spk_0:   0:00
to eat is a necessity. But to eat intelligently is an art. Francoise Data Roche. Fickle. Hello, everyone. And welcome to another episode of the Dominate Test Prep podcast. I am Bread Ethridge, your host. We are joined today by a special guest, Dr Barrett Do Burt. Dr. Barrett is a chiropractor in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is much more than that, and I will introduce him more thoroughly here in a moment, but quickly may bring him on. Dr Barrett. Welcome.

spk_1:   0:34
Hey, thanks Brett's pleasure to speak with you today.

spk_0:   0:38
So today we are going to be talking about nutrition and the role nutrition can play in helping you perform your best on test day. Obviously, in this podcast podcast, we talk a lot about kind of exes and oh's about howto how to answer questions and time management and a lot of the tangible things to help you get more right answers on test day. But obviously a big part of you performing your best of you getting the highest score you possibly can requires you to actually show up on test day and do your best on test day. And a big part of that involves mental clarity and being able to concentrate well for the two and 1/2 33 and 1/2 hours of your exam, being able to remember everything you have been studying and nutrition plays a big role in all of that. So I know some of you might have been thinking, um, this is kind of a weird topic for the Dominate Test prep podcast. I don't think you're going to think that at the end of our conversation, and when I was thinking about who best to bring on to talk about this topic, I thought about Dr Do Bert. He hey has been my doctor for a number of years for chiropractic and also nutrition. What I think is great about what he does. He He is the co owner of a facility here in Knoxville called the Health Factory, where the do chiropractic they do CrossFit, but they also focus on nutrition. They have an entire arm of their business around nutrition. I've attended a lot of his lectures around topics like preventing cancer, and he's helped me support my joint health with some issues I've had with my joints through nutrition, and he's incredibly knowledgeable about all things, nutrition and howl. Nutrition influences your brain. And so that's what we're gonna be talking about. How can nutrition help you? In the weeks and months leading up to your example? What should you be doing on test day itself? What should you eat during the exam To make sure your brain has enough fuel to be able to think critically and clearly. And so I have just done a lot of talking. I want you to learn from Dr Barrett. So, Dr Baron, I'm gonna kind of prompt you with this very first question, I read a very interesting article. You may have seen it yourself in ESPN on ESPN dot com a number of months ago, and it was talking about how much energy, um, chess masters burned and how they actually train like athletes because of the mental demands of playing chess. And I'm going to read you a quick sentence from the article it talks about this 21 year old Russian grandmaster who quote his name is Mikhail Antropov. For those of you listening, I'll lengthy lengthy article in the show notes because I think it's a really interesting read, but it talks about how, he quote, burned 560 calories in two hours of sitting and playing chess, or roughly what Roger Federer would burn in an hour of singles tennis, then talks about how how these chess masters can burn 6000 calories a day playing chess. Here's what I took from the article I took from the article that it takes a lot of energy to think hard. Think critically. Exactly what the listeners are going to be doing on test day during their exams on is kind of what kind of throw that to you and kind of hear your thoughts on that. And what should students be thinking about when we think about feeding our brains?

spk_1:   4:03
Yeah, sure, I think that's valid. I think people don't realize that the brain is the most metabolically active organ in the body accounts for very small percentage of weight, actually about 2%. Yet, at times, you know we can, for instance, contained 20% of the body's cholesterol levels. Ah, it's it utilizes more glucose than any other singular organ in the body, and so I think it is vital to understand that your brain is your your is a fuel factory. Ah, and it needs to be nourished, and it needs to be supported for proper function. And we know that because when we are in a deprivation of calories, food or our blood sugar levels drop, we get brain fog ish. We get sluggish where memory starts to fade. Unfortunately, we see this happening in people in school or during tests or in your performance at work. Whatever the situation is in, how vital is it? Toe have a healthy, functioning brain, obviously, during the most important test potentially of someone's life

