The
brain is the crowning organ of the human being. Therefore, dysfunctions involving it are always
important. Brain fog is one of the
most important symptoms or conditions today, although it is not listed as a
diagnosis or recognized health condition in most medical or psychological
textbooks. Brain fog may be
described as feelings of mental confusion or lack of mental clarity. It is called brain fog because it can
feel like a cloud that reduces your visibility or clarity of mind. It can cause you to become forgetful,
detached and often discouraged and depressed.
Brain fog is extremely common. It affects thousands of people, including
children as well as adults. It
contributes to school and work problems, low self-esteem, accidents, unhappy
relationships and often is a factor in crime and delinquency because it can
cause intense frustration and inability to function well in society.
Some
people have been this way for most of their life and think this is normal. In other cases, it comes on slowly or it
may develop almost overnight, perhaps after a mild flu or other illness, or
perhaps after a toxic exposure.
CAUSES FOR BRAIN FOG
Brain
fog can have many causes, ranging from simple physical imbalances to a number
of biochemical and even emotional causes in a few cases. In my experience, the cause is usually
complex and involves many factors rather than a single toxic chemical or metal,
or an infection, for example. The
most common causes are:
Toxic
levels of metals and chemicals affecting the brain. Of these, a combination of metal toxicity is likely the
most common cause, and often involves:
Copper. Excessive or biounavailable copper is strongly associated with feelings
of confusion, disorientation, racing thoughts, mood swings and confusion. Some women notice this condition is
worse before the menstrual period, a time of the month when the tissue and
probably the serum copper level rises.
However, many people, and more so women, have elevated copper levels all
the time.
Copper
imbalance does not show up on standard blood tests. However, it is easy to identify on a properly performed and
correctly interpreted hair mineral analyses. Most often, it is hidden on hair mineral analyses. This means the hair copper level is
fine, so one must infer its presence using indicators for hidden copper on a hair analysis. These include an elevated calcium level,
low potassium level, high mercury level, low zinc level, four lows pattern, or
a ratio of sodium to potassium less than 2.5:1. Others that are less reliable are a low or high zinc level,
or a low phosphorus level.
Causes
of copper imbalance include weak adrenal glands, zinc deficiency, stress,
fatigue, birth control pills, copper intra-uterine devices or copper
contamination of water supplies or food.
Many children are born with copper imbalance today. Vegetarian diets are high in copper and
low in zinc, a mineral that balances copper. These diets are also often low in other nutrients essential
for the brain such as taurine, carnitine,
essential fatty acids, alpha lipoic acid, B-complex
vitamins and others.
Many
vegetarians believe their diet makes them feel ‘spiritual’, when in fact their
feeling of detachment is often a symptom of brain fog brought on by their diet
or other factors.
Copper
imbalance cannot be corrected with just a diet or a supplement, usually. The best way is a complete nutritional
program. Just taking copper
antagonists or chelators often does not work
well. See the article on Copper
Toxicity Syndrome for more information about this common problem.
Other toxic metals. Toxicity with mercury, aluminum, cadmium, lead and other metals may also cause
symptoms of brain fog. Most
everyone has some of these metals today. Mercury toxicity is extremely common, as it is found
in large fish like tuna in high amounts, and in dental amalgams. Aluminum is added to table salt and
drinking water, and found in anti-perspirants,
anti-acids and many cosmetics.
Fortunately,
sauna therapy and a nutritional balancing program can slowly remove all these
metals, along with many toxic chemicals.
See the article on the Dangers of Toxic Metals
for more information about this important topic.
Toxic chemicals. It is possible to be exposed to many
toxic chemicals such as pesticides, solvents and others without knowing it has
occurred. They can severely affect
brain function in some people. A
nutritional balancing program will remove all of these, eventually, without
drugs. However, one must be patient
and, if possible, use a near infrared sauna daily to promote their elimination
completely.
The calcium shell. Another toxic mineral problem occurs
when the level of tissue calcium goes very high. It is like living inside an eggshell or behind a wall of
concrete. One usually becomes
somewhat out of touch with reality.
For this reason, the pattern is called a calcium shell. It can
cause diminished awareness, heaviness, depression, mental fatigue and other
symptoms of brain fog. This
usually corrects quickly with a nutritional balancing program. Click here to read more about a calcium shell.
Other minerals. Excessive levels of other trace
elements such as iron, manganese and chromium may also affect brain activity
and rarely give rise to symptoms of brain fog.
BOWEL TOXICITY AND BRAIN FOG
This
is a less common cause of brain fog.
Improperly digested food rots, putrefies or ferments in the
intestines. This generates
powerful toxins such as indols, skatols,
cadaverine and others. These slowly poison the liver and other organs as well. Some can migrate to the brain and cause
symptoms of brain fog. Constipation
makes the problem one hundred times worse.
