Coffee Fruit Extract to Increase BDNF?

Hi there, I actually mentioned in a previous post to ZugZug that I use several foods to boost BDNF.

Although I am not entirely sure, but I think that the following products has helped lower my HF tinnitus (though not my LF tinnitus) in combination with HIIT training: wild blue berries, Green tea (also Matcha tea), soy (only the organic and fermented kind), Niacin, Lutein (recently added to my stack), Magnesium L-Threonate (just bought some supplements today), probiotics (actobacillus helveticus + bifidobacterium longum & lactobacillus brevis are three strains that stimulate production of BDNF), Omega-3 pills (that also contain Astaxanthin).

And about the cacao nibs: you 're absolutely right. It's really hard to stomach when you eat it without something else that makes the bitter taste less noticeable. But you could start your day with porridge or muesli with some nibs, fruit and seeds/nuts on top. Maybe that can do the trick in making cacao nibs less

 

I only bought 2 bags of 200g myself as I'm currently waiting for Bulk.com to restock on cacao powder. They sell bags of 1kg:

https://www.bulk.com/nl/organisch-cacaopoeder.html

If it takes too long I might miss out on the H&B sale, though.

 

Do you get these probiotics all in one supplement?

 

No unfortunately not. Ideally, you should have probiotics that contain these three specific strains, but I could only find (and also currently use) the probiotics supplement from NutriZing, which contains two of the three strains: lactobacillus helveticus and bifidobacterium longum.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071Y1DHLY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Smart move. H&B is generally overpriced for what they have in store. I've already bought some stuff as I'm just too impatient to wait even a day or two for my order.

 

@GBB I also forgot to mention Theracurmin (the stronger and more potent version of curcumin supplements), which also seems to boost BDNF levels according to some studies (on curcumin)

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BSMKPY5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Thanks very much for this information - it is good to know that a person can get two out of the three. Can I ask what you do for the last one?

 

According to this study, lactobacillus plantarum is the choice to boost BDNF.

Efficacy and Safety of Lactobacillus Plantarum C29-Fermented Soybean (DW2009) in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A 12-Week, Multi-Center, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Multiple lines of evidence point to a strong connection between BDNF levels and the gut microbiome, the collection of microorganisms that live within the human digestive tract. A 12-week study of 100 people diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment found improvements in attention, working memory, and verbal memory among participants taking a daily 800 milligram dose of lactobacillus plantarum probiotic supplement for 12 weeks compared to those taking a placebo.

 

Do you mean L. Brevis? They seem to be present in pickles, sourdough, yoghurt and sauerkraut. But you need to eat a lot of them to have the recommended 10-20 billion CFU per day.

My diet consists of predominantly veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds, but I don't think I get in that range of CFU recommendation, as I sometimes eat sauerkraut and vegan yoghurt every now and then.

 

This was very insightful, by the way. I might pick up some probiotics to help the fight.

 

So I've been taking raw cacao powder for about a week now. It might be placebo, but it does feel like it ever so slightly lowers the frequency of my tinnitus for a short while (hour or so).

As such, I now drink a glass in the morning to help me adjust and in the evening to help me sleep.

 

I noticed something interesting last week - I forgot to take my Lutein and CocoaVia in the morning and instead took them right before bed. I wound up having a more vivid dream that I could recall when I woke up. I wound up doing this all this week (taking them before bed as opposed to in the morning) and every morning when I woke up I was able to recall my dreams.

If anyone else here is taking these before bed, are you noticing this?

 

I've been taking cacao but no vivid dreams on my side.

 

I have had vivid dreams randomly as of late but I have yet to make the connection with the cacao, which I take at different times of day. I'll start taking it more often in the evening and report back.

 

I first started having vivid dreams (nightmares) when I developed tinnitus. Prior to that, I never really dreamt at all—or at least, I never remembered anything when I woke up (I know that, technically, everyone dreams).

So far, the vidid dreams haven't stopped. I have at least 1 every night.