spk_0:   5:13
and you mentioned glucose, so the brain uses glucose. Let's talk kind of big picture about macronutrients, right? So when we think about the food we eat, we eat proteins, we carbohydrates, and I guess glucose is a carbohydrate and also fats. Which of those three is most important or kind of What should somebody be thinking about in terms of what should comprise the bulk of their diet on a day to day basis to fuel the brain properly,

spk_1:   5:40
right? Yes. So I did mention sugar, and it's important to note that the brain cannot survive without sugar. Glucose is essential for brain function and even when your body is starving literally, if you were to be on a long, long fast, your body will take protein. It will take your own muscle, and it will eat it and break it into sugar. Called Leuco Neo Genesis, it'll make sugar new sugar out of protein just for the brain survival. So the brain needs sugar to live, and the body will do everything it can to gets sugar to its brain. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's the most important. And in my opinion, it is not the most important because your body will create it on its own when it's needed. So one thing that we we have to realize is that your body, ah, is constantly taking in carbohydrates, proteins and fat. But 60% of the brain's composition is fat, and so it's very important to understand that a majority of the actual structure of your brain is comprised of fat knots. To me, the most important reality of macro nutrient consumption, we should be focused on healthy fat consumption, mainly from a structural standpoint, to give give structure to the brain, and then, obviously when it comes to carbohydrates, its importance, but your body will convert. The carbohydrates were consuming every single data, adequate glucose for the brain or even the protein. We're consuming, uh, into glucose for the brain. That's why people who have neurodegenerative conditions like epilepsy, seizure based disorders or even cancer can literally lit live off of just protein and fat because again, your body can't take proving and make it into glucose necessary to, you know, make make the brain survive. So to me, the most important macro nutrient is fat. Um, and bar None. It outweighs any other macronutrients someone should be taking if they're trying to optimize neurological function.

spk_0:   8:04
So eat more fat. Let's get more specific. I know the listeners are interested in learning how all of this contributes to having that clarity of thought on test day, right? We want to avoid seizure based illnesses like you talked about, but we also want to get a high score on test day. So what are some of the good fats people should be eating on a daily basis? And how does that actually contribute, then to mental clarity and focus, and maybe not just the good fats? What are some good carbs as well. Some good proteins that people should be eating regularly.

spk_1:   8:35
Sure, sure, Yes. Oh, Ah. The interesting thing is, of that fat 20% like a mission before. Ah, 2020% of, um, your brain is cholesterol, so having a healthy source of cholesterol from fat is important. So ah, specifically, foods that are gonna be rich for a neurological function and structure, eyes are going to be high quality cholesterol and mono unsaturated based fats. So things like salmon is a brain fuel. Uh, nuts and seeds specific, like chia or flax Omens and cashews are our brain fuel. Avocados is a brain fuel. So when we think about fast, we should be looking at cold water, fish, nuts and seeds. And we should be looking at, ah, certain plants, like even avocados in coconut support, um, healthy fat consumption. And then ah, and and then with your carbohydrates, you know, want One big issue is excess quick, rapidly absorbed carbohydrates. What we call simple sugars. You know, when you have in Alzheimer's disease or neurodegenerative condition condition. So when the brain is not functioning optimally, um, it is, it is usually due to brain inflammation and Ah, and even Alzheimer's just for its virtuous type three diabetes. So, in essence, when the brain has too many quick, absorbing sugars, the brain becomes inflamed, and then it becomes, um, underperforming. Ah, and this is this is crucial, especially when we're talking about specifically optimizing brain function for a test memory, cognition, Mr. Clarity, focus and lack of crashing exhaustion. And during during a test. And I've been there, I've taken multiple board exams and been at the point where that, you know, you start to get a little brain fog. That means the brain does it have the nourishment nutrition to sustain it. So what I recommend is Logue Lycee, Mick high fiber high antioxidant based carbohydrates are essential. Four supporting the glucose needed for the brain. So we got high quality fats, and then we got the high quality carbs that would be like specifically high antioxidant fruits and vegetables, blueberries, strawberries. Anything with Berries in it is gonna be extremely beneficial for the brain. Vegetables, Dark green leafy vegetables are phenomenal source of carbohydrates. For the brain S o. I recommend usually Berries and greens, nuts, seeds, high quality fats coming from even is cold water, fish and then quality protein is essential because again the brain. The brain also needs amino acids as the precursor to neuro transmitters. So in order for dopamine, which is really important for mental clarity, focus sharp. This concentration order for dopamine to be produced in order for serotonin be produced so that you haven't end hitori neurotransmitters in the brain doesn't get to stress. In order for these neurotransmitters, neural hormones brain hormones to be produced so that your brain is is functioning and firing on all cylinders. You need amino acids which are the backbone of neurotransmitters. So for not consuming a quality protein, there were deficient amino acids, and one of the number one side effects of of amino acid deficiency is brain fog, in my opinion, So we need quality protein as well. We're going to get from that cold water fish. But chicken quality beef is gonna be great sources as well as eggs, phenomenal sources for protein. And so I I'd say a kind of a combination of all of those are really important. But my focus is always gonna be Hey, make sure we get the quality fats, remove this simple sugars quality carbohydrates and inadequate protein.

