In this episode, Dr Paul Taylor talks with integrative practitioner Dr Christobelle Yeoh about protecting cognitive health. They start with the rise of early cognitive decline, brain fog and stress, including during menopause. Dr Yeoh's central idea is that thinking depends on the body. Cognition rests on the lower-order systems that feed the brainstem: the gut, vascular tone, blood chemistry, breathing and the cranial nerves that read signals of safety. They explain how chronic stress and the brain's constant threat prediction affect it. They also cover why top-down approaches like CBT work best alongside bottom-up, body-based ones. The second half is practical. They look at common mismatches and what to do about them: get morning sunlight and keep a circadian rhythm, eat at regular times in daylight hours and prioritise protein and whole foods, and fix the basics before relying on supplements such as DHA, creatine and ubiquinol. They also cover CO₂-tolerance breathing, and movement that challenges balance and coordination to support neuroplasticity.

Key takeaways

• Brain and body are not separate. Cognition depends on the health of the body's regulation systems.
• Get outside for morning light soon after waking, and top up with light through the day.
• Eat in daylight hours, include protein early, favour seasonal whole foods, and cut ultra-processed food.
• Sort out the basics (light, food, sleep, hydration) before relying on supplements.
• Combine top-down tools like CBT and ACT with bottom-up work like breathing, movement and gut health.
• Choose movement that challenges balance and coordination, such as boxing combinations, dancing or crawling.
• Start gently with breathwork. CO₂ tolerance practice is a safe place to begin, and cathartic breathwork needs guidance.

Time Stamps

0:59 Why cognitive health matters, with dementia now overtaking cardiovascular disease in Australia                                                                                                                                               1:34 What's going on: brain fog, early cognitive decline (MCI), and stress in menopause              4:02 Is getting more forgetful in your 40s, 50s and 60s a warning sign?                                        5:35 Reframing cognition as an emergent property of whole-system regulation                            10:52 Chronic stress, the brain as a prediction engine, and early-life influences                          17:20 Five key inputs to the brainstem: cranial nerves, gut, vascular tone, blood pH/redox, and breathing                                                                                                                                        21:59 Threat vs challenge stress appraisal, and cortisol vs adrenaline                                             24:48 Top-down (CBT, ACT) and bottom-up (body-based) approaches, and neuroplasticity                27:23 Functional brain networks, and why complex, cross-body movement matters                          31:52 The big mismatches: circadian biology, supplements before fundamentals, cell membrane and bioelectricity, CO₂ tolerance, and psychology without physiology                                                  40:31 Circadian basics: morning sunlight, "clocking in" with the sun, ditching sunglasses                    43:30 Red and near-infrared light, and light-based therapy for neurodegenerative conditions              47:07 Food timing, protein and the protein leverage idea, seasonal eating, leptin and insulin resistance                                                                                                                                              51:54 Supplements: DHA, phospholipids, organ meats and liver capsules, electrolytes and minerals                                                                                                                                                54:09 Creatine and hydration, including the dehydration and cortisol study                                   57:14 Ubiquinol: dosing and its role in the electron transport chain                                                 58:31 Urolithin A, B vitamins, and matching supplements to the person                                    1:00:12 Breathing: CO₂ tolerance and Buteyko-style training vs cathartic and holotropic breathwork  1:05:23 Psychology–physiology mismatch: somatic work, vitamin D, creatine and psychotherapy

Mentioned in this episode

Dr Dale Bredesen's work on reversing cognitive decline

• UCLA Health: news release on the original 2014 study. The paper was “Reversal of cognitive decline: A novel therapeutic program” (UCLA/Buck Institute, 2014). 
• ScienceDaily: the 2016 follow-up study. It used quantitative MRI and neuropsychological testing before and after the program, following a protocol called ‘metabolic enhancement for neurodegeneration’.

Dr Stephen Porges (polyvagal theory and neuroception)

• stephenporges.com: official site and timeline. The first paper describing the theory was Porges (1995), “Orienting in a defensive world,” published in Psychophysiology.

Prof. Mark Seery (challenge and threat appraisal)

• Seery’s lab publications, University at Buffalo. The two key papers are Seery (2013), “The biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat: Using the heart to measure the mind,” and Seery (2011), “Challenge or threat? Cardiovascular indexes of resilience and vulnerability to potential stress in humans”

Dr Konstantin Buteyko and Patrick McKeown (CO₂ tolerance breathing)

• Oxygen Advantage: how to measure your BOLT score
• Oxygen Advantage: McKeown on breath-holding and the science behind it
• Buteyko Clinic International podcast. McKeown founded the clinic in 2002

Dr Rosalba Courtney (breath and healing)

• rosalbacourtney.com

The Human Connectome Project

• humanconnectome.org

Previous episode with Dr Yeoh on mitochondria

• Omny – Part 1 - Why You Need To Be A MITOchondriac Part 1 with Dr. Christabelle Yeoh
• Omny – Part 2 - Why You Need to be A MITOchondriac Part 2 with Dr. Christabelle Yeoh

Resourses:

Next Practice Genbiome, Sydney (genbiome.nextpracticehealth.com)

Mitocore, Sydney (mitocore.com.au)

This episode is for general education and isn't personal medical advice. Speak with a qualified practitioner before changing your health routine or starting supplements.