One
may not be aware of the toxicity, as there may be no symptoms. Even most blood tests for liver
function and general health will not reveal a congested or toxic liver. However, liver toxicity is the norm today. The
brain is one of the first organs affected by these toxins, as it requires a lot
of blood and its functions are delicate and intricate.
Causes
for bowel toxicity include an improper diet, weak digestion, a need for
digestive enzymes, intestinal infections, stress, poor eating habits, or even
just negative emotions.
Drinking
inadequate water or worse, drinking soda pop, excessive coffee and other irritating
beverages can damage or overwhelm the kidneys and impair their ability to
remove poisons from the blood. Everyone needs to drink at least three
quarts daily of only distilled or spring water. All other types of drinking water may not hydrate the body
as well, no matter what is claimed for them. Just changing the drinking water helps many people to some
degree by helping to release toxins that can build up in the blood and the
organs.
Also,
be wary of cleansing programs such as fasts to correct liver and kidney
toxicity. These may give temporary
relief, but usually do not address basic causes such as food allergies, toxic
chemicals in the diet or environment and nutrient deficiencies. Fasting can easily cause one to become
even more nutrient deficient.
The
answer for bowel toxicity is a slow regeneration of the intestinal tract, which
may easily take several years. It
begins with cleaning up the diet, eliminating the chemicals and junk
foods. Excellent eating habits and
lots of rest are important as well.
Most everyone needs digestive enzymes and I sometimes add a probiotic such as lactobacillus acidophilus to help restore
the normal bowel flora.
A
range of nutrients may be helpful, as well as milk thistle and dandelion for
the liver, and saunas for detoxification.
In other words, a comprehensive program is generally best. Hair analysis indicators for bowel
problems include a phosphorus level less than 14 mg% or a low sodium/potassium
ratio.
ELECTROMAGNETIC TOXICITY
Electrical
fields are very harmful for some people.
They can affect sleep, school performance and can cause brain fog in
selected people. Sources include
computer screens, cell phones, living near cell phone towers, or occasionally just
the electrical wiring in the walls of your home.
Be
sure to turn off computers, televisions, radios and all electrical devices when
you sleep. Especially keep all
electrical devices at least 8 feet away from your head when you sleep and, if
possible, where you work. Sit as
far way from computers as possible, and get up frequently if you must use them
all day.
If
you notice you feel better away from home or out of doors, investigate this
cause further. There are people
who specialize in checking and fixing electrical and electromagnetic disturbances
in houses, offices, cars and elsewhere.
ADRENAL BURNOUT AND BRAIN FOG
Adrenal
burnout differs from fatigue in that it is a deeper derangement of the body’s
energy system. It is incredibly
common today. In fact, the
majority of mineral analyses I review show some degree of adrenal
exhaustion. On a hair mineral
analysis, the calcium and magnesium levels are elevated while the sodium and
potassium levels are generally quite low.
Adrenal
burnout is often the underlying cause for toxic metal accumulation such as
copper, mercury, lead, cadmium and others. It is also usually the underlying cause of a calcium shell
pattern, and for iron and manganese toxicity.
Burnout
is extremely common and cannot be corrected simply by having a few good nights
of sleep. It is sometimes called
chronic fatigue syndrome or CFIDS.
It
requires a complete program of diet, nutritional supplements and rest. I also highly recommend infrared lamp
saunas to help rebuild the body’s energy system. See the article on Adrenal Burnout
for more information.
In
adrenal burnout, the body is nutritionally depleted, toxic metals have replaced
vital elements, chronic infections have often set in and many biochemical
imbalances may be present. These
include impaired thyroid activity, weakened adrenals, impaired digestion, heavy
metal toxicity, chronic candida albicans
infection, chronic viral infections and others. While the burnout itself can
cause symptoms, often it is these secondary imbalances that cause
symptoms. Let us discuss a few of
these.
Candida albicans
infection. This is a common
fungus that often causes vaginal and skin yeast infections. However, it may also overgrow in the
intestines and become chronic. It
produces alcohol and acetaldehyde, both of which are toxic to the nervous
system and often contribute to symptoms of brain fog.
A
person may behave as if slightly inebriated, although they consume no
alcohol. The symptoms are often
worse if one eats a lot of carbohydrates, especially sugars including sweet
juices and fruits. Starches and
sugars feed the yeast organisms.
In extreme cases, the yeast can actually invade the brain.
Occasionally,
brain fog may be caused by yeast die-off.
This may occur due to a dietary change or health program, or just a
shift in metabolism. As the yeast
die, they may release various toxins that induce temporary symptoms of brain
fog. See the article on Yeast Infections for more
information.
HYPOGLYCEMIA AND BRAIN FOG
Hypoglycemia is often
associated with brain fog, copper toxicity and adrenal exhaustion. When the level of glucose in the brain
become too low, the brain essentially starves for fuel. The brain uses about one-third of all
our calories. Unlike the muscles,
the brain does not store any fuel.
