Dr. John Ratey, expert on the correlation between brain activity and how it’s important for us to move our bodies, discusses seven ways to take control of your life, along with the link between depression and sugar, being responsible for our own well-being, and the benefits of exercise. Serena Marie, RD, talks about foods that are great for brain health.
Featured Guest: Dr. John Ratey
Harvard psychiatrist and foremost authority when it comes to the brain and exercise, Dr. John Ratey, discusses the correlation between sugar and depression/other diseases, being proponents for our own well-being, and the benefits of exercise. He has been on TRLS in such episodes as “John Ratey” (Episode 53), “Dr. John Ratey” (Episode 59), “Optimize Your Brain With Dr. John Ratey, Part 1” (Episode 74), and “Optimize Your Brain With Dr. John Ratey, Part 2” (Episode 75).

Companies work with people to find better ways to accommodate health in their lives, like startups working with the elderly to get them moving and to get them out into the community more.
We’re near a tipping point; people recognize that we have to be more responsible for ourselves and our own health. We’re empowered by Google medicine and also knowing how to be healthier and how to increase our well-being.
The biggest thing that Kari read recently is that our genes account for 5% of what can happen to us (from Super Genes: Unlock the Astonishing Power of Your DNA for Optimum Health and Well-Being by Deepak Chopra, MD, and Rudolph E. Tanzi, PhD).
Our genetic inheritance can guide us to that wisdom that’s impacted in our genes—to be in the moment, to eat right, to get the proper amount of sleep, to connect with others, and so on.
He’s excited about two different Silicon Valley firms that he’s working with who recognize that small tribes are the way to promote a better sense of well-being.
He’ll be talking with an artificial intelligence group and another group that has proven that successful entrepreneurs have a passion for taking steps in helping the elderly try to improve their lives and getting them connected with others through exercise and the community.
If you have been following him on Facebook, you’ll know that he’s recently been interviewed by Larry King, and to his surprise a group in CA put together a song called “Ratey-O-Active” on YouTube (like “Radioactive”).
The “Super Seven” Commandments include eating right, being outside, being with your tribe, meditation, getting enough sleep, exercise, and mindset.
Question: Can you get the same tribe feeling from a Facebook group that you can from meeting in person? Answer: It can be a starting point, but it’s never going to be the same. But there are a lot of different mechanisms being developed and that are already in existence (like Meetup).
He talks about the November Project and walking or running up and down the stairs at Harvard Stadium.
The “dopamine squirt”—the surprise or novelty of an e-mail
Using our past history and our biometrics (blood pressure, pulse) as well as what we’ve felt and what we like in the past is called affective computing so that we can be guided to prompt ourselves to move—it increases your state of well-being.
You do not need sugar if you are burning fat. Dick Manning is a trail runner in Montana who has eliminated sugar for years from his diet. He’s lost weight and gotten out of depression. He is using fat as his fuel (via a ketogenic diet). High concentrations of sugar lead to inflammation and putting on weight/fat.
Ratey cautions jumping on the probiotics bandwagon (meaning purchasing probiotics in pill form rather than eating foods with probiotics) because we know very little about it. We’re on the cusp of learning. Serena Marie, RD, talked about probiotics on “The Hottest “Living A Running Lifestyle” Trends With Kalyn Rozanski” (Episode 118).
The first prescription for someone who has gastrointestinal problems is to eliminate sugar from his or her diet.
For an injured runner, try to avoid dep