spk_0:   12:56
All right, there's a lot here to unpack, and I want to get specific in terms of a timeline, kind of what to eat in the months leading up to the exam to support their their their practice and their training sessions there. Study time, Their prep. The day of kind of nutrition hacks for the day of. But I just want to continue this thought a little bit more. You talked about how not having enough quality amino acids can produce brain fog. Are there other actual things that people would eat that produce brain fog? Whether it's the high process, carbohydrates the show, you know, the candy bars and things like that. Are there other foods people should actually avoid? You've talked a lot about what we should eat. What what foods, What supplements, what ingredients should people avoid if they want to maintain mental clarity and focus?

spk_1:   13:45
Sure. So I'll give you Ah, I'll give you five. And the 1st 1 is gonna be, um, processed sugars, eh? So that's gonna be quick, rapidly absorbing sugar that's gonna come from anything that's usually boxed, bagged a raft, uh, and and in process So obviously your candy bars your sugar straight sugar. Um, so I would I would call that, you know, hi sugary foods. Uh, so the 2nd 1 would be high bad fat foods, so that would be your traditional, you know, um, swing by your McDonald's Burger King, quick. Ah, you know, fatty fried foods. They're gonna be hind was cold omega six fatty acids and Omega six has caused inflammation within the brain. Then they also create cell rigidity of the brain. So this doesn't allow a neuro transmitters to flow freely and talk sense to be eliminated from the brain. And so high, bad fat based foods, mainly coming from fast food restaurants. Um is going to be my second, and my 3rd 1 is alcohol. Alcohol is extremely inflammatory to the brain. It deprives the brain of antioxidants and oxygen, which is necessary for it to function. So, obviously leading up to high performance, we want to eliminate or significantly reduce alcohol content and then inflammatory foods. Ah, the these air not just, you know, based on sugars and fats. But there are inflammatory foods and are in our in our covered in our space in our kitchen that are going to create problems like you mentioned before these air gonna be your processed artificial sweeteners. Artificial coloring is artificial dyes. These are high inflammatory based foods, Really? Chemicals to the brain. So I would I would definitely say you know, anything with preservatives, anything that contains ah, artificial dyes and artificial sweeteners. Things like aspartame sucralose are a no go for the brain. I mean, just, you know, aspartame alone, uh, is converse toe Ah, formaldehyde this in the brain. Right. So embalming fluid. I remember back in med school, uh, doing some cadaver dissections. And there's this smell formaldehyde when they're relieved me. And just think about that and think about the ass pertain that's usually found in all your diet, drinks or diet products that aspartame is turned into a now the height of formaldehyde within the brain and your little am bombing your own brain. With that, I'd suggest not doing it. And then ah, and then and then So those those air the I would say the big ones when we think about hindering performance. And then I would say the 5th 1 is kind of like it. It can be extremely beneficial. Maybe we dive it, dive into it a little bit later. But a lot of times it's hampering our function because the excess of it but too much caffeine can actually be a hamper to r R r brain function. But when used properly with other what we would call nurture new Tropic stacks are other supplements. Captain can actually very beneficial, but the way we drink it traditionally is very in. Flames were very stressful to the brain.