Supposedly, spinach powder is good source of Lutein. As such, I'm thinking of mixing spinach powder with my cacao. It'll probably taste awful, but do you think this would be a good idea to help raise BDNF levels?

 

Sir, this is a guinea pig lab. Let us know how it goes or someone else here will probably take one for the team.

 

I was going to order 2kg of spinach powder yesterday, but they sold out. Will order ASAP.

Also, seeing as I'm now venturing into smoothie territory—is there anything else I can throw in there?

 

I'm now 4 weeks into my pursuit of cacao-based healing and I will be making 2 additions to my panacea to be:

1. Supposedly, the cacao should be mixed at max 42 degrees Celsius. Otherwise, some of the nutrients might be destroyed. So, I shall be mixing it with tepid water.
2. Supposedly, vitamin C improves the bioavailability of cacao. So I shall be adding 1 scoop on of vitamin C powder.

Additionally, the spinach powder is arriving tomorrow. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

The best drug for increasing BDNF is Cerebroslyin. A Peptide noortropic used for healing traumatic brain Injury.

 

Thanks for sharing, I'm going to look into it. A quick Google search showed me the following:

"Cerebrolysin is a mixture of peptides purified from pig brains."

So, should I eat them fresh for the best result?

 

Haha sadly you can only administer it via intramuscular injection which turns people off.

It's reported to increase BDNF up to 300%. It also increases nerve growth factor.

Sadly it's not guaranteed that any of this passes through the blood labyrinth barrier to enter the cochlea. It does help with Alzheimer's though and other neurological diseases.

 

This is pretty impressive. I think a 300% increase in BDNF and increased NGF could help some tinnitus sufferers, depending on the cause of their tinnitus. The NGF is really interesting to me as well because it seems like there are a few theories relating NGF to hyperacusis.

@Aaron91, what do you think about this? An alternative to Lion's Mane?

 

I've been doing some research too and have found out that the compound Mannitol increases absorption of drugs through the blood-labyrinth barrier by a process called osmotic disruption.

So that could definitely help with drug delivery to the cochlear.

I've got some Cerebrolysin on the way. I'll let you know how it goes.

Mannitol and the blood-labyrinth barrier

 

Amazing. Keep us posted!

 

I tried Cerebrolysin and was able to administer it using sub-q injections. I had to stop it after a few weeks as it increased my insomnia and anxiety. It had no effect on my tinnitus.

 

Fair enough. I actually ordered the Cerebrolysin for reason other than tinnitus (ADHD) but have seen others say it could help with tinnitus.

I'll see what happens though.

 

Cacao, Manuka honey and Greek yoghurt is delicious mixed together. So far no tinnitus reduction though

 

Okay I did eat this for about a 6 weeks, but unfortunately no change in tinnitus levels In total I went through about 4 lbs of cacao mixed with Manuka honey, Greek yoghurt, and blueberries. It was delicious, just didn't do much for my tinnitus. Better luck to everyone else!

 

Here's an update, for anyone interested:

I've been taking raw cacao twice per day for 3 months now, supplemented by spinach and HIIT exercises. Unfortunately, I haven't noticed much of a change in my tinnitus.

My ENT did reach out to me to tell me there's a small hole in the right side of my skull, though, behind the mastoid part of the temporal bone. Apparently, air is leaking through this hole into my neck muscles and into my ear canal. In turn, this results in a hypermobile eardrum (which I've been suffering from for a while) and very 'noisy' neck muscles. In my head, it kind of sounds like I'm crumpling a plastic bag whenever I move my neck.

They can close the hole, but they'll have to drill a hole in the temporal bone to get there. There are several risks, however, the biggest one being latrogenic injury to the facial nerve—and possibly the worsening of my tinnitus. I'm currently not really sure if I should opt for this procedure or not. :/

Sorry for going off-topic, I wasn't sure where to post this. It feels good to type it out, though.

 

There’s always a catch. That sucks.