Morgan: Each week?
Dr. Parris Kidd: Per week there can be a 7% turnover of connections. And so, over the course of a year it’s possible to replace the cortical tissue at least once or twice or 3 times, depending on what you’re doing and how you’re stimulating your brain. Now, the key to it seems to be to do new things.
Raena Morgan: New things.
Dr. Parris Kidd: New things.
Raena Morgan: Use it or lose it kind of thing?
Dr. Parris Kidd: Yes, to just keep taking on new projects, new tasks—one of the most productive ways to rebuild the brain too seems to be to learn a new language.
Raena Morgan: I’ve read that.
Dr. Parris Kidd: Yes.
Raena Morgan: How about learning to play piano? Or something like that?
Dr. Parris Kidd: Well, that too. You know, we find in the brains of musicians that the broca’s area, and some of the other areas related to sound processing are much more developed than in other people. And so, in whatever area you want to build up you can find mental exercises to do that. So, you work and work and work on it, keep stimulating it and that part of the brain will rebuild if it’s been damaged, and will build new connections if it’s accomplishing a new task. This also applies very much to stroke victims, and even to people who are not functioning very well and who are at risk [for] dementia, they can recover some of that function. Using PS and other nutrients is part of that process, a part of that program.
Raena Morgan: So, it is a path as much as it is a battle?
Dr. Parris Kidd: Yes, and spiritually we can actually envisualize meditation using brain imagery.
Raena Morgan: Oh really?
Dr. Parris Kidd: And it’s interesting, when Buddhists monks and Christian nuns are compared, the same areas of the brain are found to be turned on, with the only exception being that with the nuns, who are actually praying vocally, the additional audio area is turned on, whereas, in the monks, they are praying quietly so their audio area is not turned on. But we can begin to visualize those areas of the brain that are being turned on during meditation. And, there’s actually a discussion going on between spiritualists and neurobiologists as to whether we can see functional changes in the brain with spiritual development. Very exciting area.
Raena Morgan: Very exciting! The monks and the nuns, their brains are lighting up when they meditate?
Dr. Parris Kidd: Well, yeah, so we’re beginning to get a functional basis in the brain for meditation and for spiritual progression. There are studies that are going on along those lines. However, in the real world, and to facilitate the brain being at optimal levels of function, so that we can best progress along our spiritual path, we do need those material means of support, such as PS, the omega 3s, the B vitamins, the essential minerals, all the nutrients that help to rebuild the brain, such as, GlyceroPhosphoCholine and L-Carnitine. We need those nutrients in order to help the brain to organically function better so that spiritually we can progress as fast as we can.
Raena Morgan: So, that’s how we bring body and spirit back together?
Dr. Parris Kidd: I think so, Raena, and keeping the brain working, the “use it or lose it” adage, particularly applies to the brain. We need to keep the brain working, keep the brain flushed with blood through regular physical exercise, and then we have a really good chance to have a high quality life and a good spiritual development.
Raena Morgan: That’s exciting! Well, we’ll come back and visit some more. We want to talk about a healthy brain versus a brain that’s declining, and so there’s lots of interesting topics to talk about. Thank you Dr. Kidd.
Dr. Parris Kidd: Thank you Raena.
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