spk_0:   17:26
All right, let's definitely come back to caffeine because I'm sure a lot of listeners are wondering whether they should have a cup of coffee in the morning of their exam. We'll get to that in a moment. So for all of the rest of the listeners that you didn't lose when you said to limit their alcohol intake, and I would say that is great advice. Savior alcohol for the celebration after you get your high score on test day, right so you can have the glass of wine orm or the night after your exam, when you when you walk out of the testing center in a good mood. So let's out. Let's talk about the timeline a little bit more so big picture for people who are several weeks or even months out from their exams. I feel like I feel like you've given us a lot of things to focus on. You've given us a lot of things, are there maybe tooth, like some people might be listening to this thinking. Oh my gosh, I don't I'm trying to study for a test you really wanted me to, like, revamp my whole diet. I mean, I stop at McDonald's on the way home from work every night. Like What am I supposed to do? So I don't know if a lot of people do that a little tongue in cheek, but are there two or three things that would be like the simplest things that somebody could clean up that would have the biggest bang for their buck in general? Before we talk about specifics, kind of in the days leading up to their test,

spk_1:   18:37
right? So here's Here's my my usual recommendation for people that are just trying Thio make one or two changes. It's actually not necessarily, eh? Hey, don't eat this. It's start eating this. So my one recommendation is that once a day. Build out a big salad. That's it. Just lots of greens, lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, olive oil and really just build out. Maybe put up salmon on top, but build out a big salad. And what that's gonna do is just get your mineral and vitamin content up. It's going to give you healthy fats that's gonna give. Give you healthy, healthy fats, healthy protein and healthy carbohydrates. But the big thing is, it's going to start. Is starting to give you all the micro, not macro, but the micro nutrients that your brain needs in your body needs to function. So it's actually for me. It's addition would just start consuming once a day. A nice, dense salad that's micro and macro neutral and dense with green leafy vegetables, not seize oils and a clean source of cold water fish. I mean, if you're doing that once a day, you're definitely going to nationally eliminate probably a meal that's not so favorable and and can be a a huge game changer without having to get excessive and changing and revamping someone's whole nutritional profile.

spk_0:   20:10
That's great advice. I know what I'm having for dinner. Uh, So let's talk about maybe people who are just a few days away from their exam. Can you cram nutrition for mental focus and clarity? How long does it take this to impact somebody's concentration levels, ability to think clearly? And are there any kind of short term nutrition hacks that somebody can employ a day or two before their exam?

spk_1:   20:36
Right, Right. So the problem is, the brain has built up a level of sensitivity or resistance to the nutrition that that person's consuming. So to make a drastic change days out or even the week out is not the most favorable, especially when it comes to carbohydrates and sugar. I mean, just think about most people are living off of processed foods and sugar. It just is what it is. So to eliminate those sugars week out will lead to, I think, decreased brain performance because they built up already a level of insulin resistance. So this is really conversations months before our least a couple months before. But if we're talking talking about days or a week or two before, it's more important to make sure that you're getting the quality food intake and not necessarily reduce your eliminating. Ah, too much. Now the days leading up, I think the number one ah, breakfast kind of food or hack that people should be consuming nutritionally are going to be eggs. I think just getting 4 to 5 eggs in a day, um, is huge because you're gonna get quality fats quality protein. You're gonna get fucked on ingredient called fossil title coleene, which is essential for neural transmitters. Be firing within the brain. And so, for me, I'm like, Okay, let's immediately just get this person on lights and good quality Free range Katri eggs. At least a couple of day, preferably coaster. Tofu 345 a day and then just a hand, usually a handful of nuts and seeds with it. If they're doing that, they're at least giving the brain. Ah, good level of fatty based nutrition and cholesterol. For it's a fire. Brett, There was a study I just recently saw. I mean, it's probably 2 to 3 days ago, and it showed that if someone's cholesterol level is below 200 their I Q score was lower. So an individual's I Q is lower. If you have cholesterol levels under 200 than over 200 interest again. Ah, why don't we just make sure we're adding in a high packed, high, fat, packed high cholesterol patch? Food and eggs to me is the no brainer. Um,

spk_0:   22:58
not just the egg whites, right? You want them to eat the right? Yeah.

