A protocol for combating neuroinflammation

Neuroinflammation is a silent killer of today. Characterized by excess pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, IL-6,TNF Alpha,...) in the brain, neuroinflammation is slowly killing you.

Inflammation is hijacking your control hub, with that, all other pathways of your body. Neuroinflammation is involved in literally any disease to some extend:

• Diabetes

• Long Covid

• Obesity

• Cancer

And especially neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers & Parkinsons.

The reason being is simply: Our brain is the most important signaling hub in our brain. Cell cycle timing, hormone output, digestion & so much more begin in the brain.

So resolving neuroinflammation and entering a state of healing & regeneration is paramount. Within that frame, the so called cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway of the vagus nerve is one key mediator.

What that is and how you can leverage it for your health, is the topic of this one.

The parasympathetic switch

Normally, when people talk about the 10th cranial nerve, words like parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) are called out often.

SNS = Surviving & Atrophic

PSNS = Healing & Regeneration

This is the basic gist of these two terms. The most important mediator of this system is the vagus nerve, as it is responsible for turning on the healing & regeneration pathway aka the SNS.

The balance of these two systems will decide how healthy you are over the long term. In chronic disease, chronic activation of the sympathetic over the parasympathetic branch is one key in disease stagnation.

At the end, this is called an autonomic nervous system dysregulation.

There are checks & balances in place which will hopefully get you back into Healing Mode. Imperative for this action is the aforementioned cholinergic anti-inflammatory system of the vagus nerve.

Without it, your immune system will wreck havoc upon you.

The anti inflammatory properties of the vagus nerve

If you stimulate the vagus nerve, its neurons release acetylcholine at certain key location like the spleen, liver, GI tract or immune cells. Remember, the vagus nerve is connected to closely all organs of your abdomen!

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter with key roles in many aspects of a healthy life, like focus, cognition, digestion & immune functioning.

The latter is where the cholinergic anti inflammatory pathway is important.

Scientists found out that a myriad of immune cells express receptors of this said neurotransmitter.

These are:

• alpha-7 Subunit of nAChR

• mAChR

So, what follows is that if the vagus nerve releases acetylcholine, it can bind to immune active cells, most importantly macrophages (“eater cells”), lymphocytes (immune cells) , microglia (nervous system immune cells).

Macrophages are your cleaning cells. They eat foreign invaders and while doing so, release pro-inflammatory cytokines as mentioned above. In the brain, these are called Microglia.

Now, this cascade is inhibited if acetylcholine binds onto its receptors located on these immune cells.

What follows are decreasing levels of pro-inflamamtory cytokines which allows for tissue regeneration & healing.

This is what every single chronic disease patient needs:

LOWER LEVELS OF INFLAMMATION

Interestingly, new studies even show that the same system aids in regulating the spleen, which is very important in immune functioning, as this is the organ where T-cells of our immune system learn mature.

Conventional medicine might tell you that this organ can be taken out, but in this ever toxic world, not having your largest surveillance organ of blood & lymphocytes is bad.

But now, an even more important question arises:

How can we make sure, that this system works properly?

How to unleash the regenerative power of the vagus nerve

In general, there are different types of modulations possible, which we might characterize:

a) direct vagus nerve stimulation b) acetylcholine binding & volume

How to stimulate your vagus nerve

This is by far the most important, as it involves long lasting change of your habits, with some key "tricks" you might use.

First of all, for most chronic conditions the trigger has not been found or eradicated yet. So while working on this system, figuring out what is low key driving inflammation since (maybe) decades is key.

Some considerations are:

• Toxins

• Trauma

• Obesity

• GI dysbiosis

• Heavy Metals

• Gene variants + Environment + Nutrition

The system is a two way road:

Activation of the vagus nerve will lower cytokines, but lower cytokines will increase sensitivity of this system. Think of it as a positive feedback loop where one feeds into the other.

Also, I wanna add that diet, circadian principles & a purpose driven lifestyle are all enveloped in this one.

With that said, strategies directly engaging the vagus nerve are plentiful!

Be a child, hum, sing & dance: The act of play, laughter & joy is nothing short of spectacular as being actually happy is positive for your vagus nerve.

Breathing is probably the most important of them all in regards to vagus nerve stimulation. It is the only direct "entry" which we have, through the interactions of diaphragma & its connection to vagus nerve.

Whenever you are stressed, your breathing gets shallow, less deep & faster. This is your sympathetic branch of the autonomous nervous system kicking you into fight & flight mode.

Deep nasal breathing, into your abdomen instead of the chest is how you can ensure to activate your vagus nerve. Right breathing is like a good massage for your vagus nerve. 1000s of times a day!

Daily breath working is essential in overcoming dysregulation of the ANS.

Weekly habits of both coffee enemas & cold thermogenesis are also good strategies to introduce.

For both there is a certain risk in the short term, if you overdo & over-pace. Cold thermogenesis should be started slowly, gradually & over time. Couple that with (at least partial) ketogenesis or high-fat-diet.

Also, these are tools I would recommend if you suffer from neuroinflammation as tested by a VCS test. These are two of the most powerful tools for combatting this disease.

Last but not least we go electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve. This one is tested clinically for major diseases and works really good.

Basically you can buy a TENS unit & ear clippers and directly stimulate the vagus nerve via certain frequencies. Start this one slow. Work from 5 minutes a day, up to 2×10-20 minutes.

