BONUS: Ep 54 1/2 - Brain Health, Red Light Therapy and Diabetes - Talk with Marcelle Siegel, PhD Brain Health Pro - Path to Better A1C: Proven Strategies for Blood Sugar Balance, Craving Control + Diabetes Prevention

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello there, welcome to the pathto better A1C podcast.
I am Jetty Pena National Board certified health and Wellness
coach, diabetes prevention program, lifestyle coach coming
with strategies to balance your blood sugar, regain your energy,
something that is sustainable because we we are not advocate
as extreme diets or anything like that, but we just want you

(00:20):
to apply changes that fit your life and that help your overall
health and Wellness. And today I am honored to have
Marcel as my guest and she's going to talk a little bit about
what she does, but sneak peek, it has to do about your brain.
So Marcel, welcome, please introduce yourself.

(00:41):
Thanks so much for having me, Jenny.
I'm Marcel Siegel, Pi, have a pHin interdisciplinary
neurosciences and what I love todo is to bring the chill to
people's brains using like natural, easy to do methods.
I love the fact that you use chill.

(01:01):
Yeah, we could all use a little extra chill, right?
It's great because a lot of my audience and even a lot of my
clients, most of them are executives and I think that they
would actually need to chill their brains.
They deal with a lot of stress. They were a lot of pressures.
And then when they when you add the diabetes diagnosis and you

(01:23):
add the changes that they need to make in their diet and their
lifestyle, that just piles up with everything else.
I would love to know how would you help someone get that chill.
Yeah, well, I that's what I do is I help people who are
stressed out professionals. And then I also help people who

(01:44):
are, you know, maybe have serious chronic illnesses or
like, you know, deep neurological things like bipolar
or I mean just like a little ADHD or things like that who
need a little extra help. So I love using nature to help
people so we can get so much. There's so many good things that
come to us from nature. So our food.

(02:07):
So thinking about how to change what we eat, getting back to
more natural things and Whole Foods is really important for
our brain in order to fuel our brain the best.
And then I love getting people outside.
So we often are, you know, stuckat our jobs, stuck at our
computer, stuck looking at screens all day.

(02:28):
And that blue light is actually bad for us.
It causes more information in our brain.
It causes us to feel more stressed out and tired.
And when we get outside, the sunlight's really good for us.
And then I use, like, advanced solutions.
So things like red light therapy.
Red light therapy is not just for your face.
A lot of people think it's for your skin, but it's also amazing

(02:51):
for your neurons. So I love to use advanced
solutions like that that are more technological and look at
their biochemistry. I'll look at their blood tests,
genetic tests. We can do hair tissue mineral
analysis and really see what nutrients they're missing.
Lots of people these days are missing nutrients because we're
not eating that well. And then do they have any

(03:12):
neurotransmitter or hormonal imbalances helping them get more
balanced and kind of an easy, simple way that's doable because
I get it, we're all super busy. Yes, absolutely.
So I know that food is like the one thing that it seems to be
the easiest one or the most accessible for people to modify.

(03:33):
So what are some foods or changes or things for people to
start incorporating more that help with your brain function
overall and what inflammation? Yeah, so one of them that a lot
of people don't eat enough of ishealthy fats.
So we're all like, oh, I don't want to eat any fat.
I need to lose fat. So I don't I'm not going to eat
any fat. But actually healthy fats are

(03:55):
super good for you and they're super good for your, your mental
health. Healthy fats like Omega threes
in them. So like eating coconut oil is
really good for you, eating olive oil, adding just a little
extra olive oil to your diet. If you're not having too much of
that, thinking about healthy nuts that have Omega threes like
walnuts. I love a walnut because it looks

(04:16):
like a brain and you, you can eat them.
It's something that's all natural.
And then you're, you're giving yourself Omega threes, which it
helps with myelin production, which is like the coating of our
axons. It's a fatty coating.
A lot of our nerves are actuallymade out of fat.
So we need to be eating fat to build our nerve cells and then

(04:39):
also to reduce our stress levelsand have like healthy hormonal
balances and things like that. So that's one thing I tell
people. And then also things like like
having a little apple apple cider vinegar before you eat
your meal to get your glucose levels.
That's actually one thing that Ihad to touch in in a former
episode, and I'm going to yeah, I had an episode about myths and

(05:04):
what was science and what was myth, and that is one thing that
is actually backed with science.That.
While obviously don't rely on italone to lower your A1C and then
eat whatever, but it does help. It does help with that blood
sugar spike if you do it before.So that is true, yes.