spk_1:   23:01
Yeah. And that's really actually where all the nutrition is is in the yolk itself. That's where the fossil time of cooling is. That's where the cholesterols and that's where the fattest.

spk_0:   23:10
All right, So you mentioned eggs for breakfast. Let's talk about the day of them. They wake up, it's the morning of their exam and they're gonna have some eggs for breakfast. You mentioned some nuts. Anything else they should have And maybe let's revisit the caffeine piece. Should they also have a cup of coffee the morning of their test?

spk_1:   23:27
Yes. So So your typical uh, if we're really just kind of prepping for the the the day off, we wanna wake up and we want to Ah, and I mean, if we're really getting into, like, a kind of a bio hack brain hack day Ah, the besting news. When you wake up, take a cold shower immediately. It signals the pair of synthetic of the brain synthetic system of the brain is a phenomenal way to start boosting the brain toe high performance. You take a like a 62nd cold water shower at the end of that hot shower, and we come out and we're jumping right. It's equality, nutrition, and so I would definitely say a couple legs, 2 to 3 eggs, some type of Ah, maybe even just an omelette so you can get in some some veggies, whether it be spinach or peppers mixed in with it. We also want to consume a quality carbohydrate source. So for me, that's a handful of Berries. I'm gonna grab a big handful of blueberries, strawberries of some sort. It's okay. Even if you added in like a little bit of a dairy like a I can no like a non flavored plain yogurt. That would be fine, uh, mixed in with some Berries and then a handful of nuts and seeds. That's really gonna be the most potent brain based breakfast. Ah, and then and and a lot of people are like, Well, should I should I should I consume breakfast? I haven't been I'm not hungry. Yes, you have to eat breakfast. It is essential to stabilize your blood sugar levels, especially if you're going to consume. Then caffeine and caffeine is a huge subject matter. And to me. Ah, we can even dive deep into caffeine's more, in my opinion, A like a supplement, and you can take things with it to maximize its efficiency. But, yes, coffee is going to be a great way. Caffeine is is a is a neurotrophic. It can really help fire get the brain firing. So I would even recommend a couple coffee. But I recommend some things with it as well.

spk_0:   25:37
Like what types of things?

spk_1:   25:39
Sure, so when we start getting into, uh, caffeine, really coffee, caffeine. Caffeine is is phenomenal for the brain to wake it up. It helps with mental clarity and helps with mental focus oxygenation of the brain. And so there's there's cognitive performance improvement Um uh, by 18 to 21% by just consuming caffeine alone. But here's the big thing. Depending upon people's ability to oxidize caffeine, how quickly or how slowly the problem is that caffeine can overstimulate the burn very quickly and fire stress hormones that then cause it to become foggy and irritable and ah, and then release a ton of cortisol. So there's There's something in nature, um, that is paired with caffeine that really improve the performance of the brain. I mean, we're talking significantly, so I'm a big green tea. Ah, drinker, I love ah quality cup of Japanese green seat. And what? What's in green tea that's not in coffee is a particular amino acid called L C Anin. That's Ah, CNN as in th e a n i n e l CNN and Elsie and mean, um in when when paired with caffeine eliminates like the jitteriness, the anxiousness, the headaches that can ah, that can sometimes form and really just the stress response of caffeine in the brain and on the body. Ah, and it prevents it from over stimulating the brain. So something that I do every single day if I drink coffee instead of green tea because it's naturally found in green tea is ad l theon in, which is a simple supplement usually found about 100 milligram capsules. I'm gonna take 200 milligrams of l see anin every 100 milligrams of caffeine So if you're drinking a cup of coffee, eight ounces of coffee that's 100 milligrams, usually of caffeine, I'm gonna take at least 200 milligrams of Elsie any. And that really is a a what we call a powerful neurotrophic stack and to improve mental performance and conquer cognitive function.

