Nutrition For Brain Health

I gave a talk recently on nutrition for brain health. Here are some key points and more resources for those wanting to dive deeper.

🧠 Focus + Brain Fuel Smoothie

Ingredients (1 serving):

• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk (soy, almond, coconut etc.)
• ½ cup cooked spinach (cooled)
• 1 scoop clean protein powder
• 3–5 g creatine monohydrate
• ½–1 tsp lion’s mane powder
• 1 tsp inulin powder
• 1 tsp MCT oil
• ¼–½ avocado
• ½ tsp spirulina
• ½ cup blueberries
• ½ banana

Optional: ice or cinnamon for taste and blood sugar balancing support 🙂

Why this supports the brain

• Cooked spinach + spirulina → magnesium, folate, chlorophyll for neural support
• Creatine → ATP production for brain energy and mental stamina
• Lion’s mane → supports neuroplasticity and focus
• MCT oil + avocado → stable fuel for neurons, blood sugar balance
• Blueberries → antioxidant protection for brain cells
• Protein + inulin → gut–brain axis support and neurotransmitter building blocks

How to blend

Add liquids first → powders → soft ingredients → blend until smooth.

Gut-friendly tip:
If prone to bloating, start with ½ tsp inulin and ¼ avocado, then increase soluble fibre as tolerated. This is what I help people with in 1:1 coaching.

Brain Health Products I am loving right now:

Omega-3 Balance Oil by Zinzino and their at-home omega balance test. Check your omega ratios and determine your overall inflammation, and cellular health! If your cells aren’t structurally healthy, they are less able to absorb all the other supplements you are taking.

BEAM liquid minerals 20% off with code NEUROFIT. Great foundation for restoring minerals, and detoxifying heavy metals.

Magnesium threonate or bisglycinate (crosses Blood-Brain barrier)

Phosphatidylcholine liquid supplement by BodyBio

HoloImmune paraprobiotic for immune balancing within the gut by HealthyGut

Holozyme digestive enzymes by Healthy Gut. Can be used for better nutrient absorption and to lower systemic inflammation if used in between meals.

Megasporebiotic by Microbiome Labs (ask me how to register as a client to access these amazing spore-based probiotics)

Good Protein Powder. Amazing ingredients, so many tasty flavours, and based in Canada!

Creatine Monohydrate – powder form for smoothies, or easy and delicious creatine gummies from Iron & Ivy based in Vancouver. Boosts cellular ATP recycling, for muscle growth and brain health.

Squatty Potty stool for supporting the right pooping posture. Game changer.

X39 patch. Longevity biohacking with GHK peptide patch. Photobiomodulation is the future!

Red light therapy. We didn’t dive into this, but it has some powerful properties for reducing inflammation and increasing energy production. Lumebox is a great option.

Vitamin Lab personalized all-in-one vitamin formulations. Based in Victoria, BC. 🙂

Reach out to Heather at neurofitforlife@gmail.com for support and more personalized care in navigating these resources and supplement options. She works with clients to support them in building a nutrition and lifestyle plan to overcome bloating, indigestion, IBS, brain fog, mental health challenges, hormone imbalances, and diabetes.

Key Slides about the gut-brain axis.

This relationship is so important, and the key to healing digestion and mental health is to address both the gut and brain as they are so intertwined and constantly communicating. Eating enough fibre signals to the gut wall which communicates with the vagus nerve signals of satiety and safety, which calms the vagus nerve, and the immune response, lowering inflammation.

Full presentation available to view here.

While supplements are helpful, food is always first in terms of priority. I wrote an article about my top 5 supplements for gut health if you want to dive deeper into supplements.

I do my research, and I encourage you to as well. Here are my references:

• Cheng LH, Liu YW, Wu CC, Wang S, Tsai YC. Psychobiotics in mental health, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. J Food Drug Anal. 2019 Jul;27(3):632-648. doi: 10.1016/j.jfda.2019.01.002. Epub 2019 Feb 10. PMID: 31324280; PMCID: PMC9307042.
• Asad A, Kirk M, Zhu S, Dong X, Gao M. Effects of Prebiotics and Probiotics on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Clinically Diagnosed Samples: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutr Rev. 2025 Jul 1;83(7):e1504-e1520. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuae177. PMID: 39731509; PMCID: PMC12166186.
• Aizawa E, Tsuji H, Asahara T, Takahashi T, Teraishi T, Yoshida S, et al. Possible association of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the gut microbiota of patients with major depressive disorder. J Affect Disord. 2016;202:254–7. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.05.038. [PubMed]
• Huang R, Wang K, Hu J. Effect of probiotics on depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrients. 2016;8 doi: 10.3390/nu8080483. [PMC free article]
• Wallace CJK, Milev R. The effects of probiotics on depressive symptoms in humans: a systematic review. Ann Gen Psychiatr. 2017;16:14. doi: 10.1186/s12991-017-0138-2.
• Vogt NM, Kerby RL, Dill-McFarland KA, Harding SJ, Merluzzi AP, Johnson SC, et al. Gut microbiome alterations in Alzheimer’s disease. Sci Rep. 2017;7:13537.
• Dicks LMT. Gut Bacteria and Neurotransmitters. Microorganisms. 2022 Sep 14;10(9):1838. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10091838. PMID: 36144440; PMCID: PMC9504309.
• Mabbott N.A., Donaldson D.S., Ohno H., Williams I.R., Mahajan A. Microfold (M) cells: Important immunosurveillance posts in the intestinal epithelium. Mucosal Immunol. 2013;6:666–677. doi: 10.1038/mi.2013.30.
• Sun L.-J., Li J.-N., Nie Y.-Z. Gut hormones in microbiota-gut-brain cross-talk. Chin. Med. J. 2020;133:826–833.
• https://drruscio.com/does-heat-kill-probiotics/
• https://drruscio.com/best-probiotic-for-anxiety/
• https://microdosinginstitute.com/microdosing-101/substances/lions-mane-stacking/

Trust your gut,

Heather van tassel