(05:24):
And then these I'm sure like youtalk about like adding lots of
fiber to your diet, making sure you're having high protein.
Those things are also so important for your brain health
as well. And having that balanced blood
sugar is super important to our brain health.
We have so many brain fog and mood problems and then even more
serious problems like dementia that happen due to our blood

(05:44):
sugar fluctuating too much and not getting the energy to our
brain. Our brain is this kind of organ
that's not too much of our body weight.
It's usually about 2% of your body weight, but it takes up 20
to 25% of the energy in your body.
So it's like an energy hog in your body.

(06:05):
It needs a ton of energy. So it makes sense that your
brain and your nervous system isjust really super sensitive to
your metabolism and to those that blood sugar that you have
going on, you know, so it's, that's kind of how it is in
their brain compared to, you know, thinking about diabetes.

(06:26):
Wow amazing amazing how it is all connected.
One thing I, I didn't know that the brain consumes so much
energy. So that is that is very
interesting and I love the fact that you're supporting what I
typically share in this episode.That is OK.
Like prioritize protein corporate.
I, I have something that I like to call the PFF instead of BFF.

(06:48):
Make sure that all your meals have PFF.
It's just protein, fiber and healthy fats.
And every time you eat anything,ask yourself where's the
protein, where's the fiber, where's the fat?
And if there is a component thatis missing, think about how can
I actually add that, incorporatethat and make the plate more
balanced. Now, I know that you mentioned a

(07:10):
lot of other thing, a lot of other components.
Is there any other suggestion? And I know that you mentioned
stress that maybe a strategy, something that is simple that
you would suggest for individuals.
And again, they need that chill to their brains.
Yeah, there's there's so many great ways to reduce stress.

(07:33):
So one that you people probably heard of as breath work.
I love using your breath as a way to change your stress like
your breath is literally tied toyour nervous system.
So if we inhale slower than we normally would, so maybe you're
inhaling for like 4 counts, 1234, maybe you're going to

(07:55):
pause for say, 5 seconds and then you're going to exhale for
seven seconds. So that's longer than your
inhale. That's just a really easy thing
that you can do that makes a huge change.
Like it immediately switches your nervous system and it says
it sends a signal to your vagus nerve.
Hey, relax, everything's OK. We're exhaling longer than we're

(08:18):
inhaling. Everything's going to be OK.
You do that a few times and you'll feel much better very
quickly. I love doing things to where you
like splash cold water on your face.
If you're having like a panic moment or you're having like an
anxious moment, you're having too much stress and you need to
get out of it quickly. That's a great one.
So you could actually submerge your whole face or head in cold

(08:41):
water, which stimulates the diving reflex in your brain and
will instantly calm you down. But what's often easier, what I
like to just do is just kind of get some water on my hands, it's
cold, and just splash it on my face.
And that will tag that same reflex and help you immediately
lower your blood pressure, reduce your stress.

(09:04):
Very interesting. Now, one thing that you
mentioned, the red light therapy, and the first thing
that came to my mind was I thought there was some skin care
thing and that's all it was. But I would love for you to
share a little bit about it. What does it do to benefit brain
health? That's very interesting.
Yeah, red light therapy is amazing and it's something that

(09:26):
we see all these advertisements for skin, but like it's been
used by NASA and it's been used in hospitals for wound care and
things like that for years and years and years and years.
It's one of the actually the most researched for many
different conditions. So it will help you lower your
inflammation. And we can do that not just in

(09:47):
our it'll help you with your whole body.
So it's great for diabetes because metabolic issues tend to
go along with inflammation. So you can do infrared.
That near infrared heat going into your body changes your
cellular chemistry and reduces your inflammation.
It actually reduces oxide. It's called oxidative stress in

(10:09):
your cells. That's one really great thing
about it. It's also just a relaxing
practice. So I it's like one of my
favorite things to do for my mental health because it's so
relaxing. It's easy to do.
You're just sitting in front of lights and there's nothing
really hard about it. I think it's easier than making
food changes because it's like, I just get to sit there.