spk_0:   28:09
I love that, and I have a few more supplement types of questions like that will come back to that in a moment. Let's finish the conversation around test day, so we now know what to have the morning of the exam. Let's talk about during the exam itself. Like I mentioned earlier, it could be a two and 1/2 33 and 1/2 hour grueling affair. I already kind of quoted what happens to these chess players when they think and concentrate for so hard for that length of time. What should somebody be doing during the exam? Right? I've long advised my students. They need to be taking advantage of their brakes. Oftentimes you'll get a couple 5 10 minute breaks throughout. What do they maybe be drinking or eating snacking on throughout the exam to again maximize their brain, their concentration and just make sure they don't lag a lot of times. One of the kind of the number one things students emailed me about us, you know, after an example, say, You know, I felt great, but I kind of I kind of started losing it. Towards the end. I started getting tired at the end. I had trouble with reading comprehension passages on the back half of the exam. How could somebody avoid flagging kind of on the back half of the exam?

spk_1:   29:17
Yes. So the number one in my opinion, Number one bar, none most important component nutritionally, to a T to someone taking an exam is hydration food in a dehydrated state. The brain will shut down. It absolutely will, and it's the most metabolically active organ. So if it's trying to use fat and carbohydrates for energy, it needs water supply. It's with making making energy. So Ah, one thing is, if you're not peeing on every test break, you're not consuming enough water. And if you are drinking caffeine in the morning, you're already putting your body in a dehydrated state because it's it's actually forcing water out of your body and out of your tissue s o you need to hydrate. You need to be sipping on water during the exam. You need to be chugging water between you. Your brakes are during your breaks between testing and and so I want this person. It's a little B B. Be peeing clear all day long. I think the number one biggest brain fogger is gonna be dehydration number to decrease calorically s o. That person didn't eat breakfast and then their glucose levels were dropping their They're metabolically active. Their brain is performing at a high level. Their stress. The exam is stressful potentially, which makes him burn even more fuel. So here's the issue. If they didn't eat enough in the morning, um or they haven't been snacking throughout the exam or even during breaks there gonna be calorically deprived, which will make the brain fog ish. So the number one best nutritional support outside of water is gonna be nuts and seats not like the salted roasted peanuts, Right, honey roasted nuts, a quality just dry roasted almond cashew of something sort like that with I would recommend some type of dried fruit with it, like a raisin or or you could d'oh goji Berries is my kind of go to That's a G O J. I bury. That is a phenomenal antioxidant. Rich, dried fruits. So raisins or goji Berries, a hand full of nuts and seeds. And they even make something called shredded coconut flakes that you can add So I recommend, usually like a trail mix. Or if you like, I'm not gonna be that guy that makes the trail mix. Then go get a nutritional bar that's like a like our ex bar that's got, you know, dates, nuts and seeds in it. You know you're clean bars, not your sweet, sugary bar, something that's high fat, high protein and quality carbohydrates coming from natural sources like dates, Eyes a great, um, you know, during examination, um, you know, snack So but I think water's priority and then to would be definitely handfuls of nuts, seeds and a little bit of glucose coming from like a handful of raisins or goji Berries would be phenomenal.

spk_0:   32:36
That is phenomenal advice. Let's talk a little bit more about supplements. You mentioned Healthy Anin. We've talked a lot about what people should be eating the macro nutrients and micro nutrients. Are there any ingredients that can be consumed and supplement form that would actually make an impact. And specifically, you know, I've heard a lot about Ginko Biloba as helping with memory. Is that myth or reality?