It might be a game changer for all of those stuck in this mode for years on end.

Modulating Acetylcholine

We live in a world of missing acetylcholine. Look at Alzheimers, it is characterized by a lack of it. High carb diets, low micronutrient status & inflammation all increase the need.

So how can we produce more acetylcholine]?

The magic combo of Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) & Magnesium is what you are looking for. I had plenty of success using it on myself and clients.

Thiamin is involved in every step of this neurotransmitter:

It increases the production of Acetyl-CoA, one of the building blocks of it through increasing glycolysis which is the major producer Acetyl-CoA of in the body. There it works on PDH, an enzyme critical for energy production.

The enzyme combining choline with Acetyl-CoA also needs Thiamine. Last but not least, Thiamine inhibits the breakdown enzymes of Acetylcholine in the synaptic shaft, the so called Acetylcholine Esterase.

By the way, this exact mechanism is what is used in many pharmaceuticals targeted at Alzheimers.

No wonder that B1 has been shown to aid in neurodegenerative diseases!

But why the Magnesium? Besides its general role in metabolism & stress modulation, Thiamine needs it.

See, Thiamine is not what is used in the body, rather it is the active form, called TPP. The conversion which is happening needs Magnesium and ATP (which in itself needs Magnesium to work).

What I'd do is to get on a protocol of these two:

Magnesium: 2-3gr elemental Mg (MgCl,MgGlycinate)

Thiamine has some more forms, where the dosage will differ:

TTFD: 100-500mg daily

Benfothiamine: 300-1500mg daily

For the Salts, the dosage has to be much higher, tho I did not use them as of yet.

I want to emphasize that these are giga huge dosages for many. If you are sensitive, starting with a tiny amount of each is the way to go. Low & slow is fast.

Smoking is neuroprotective

Before taking out a pack of cigarettes let me tell you that smoking is bad. Really bad. Any addiction is harmful, accompanied by many byproducts, smoking is toxic.

But, the substance we are interested here is Nicotine.

Nicotine is an alkaloid derived from the tobacco plant. So far, so good. This incredible substance could possibly one of the most interesting ones in regards of balancing dysautonomia of your parasympathetic/ sympathetic system.

There are multiple reasons in regards to the cholinergic pathway described above:

First, Nicotine powerfully binds to the nAChR, the receptor where Acetylcholine binds on. It is an agonist, meaning the receptor, when binding Nicotine, thinks Acetylcholine entered & the effects of activation are matched.

Second, there is an increase of receptor density. If you read carefully, I advised you to take B1 & Mg to upregulate production of Acetylcholine.

Now, if you increase the quantity of it, in addition to higher density of receptors, there is a powerful combination to downregulate cytokines and start the healing pathway.

If you like to try that be aware of any addiction potential. On your own risk. Take pure Nicotine. No fillers. No bullshit. The addiction to smoking is heavily based on the fillers. Also the act of smoking & identifying with it is relaxing, hence why people cannot let go of.

Go with patches. Highest quality. Low dosage. Cycle it. Get your addiction system in check prior.

This is a therapeutic. Nothing more, nothing less.

Lipid replacement is key

The last thing you need to do is to replace your membrane lipids.

See there are three types of lipids which are under attack if your are in a state of chronic neuroinflammation:

a) Phospholipids b) Sphingolipids c) Plasmalogens

The first two are the primary structure giving phospholipids of your membrane. They are vitally important in every step of cell survival, metabolism & cell to cell signaling.

Tho there are many groups, a bunch of them is coupled with choline. Under conditions of inflammation certain enzymes are upregulated which destroy the bond of choline & disrupt these lipids, forming inflammatory signaling lipids, like arachidonic acid.

This is a vicious cycle, as you decrease your anti inflammatory capacity, while upregulating the potential for inflammation.

Now, there is an interesting theory that this mechanism is protective, as the body is trying to get choline from the membrane.

Can you guess why? Exactly, for higher cholinergic output of your vagus nerve.

Plasmalogens are a special type of lipid, which make up anywhere from 10-25% of your membrane. Whats interesting, that these lipids only survive for a day at best.

This is what makes them vitally important: these lipids seem to act like inflammation buffers, protecting your other membrane lipids from oxidation.

So they get oxidized first, in case of any inflammatory response. Problem is that if this system is run over, by years of inflammation, the mechanism above will turn on massively.

At the end, we replace membrane lipids for:

a) improvement of cell to cell signaling

b) lowering inflammatory potential

c) cell metabolism

while also increasing the cholinergic output because the supplements below contain Choline.

Lipid Membrane replacement protocol:

a) Omega-3 Oil (tested, pharma quality)

b) Phospholipids (BodyBio)

c) Plasmalogens

d) Myo-Inositol

e) Resolvins

The first three are basically to provide the building blocks for any membrane, while also lowering inflammation.

Inositol is a type of sugar really important in cell-cell signaling. Special type of phospholipids carry this sugar, which at the end acts as a second messenger in the body, primarily the brain. It is helpful in any psychriatic dysorder.

Resolvins are so called pro-resolving mediators, made from omega-3 acids. Whats critical about them is that they not only lower inflammation, but promote tissue regeneration.

They are made from DHA/ EPA, but in certain cases providing both, the fish-oil & the SPMs is a good starting point to lower inflammation.

So if you want to get your vagus nerve up and running, I would consider all of these!

I hope you enjoyed this one!

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