Ever heard of the blood brain barrier?
The blood brain barrier is a vital part of your child's body to support when looking to improve their mood, behaviour and focus.
So what is it?
The blood brain barrier is the division between the body and the brain. It surrounds the blood vessels in the brain and decides what is able to enter from the bloodstream to the brain. It's helpful to think of the blood brain barrier like a wall with many doors. Some substances can easily pass through the doors, but others are not allowed through. I suppose we could call the it the ultimate bouncer.
The purpose of the blood brain barrier is protection. It is highly selective, meaning that substances such as water, oxygen and nutrients can pass through, while others like heavy metals and pesticides are kept out, protecting the brain. Interestingly, alcohol can pass through the blood brain barrier.... leading to confusion, dizziness and very wobbly walking.
What makes the blood brain barrier work so well is it's tight junctions. This means that the spaces between it's cells are extremely close together, leaving few gaps for substances to pass through.
Why is the blood brain barrier important to know about?
When a child is struggling to focus or having a hard time with their mood or behaviour, it is one of the parts of the body that I support. It protects your child's brain from harmful substances, and it controls the level of neurotransmitters that enter the brain. It also allows waste products to be removed from the brain. At night, those tight junctions loosen, allowing used up neurotransmitters and substances no longer needed in the brain to be released into the bloodstream for removal from the body.
Damage to the effectiveness of the blood brain barrier can happen due to many environmental factors around your child such as:
microwave radiation
smoking
air pollution
inflammation or infection in the body
stress
dietary factors such as food intolerance
There have also been recent studies finding links between the health of the blood brain barrier and the health of the gut lining, those tight junctions that keep food from entering the bloodstream until it is broken down. Also being studied is the relationship between the microbes in the gut and the blood brain barrier.
So what can you do to support your child's blood brain barrier?
1. Support sleep
In order to effectively remove the waste that builds up in the brain, your child's body needs sleep. It is during sleep that the blood brain barrier loosens, allowing this waste to enter the bloodstream to be removed from the body. Support your child's sleep by removing screens in the evening and blocking all light from their room. Add a red nightlight if they need some light. Adding in tryptophan rich foods such as milk, dark chocolate, oats and banana can support sleep by increasing the sleep hormone melatonin. For more tips on support your child to sleep take a look at my blog post.
2. Reduce sugar
Too much sugar causes inflammation in the body, which is damaging to the blood brain barrier. Consider how much sugar your child eats in a day, thinking about hidden sugar in sauces and drinks. Try to replace sauces with homemade options, replace cakes with fruit and make water the main liquid that your child drinks. Get more help with removing sugar by taking a look at my blog post.
3. Reduce stress
A nice way to support stress is with meditation, which balances the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. You only need 10 minutes each day, and it can be a calming addition to a bedtime routine. Sit with your child in a quiet spot and breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for a second, then slowly breathe out and repeat. The app Breethe has some lovely bedtime stories delivered as a meditation. For older children, apps like Headspace or Calm can encourage a regular meditation routine.
4. Add probiotic foods
One of the simple ways to support your child's blood brain barrier is by supporting their gut health. Add in probiotic foods such as kefir, yogurt with live cultures, mozzarella cheese and tempeh. Experiment with what your child will tolerate. Yogurt with some granola and berries is a great breakfast, and kefir can be an after school snack.
5. Add in foods that lower inflammation
Cruciferous vegetables are an excellent choice of anti-inflammatory food. These include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, watercress and kale. While these are often not kid's favourite foods, experiment with adding them to a homemade pasta sauce or a smoothie. Turmeric is also anti-inflammatory, so try a mild curry or kedgeree.
Try one of these simple blood brain barrier boosting steps this week and let me know how it goes!
If you're ready for some help, book a call and we'll chat about how I can support you and your child.
References:
Daneman, R. & Prat, A. (2019). 'The Blood-Brain Barrier,' Cold Springs Harbor Perspectives in Biology, 7(1).
Blanchette, M. & Daneman, R. (2015). 'Formation and maintenance of the BBB,' Merch Dev, 138, pp. 8-16.
Parker, A. et al. (2020). 'Gut microbes and metabolites as modulators of blood-brain barrier integrity and brain health,' Gut Microbes, 11(2), pp. 135-157.