(10:33):
And then you can also add practices to it.
So like you could do if you're ameditator, you can meditate
while you're under the red lighttherapy.
If you like to do Pilates or yoga or something like that, you
could do that during your session.
It's actually really great for cellular recovery too.
But what I teach people is how to use infrared appropriately to

(10:54):
actually get into your nervous system.
You have to have enough power, good wavelengths that will reach
your nervous system, and then also make sure that you're
treating like your central nervous system, which is your
brain and spinal cord. So meaning like you have to
treat your head. A great place to treat is your
front of your head, as well as the back of your head and your

(11:16):
neck. There's a lot of lymphatic
drainage in our necks and so that's really great for getting
rid of kind of detoxing our bodies.
There's so many things that it'sgood.
For it seems like it. This is very interesting and
it's a lot more than skin care. Sadly.
That's what I thought of my. Yeah.
And something great skin care and that I didn't think that it

(11:37):
had that brain benefit. But yeah, if you know how to use
it, yeah. And I'm not talking about the
masks. So the masks usually are made
for skin. So it's like beyond the masks,
the pan they have, there's panels, there's bulbs, there's
saunas. All those things are really good
for your nervous system. I know a lot more people now are

(11:58):
having ADHD and that can impact their productivity and all that.
Is there anything that you can share?
Any techniques for those that are like?
And I know that I have a couple of clients that that it, that
it's even something that I have to consider when we're coaching
because the coaching style has to change a little bit because
of their mind and how their mindworks.

(12:20):
But if there is anything that you can touch on that.
And is there a connection related with blood sugar
imbalance and ADHD or do you feel that they're separate?
Because sometimes I feel that itseems now that there's, I'm
seeing it more. It is like, oh, like I'm, I'm
struggling with blood sugar imbalance and insulin
resistance. And and now they're seeing like

(12:41):
now I got diagnosed with ADHD soI'm seeing it more often.
Absolutely. The scientists are catching up
on that and seeing so many connections.
So there's connections in the biochemical pathways and then
there's connections in how we understand mental health.
So I really see the future of mental health as metabolic and

(13:04):
inflammation. It's all about metabolism and
it's all about inflammation. So I think it makes a lot of
sense that you're seeing those connections with ADHD.
It's very inflammatory. So if you have ADHD, you likely
have quite a bit of neuro inflammation.
There's also likely some metabolic stuff going on as

(13:26):
well. Some of the things that are help
can can be helpful with that areeating higher fat and protein
diets, so having lots of healthyfat, really keeping blood sugar
lower and balanced. When we have metabolic issues,

(13:47):
that means that our hormones aregetting involved.
So we know about insulin and insulin sensitivity, But before
that happens with insulin, we'vegot leptin and leptin becomes a
lot sensitive. And then after that, let's say
you're an older woman, you may have some perimenopause
happening and then you've got some progesterone, estrogen
stuff happening. And then that interacts with

(14:09):
ADHD as well and makes it even harder to focus and harder to be
able mood. So I love using metabolic
interventions with things like ADHD and then also inflammatory
interventions. So doing things like red light
therapy to reduce inflammation, doing blood tests to see what is

(14:31):
that, what are the levels of inflammatory markers, and then
doing things to get those down. So that can include extra
exercise, extra movement. Often when there's ADHD, it's so
great to get an extra movement because it literally will give
you that like happy hormones andkind of make you feel fulfilled.
So you're not like chasing the dopamine.

(14:53):
And then it's also a great way to stabilize blood sugar as you
know, you know, and like get that metabolism in good shape.
So lots of things like that, both like using advanced tech
and checking biomarkers and things like that and then using
the solutions that work for the person.
So if the person loves movement and exercise, we add more of
that. If they're like I'm can barely

(15:14):
walk right now, then we start with something like infrared and
red light therapy which is superrelaxing but will help take that
inflammation away and. I love the fact that you
personalize the treatment based OK, like if the person feels
this way so that you want to tryto the end result that's there,

(15:35):
but you do want to find something that is going to fit
the life of. The person, that's something.
That I it's like, OK, like you cannot just have a blanket
statement or a blanket strategy.You have to really see OK, and
people have different strengths.Maybe they are active and then
there are other elements that need to be addressed, right to

(15:58):
like tackle that inflammation. That's amazing.
Oh my God, there's so much information, but I would love
for the audience to get to know a little bit about you.
And, and one question that I have is why brain, why deciding
to get a doctorate degree and getting into this?
What actually cost you to pick this and not something else?

(16:21):
Because it's so fascinating. Yeah, well, I, I got started
like pretty young with a brain, just being fascinated by
neurobiology. I studied the motor patterns of
frogs starting out many, many years ago.
I was like, what is the coolest thing I could study?
Oh my gosh, It's got to be the brain because the brain does

(16:43):
everything. So I've been fascinated by the
brain for years and years and years.
And the the way brain rise happened, brain rise is my, my
brain health company is I'm a professor.
So I've been a professor now forover 20 years.
And while I love teaching, I hadlike my own health crisis and

(17:04):
like going through menopause at the same time, I had cancer and
through force and the pandemic and all those kinds of things.
We're all like, right at the same time.
And so that brought me back intothinking about how do I solve my
own health problems? And then how like, how can I
help other people and who do I want to help?