spk_1:   33:02
Yeah, no, that's that's that's reality when when you when you look at ah supplementation. This is where, in my opinion, this is where you can take an edge over the competition just by listening to this podcast taking this advice on the nutrition front. But then weeks weeks ahead, even if it's just 30 days ahead of testing. If you apply some of these supplementation principles, you will activate certain parts of the brain and be able to get the most bang out of your buck. And so I think the caffeine healthy anin always has to be paired together. That's a no brainer. Um, if you look at Ginko, I think it's great. I think there's also something when paired together that could be really powerful. But what I do every morning, uh, is issuing every afternoon is I take in what's called lion's mane Mushroom powder. So lion's mane, um, is a is a type of fungus, the type of mushrooms and ah company called Real mushrooms makes it into a powder which then you can add into hot water and drink it as a T. But Lion's mane is amazing cognitive performance enhancer, and that's something that you can do definitely, you know, even weeks before months before if you're really, you know, sitting down trying to maximise brain performance. And there's there's a lot of other things. There's ah glitter of possible coleene. But I talked about Colin being eggs. Here's here's for me what it comes down to simplicity, and this is true for most people. So in my opinion, I think if you were just a lookout on the market and say, OK, what's my biggest bang for my buck? What supplement should I take her supplements Should I take to maximise brain performance? There's a company Ah, that is called Qala. It's Q U A L I. A. And this company is has created a product that pretty much has about 40 difference. Brain performing brain performance based nutrients in a single kind of capsule form. So it has everything I just mentioned. It has lion's mane in it, it has curcumin, and it has a little bit of caffeine in it. It has. It's been studied that this this particular company has invested millions of dollars into this brain performance brain enhancing products, and it's very simple to take. And you don't have to worry about buying 20 different things and taking him at 20 different times throughout the day. This is a very simple neurotrophic blend, and it's kind of the shotgun approach. It's going to give you all your B vitamins. It's going to give you all your herbs, and it's going to give you those mushroom extracts that are really gonna enhance brain function. So I would say Quale Era is the king of supplementation when it comes to a performance enhancement for the brain. And if I were to sit down and get ready to take a test, Ah, it's something that I would 100% invest in that particular product, I think the one that most people would want it take is quality of mind, as that is the easiest one and the most broad based one for performance enhancement. When it comes to ah, cognitive acuity, sharpness and focus,

spk_0:   36:30
I'll get a link from you and post that in the show notes. I'm sure people can google that as well. So great advice there as we wrap things up. You mentioned taking a cold shower the morning off. Are there any non nutrition hacks that you would recommend? What other types of thing, whether it's sleep exercise, Are there other things that would have a noticeable impact on mental focus and clarity either leading up to or on the day of an exam?

spk_1:   37:00
Okay, so ah, yes, I would, uh, and this is just out of what I do kind of daily for. I love ah, high performing brain. And so I'm passionate about the brain I'm passionate about getting. It's a performance and firing on all cylinders. So these are things that I actually do, and I can attribute this success to him outside of just literature. Ah, and research suggesting it's it's it's involvement and how well we can perform. So the first thing Ah, that's King is sleep. Ah, and surprisingly, people ago I I I am functional five hours or sour asleep. No. So properly heal in a properly function. Ah, and suit to retain memory. Sleep is vital. Now you're telling a student asleep. There cramming. Right. So here, here's I'm gonna tell you the first ideal first is minimum of seven hours. Ah, and then even up to 88 and 1/2 hours is ideal for for brain thio hell function and store memory. That's that is to me and non negotiable. But you're like, Hey, listen, I'm cramming right now, and I'm getting five hours asleep. Okay, Well, there's a study, their studies that show that if you're only getting 345 hours asleep, which I wouldn't suggest that if you are, here's how you offset it. You take three 20 to 30 minute Napster out today. So people that that that went to sleep deprivation, Um, which, which was less than five hours of sleep but were able to get 3 20 to 30 minute naps throughout the day. They perform the same as someone who got 78 a half Now that's not looking at it over the course of five years. This is short term, but if you are cramming and you can only get 45 hours sleep, make sure you're getting at least 2 20 to 30 minute naps and preferably 1/3 1 and Ah, and that to me, sleep is number one bio hacking number two. I love Britt Breath work. I think it's underutilized, but the brain is oxygen. Ah, and so there is a breathing technique that breaks a stress response. So let's just say, you know the night before the day off during the exam. Hey, middle of the exam during breaks. Intentional breathing is absolutely huge at its ability to really calm the nervous system and break the stress response, Break the stress hormone production and re center the brain in and re center the mind. Some give you two things with breath work a Wim Hof breathing Wim Hof W i M h o f. He's the crazy Austrian that runs in the Arctic. You know, marathons and underwear and and does it negative 20 degrees weather and swims in the Arctic Ocean for hours, right? He's the crazy guy that does it just based on his breathing technique. So this is a quick inhalation and exhalation technique for 30 to 60 seconds and what this does it is a quick way of breaking the stress response and initiating the parasympathetic system. So the Wim Hof method is number one, Number two. This is what I would call box breathing. And this is probably, let's just say during the exam, you're stressed. You can feel it, build up. You don't know what to do, right? You're just kind of like in this little bit of stress response. Something hit you during the test that you didn't expect. Take 60 seconds. Thio 120 seconds. 12 minutes. Introducing box breathing. So box breathing is a four second inhalation, followed by four seconds hold followed by four seconds of ex elation, followed by a four second hold, which is a 16 2nd breath, and repeat that 3 to 5 times immediately. It's sinners. The body calm is the brain shuts the stress response down and can start to allow you to focus. And Reese, enter your mind. So sleep. The breath work and cold water showers is that is a no brainer for me as well.

