USE VANILLA TO INCREASE YOUR MENTAL PERFORMANCE
Vanilla is so much more than an ice cream flavor or a popular scent for air fresheners. It can actually increase your brainpower. Before vanilla was known as a delicious addition to Bulletproof Coffee, healers used it for centuries as a powerful medicinal plant.[1]
Packed with antioxidants, vanilla is still a coveted spice that is harder and harder to source for a reasonable price. This article covers the benefits of vanilla, how to choose a Bulletproof source, and what’s going on in the vanilla industry that’s making the good stuff so expensive. #vanillagate
BENEFITS OF VANILLA FOR YOUR BRAIN AND BODY
The best-known medicinal use for vanilloids is to combat inflammation. (More on how these work in your body in a minute.) Think of how your skin gets swollen and red when you get a cut or a burn – the same biological mechanism can happen on your insides with exposure to stress,[2] crappy food, mold, and other harmful chemicals.
Inflammation is bad for your body, but worse for your brain. The release of inflammatory cytokines contribute to brain fog,[3] so it’s harder to focus, think clearly, or remember even the simplest tasks.
Vanillin promotes relaxation to calm the cytokine storm.[4]
Other historical uses for vanilla:
Calms stomach pains[5]
Reduces fever[6]
Relieves stress[7]
Reduces joint pain[8]
Helps with nausea or morning sickness
May improve male impotence[9]
HOW VANILLOIDS WORK
Vanilloids are the active chemical compounds found in spices like vanilla, ginger, allspice, and cloves. So, yes, even though they’re called vanilloids, these chemical structures are found in other non-vanilla-tasting things. For instance, capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers hot, is a vanilloid.
Vanilloids like vanillin and capsaicin work by binding to receptors in your body and disrupting the pathway involved in pain.
Part of this pain-busting mechanisms is that vanilloids “use up” your body’s supply of a major pain signaling compound called substance P.[10] High levels of substance P are correlated with arthritis,[11] fibromyalgia,[12] and other inflammatory diseases.[13]
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST VANILLA
I use vanilla almost every day, in either Bulletproof Coffee or whenever I have “Get Some” ice cream. It’s produced a noticeable improvement in my concentration and ability to handle stress. The caveat is in the quality.
I first started to research the cognitive effects of vanilla after noticing that some vanilla products made me feel great and some made me feel pretty slow. Turns out that quality can vary greatly and they’re pretty susceptible to mold toxins.
Here are some questions to ask to help you choose the best vanilla products out there.
Where did it come from? An estimated 95% of “vanilla” products are not made with real vanilla. Instead, food manufacturers use artificial vanillin derived from a paper-pulp byproduct called lignin instead of actually vanilla pods.[14] Not only that – in the U.S., castoreum, a …ahem … substance extracted from the anal glands of mature beavers is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food additive.[15] Often referred to as a “natural flavoring,” beaver juice is commonly used in food and beverages as vanilla and raspberry flavoring.[16]
Is there quality/mold testing in place? Vanilla is highly susceptible to mold. Because of the drying/curing process, less than perfect conditions result in sometimes microscopic mold toxins that can wreak havoc on your performance.[17] Some people are more sensitive than others, but they’re certainly not good for anybody. A decent manufacturer will have stringent quality testing practices in place. Most of the time, you can just email the company and ask for copies of their reports or quality standards.
How is it processed? Excess heat destroys the anti-inflammatory compounds in vanilla. Heating vanilla poses another problem – mold toxins. The compounds in vanilla that help improve cognitive performance also act as natural anti-fungal agents. When these compounds are destroyed, mold spores and fungi are able to grow on the dried beans during storage. If you eat the wrong kind of vanilla, it can actually cause more harm than good.
Packed with antioxidants, vanilla is still a coveted spice that is harder and harder to source for a reasonable price. This article covers the benefits of vanilla, how to choose a Bulletproof source, and what’s going on in the vanilla industry that’s making the good stuff so expensive. #vanillagate
BENEFITS OF VANILLA FOR YOUR BRAIN AND BODY
The best-known medicinal use for vanilloids is to combat inflammation. (More on how these work in your body in a minute.) Think of how your skin gets swollen and red when you get a cut or a burn – the same biological mechanism can happen on your insides with exposure to stress,[2] crappy food, mold, and other harmful chemicals.
Inflammation is bad for your body, but worse for your brain. The release of inflammatory cytokines contribute to brain fog,[3] so it’s harder to focus, think clearly, or remember even the simplest tasks.
Vanillin promotes relaxation to calm the cytokine storm.[4]
Other historical uses for vanilla:
Calms stomach pains[5]
Reduces fever[6]
Relieves stress[7]
Reduces joint pain[8]
Helps with nausea or morning sickness
May improve male impotence[9]
HOW VANILLOIDS WORK
Vanilloids are the active chemical compounds found in spices like vanilla, ginger, allspice, and cloves. So, yes, even though they’re called vanilloids, these chemical structures are found in other non-vanilla-tasting things. For instance, capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers hot, is a vanilloid.
Vanilloids like vanillin and capsaicin work by binding to receptors in your body and disrupting the pathway involved in pain.
Part of this pain-busting mechanisms is that vanilloids “use up” your body’s supply of a major pain signaling compound called substance P.[10] High levels of substance P are correlated with arthritis,[11] fibromyalgia,[12] and other inflammatory diseases.[13]
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST VANILLA
I use vanilla almost every day, in either Bulletproof Coffee or whenever I have “Get Some” ice cream. It’s produced a noticeable improvement in my concentration and ability to handle stress. The caveat is in the quality.
I first started to research the cognitive effects of vanilla after noticing that some vanilla products made me feel great and some made me feel pretty slow. Turns out that quality can vary greatly and they’re pretty susceptible to mold toxins.
Here are some questions to ask to help you choose the best vanilla products out there.
Where did it come from? An estimated 95% of “vanilla” products are not made with real vanilla. Instead, food manufacturers use artificial vanillin derived from a paper-pulp byproduct called lignin instead of actually vanilla pods.[14] Not only that – in the U.S., castoreum, a …ahem … substance extracted from the anal glands of mature beavers is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food additive.[15] Often referred to as a “natural flavoring,” beaver juice is commonly used in food and beverages as vanilla and raspberry flavoring.[16]
Is there quality/mold testing in place? Vanilla is highly susceptible to mold. Because of the drying/curing process, less than perfect conditions result in sometimes microscopic mold toxins that can wreak havoc on your performance.[17] Some people are more sensitive than others, but they’re certainly not good for anybody. A decent manufacturer will have stringent quality testing practices in place. Most of the time, you can just email the company and ask for copies of their reports or quality standards.
How is it processed? Excess heat destroys the anti-inflammatory compounds in vanilla. Heating vanilla poses another problem – mold toxins. The compounds in vanilla that help improve cognitive performance also act as natural anti-fungal agents. When these compounds are destroyed, mold spores and fungi are able to grow on the dried beans during storage. If you eat the wrong kind of vanilla, it can actually cause more harm than good.