(17:25):
And as I was thinking about that, it was all, oh, I'm going
all the way back to brain science and my, my neuro degree.
I'm just because I find it so fascinating.
It's just such an exciting time to be in neuroscience because of
all the new new really perspectives on how we view the
brain, how we view the nervous system and how much better we

(17:47):
understand what's going on with people and how to help them.
So I just love to love it. I love working with clients and
helping them in ways that they thought like they could not feel
better and then they feel better, you know?
It's just so much fun. Nothing is so, so satisfying
when you see, like, your clients.
Like, I didn't think that I was going to be in this place.

(18:08):
Like, sometimes they have these struggles and goals and they
feel that they're so far away. And then like, when they finally
get there, wow, I cannot believeit.
Like, OK, like, I'm there. And that's amazing.
Now I have a few random questions.
Just random questions. Favorite book?
What I wanted to say is Awakenings.

(18:31):
Awakenings is by Oliver Sacks, the neurologist who's kind of
also like a a poet. He's fantastic writer and has so
many cool, interesting things tosay.
Favorite drink for the morning? I'm going to say mushroom
coffee. What is your favorite snack when

(18:55):
you're hitting that 3:00 PM slump and you're like, I need
something. I'm a big nuts person, so I'm
going to go for some soaked almonds or some almonds baked
with some Rosemary or some spiced spice.
I love spice nuts right around this time of year.
Something like that. And what is your favorite song

(19:18):
when you're feeling a little down?
When you feel like, OK, I need to kind of like get my mood up.
Music is like such a great way to get your mood up.
There's so many. I'll just say one that I used to
like run around with my kids singing is YMCA by the Village

(19:38):
People. And it does give that that sense
of nostalgia and the baseball and all that.
Any last simple strategies that you want to suggest maybe for
individuals that are feeling OK?Like I'm, I'm feeling the brain
fog, I'm feeling fatigued, I know that something is
happening. What would you suggest?

(19:59):
If there is one actionable step that you can say if nothing else
do this, what would that be? One huge one for brain health is
sleep. So sleep will really help you
with your metabolism, it'll helpyou with your stress and it
helps clear the waste from your brain.
So when we're sleeping, the waste is cleared from our brain,

(20:21):
the metabolic waste. And that's also is something
that can help us not get dementia is if we're sleeping
really well. Dementia is known as the third
type of diabetes now, right? So that's, that's also
connected. So I would just say we haven't
really talked about sleep, but sleep is so important.
Make sure you're getting great sleep and using any, anything

(20:43):
like environmental that you can.If you need to close your blinds
or I have like tape on my windowbecause my blind doesn't totally
cover my, you know, there's a little bit of light that gets
through whatever you need to do to get sleep.
That's good is a really important strategy for you for

(21:04):
your metabolism, for your stress, for your overall brain
health. So that would be a big.
One, even if you have a couple of nights of not so good sleep,
that actually increases your blood sugar levels.
Even if you're eating well and you're doing everything well.
Now to conclude, I would love for you to share where they can
find you. I will put all the information
in the show notes so you will beable to get all the information

(21:27):
there. But if anybody wants to get in
contact with you and curious about what you do, get a
consultation. Please share so they know where
to find. You yeah, I'd love to connect on
Instagram and on LinkedIn. And then I have a website
calledbrainrisego.com and I'd love to offer your audience free

(21:51):
resource to help add more chill and serenity to their day.
It's called the Serenity Scheduler and it has some brain
health tips from sunrise to sunset.
That's amazing. You know that I'm going to be
using the chill term for a whilenow.
Like I think that is like the coolest thing.

(22:11):
Your braids. And chill like.
I am just going to use it. That's going to be a phrase for
a few weeks. Thank you so much, Marcel.
You have given us so much information.
Thank you so much for your time,for everything that you shared
and to share a little bit. I know that there's probably
more that you can share and you mentioned so many elements that
impact our brains. But I love this conversation and

(22:34):
I know that everybody probably got a lot of in, a lot of it in.
And all the information for myself is going to be on the
show notes. So make sure you check it out.
Go follow, get that free resource and as always, every
week with a new episode bringingsimple strategies Nuggets so

(22:54):
that you can balance your blood sugar and improve your overall
health. Have an amazing rest of your
week. Bye.

All Episodes

BONUS: Ep 54 1/2 - Brain Health, Red Light Therapy and Diabetes - Talk with Marcelle Siegel, PhD Brain Health Pro

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

The Burden

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}BONUS: Ep 54 1/2 - Brain Health, Red Light Therapy and Diabetes - Talk with Marcelle Siegel, PhD Brain Health Pro