spk_0:   41:19
All right, well, I think everybody listening. I think you can understand why I esteemed Dr Barrett so much. Why? Everything he has talked about is so important, so impactful in helping you guys maximize your performance on test day. So there's a lot here, guys, I encourage you to go back. We listen to it. I hope you guys have been taking notes. There's a lot of very simple but actionable intangible stuff that absolutely will pay dividends for you on test day. So I think we'll wrap it up here. A huge thanks to Dr Barrett. Dr Bertagna, Any final just words of encouragement or kind of parting shots for the listeners?

spk_1:   41:57
Oh, absolutely not. I think I think we uncovered enough information to help people really take Ah advantage. In my opinion, when you hacked the nutrition and you go into, like, a little bit of brain hacking strategies, I think it's untapped potential.

spk_0:   42:13
We'll leave it there. How can people connect with you?

spk_1:   42:15
Oh, sure, I mean mainly social media. We put out a lot of information. Um, so I think that's always good. Health factories, Facebook page. Mr Graham, Always you can jump online or website, find information, shoot us an email if you have questions and we're in Knoxville, if you want to come into your workshop and hang out with us, but anyway we can we can help just reach out to us, and we'd be happy to.

spk_0:   42:44
That was incredible. I knew Dr Barrett would have a ton of really valuable stuff to say on the topic. I wasn't sure just how in depth and how actionable and practical his advice would be. So I hope you found it as informative as I did your action item for this week. I think it's pretty clear, actually, there's a lot we could choose from, what from what Dr Parent had to teach. But I think the easiest thing just to encourage you guys to do is starting today. Introduce a salad, a nutrient dense salad to your diet every single day between now and test day, whether that's just a few days away or weeks and months between now and test a a fairly simple thing to do. But the simplest things to do are not always the easiest things to do. So be intentional about it, and I think the payoff is certainly worth the sacrifice. If you're not ordinarily until it geant eater to go back to the quote at the beginning of this episode, So again, ah, huge Thank you to Dr Barrett. You can check the show notes for some of the links to things that he talked about and to connect with. Dr. Baruch, if you're interested in Maur on nutrition and the roller complained not only in terms of brain function but all aspects of health and for now we'll wrap this up as always. Please subscribe if you're not already subscribe so that you're alerted every time we drop in new episode. Share this with your friends like us. Comment below. We would love some positive reviews on whatever platform you use to listen to your podcasts. Thank you for continuing to support the Dominate test prop podcast, and I am signing off. But we'll talk to you guys again very soon on the Dominate test Prep podcast. Take care, everyone.