Therefore, it must have a continuous supply. If for any reason the supply varies, it is like someone
varying the voltage of a computer or other piece of delicate electronic
equipment.
Common
symptoms of low blood sugar include confusion, irritability, forgetfulness and
even blackouts. One patient who
called me during a hypoglycemic episode could not remember her own name. Symptoms usually occur several hours
after a meal, and may come on suddenly.
Eating
something that contains sugar may relieve the symptoms in a few minutes, but
only temporarily. Sweet cravings
are a symptom of hypoglycemia.
However, eating sweets is one of the main ways to perpetuate candida albicans and adrenal
problems.
Many
people, including school-age children and many adults, experience huge blood
sugar swings all day long! Their
breakfast of sweetened cereal, donuts or juice drives up their blood sugar. This is followed by a drop at
mid-morning that is relieved by a sweet snack, more juice, soda pop or a cup of
coffee. This rockets the sugar up
again, followed by a fall around noon.
Lunch
may include soda pop, sweetened ketchup, mustard, sweet salad dressing,
sweetened rolls, chocolate milk, fruit or other sugary food. The sugar rises again, then falls
rapidly at mid-afternoon. It is
time for another pick-up, or maybe time for happy hour, since alcohol will lift
the blood sugar again for a short time.
And we wonder why many students have difficulty learning, and why
thousands can’t think clearly?
FOOD OR CHEMICAL ALLERGIES
This
can be a cause of brain fog in some cases. Here is a short case history: Cindy had always had boundless energy and was ready to take on the
world. She ate a lot of salad
greens, which she thought were very healthful. However, two years ago she became exhausted and developed
brain fog. She finally traced the
problem to perchlorate, a chemical that was added to
the town’s water and became very concentrated in leafy green vegetables. It interfered with her thyroid. When she switched to bottled water and
reduced her salad intake, her mind cleared and her energy returned.
Nutrasweet (also labeled as Equal, Canderel,
Spoonful, aspartame, aspartic acid or phenylalanine) is notorious for causing
brain fog, fatigue, dizziness, depression and panic attacks, to name just a few
of its symptoms. It is found in
over 5000 products and affects some 25% of Americans who use it. It is often hidden in prescription
medication, vitamins, toothpaste, breath mints and all types of diet
products. Everyone should avoid
this food chemical. See the
article on Caffeine
and Sugar Substitutes.
Other
food chemicals that affect sensitive people include excitotoxins
such as MSG (monosodium glutamate), caffeine, pesticide residues, bacterial and
fungal toxins, fluoride, chlorine and hundreds of other substances that either
contaminate or are added to drinking water and food. Caffeine and other stimulants can give one a boost, but
eventually contribute to adrenal exhaustion.
Not
only the chemicals added to foods, but the foods themselves can cause brain fog
symptoms. The most common allergic
foods are wheat, spelt, soy and cow’s milk dairy products. Anyone with brain fog ought to try
eliminating these foods from the diet, as this will often help speed
recovery. Gluten-containing foods
such as rye, oats, wheat, kamut, spelt and barley
also cause reactions in susceptible individuals that may affect the brain.
PHARMACEUTICAL AND OTHER DRUGS
A
long list of prescription and over-the-counter drugs can cause mental confusion
and other brain fog symptoms. The
list includes drugs for allergies, pain, high blood pressure, heart
arrhythmias, glaucoma, infections, depression, anxiety, inflammation and other
disorders.
Many
people are taking two to five of these drugs at once. Combinations of drugs may be toxic in ways that no one can
predict. Combining medication with
alcohol or recreational drugs may also produce unusual symptoms.
If
you must take medication, check the side effects and know that there may be
side effects that are not listed on the label. Also, know that combinations of drugs are a complete unknown
in terms of adverse effects. Try
to avoid them as much as possible.
NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES
The
brain requires many nutrients, including proteins, high-quality fats and
starches, many vitamins and two dozen or more minerals. Among the most important nutrients are
calcium, magnesium, zinc, chromium, selenium, iodine, L-glutamine, L-taurine, choline, thiamine, B6,
B12 and other B-complex vitamins.
For
example, in the famous Merck Manual, a doctor’s handbook,
symptoms of B-vitamin deficiency include confusion, irritability, stupor and
death. Vitamin B-12 deficiency can
cause symptoms of brain fog and is quite common, especially in vegetarians and
older people or those with severe digestive problems. Correction is quite simple and inexpensive.
The
author recalls a 7-year old patient who had recurrent ear infections. The ear infections cleared up on a
nutrition program. During a
follow-up visit, her mother mentioned the girl’s school grades also went from
Cs to As. This is not an unusual
story. Though part of the reason
may have been better school attendance, improved brain function is often a side
effect of nutritional correction.
LACK OF GROUNDING AND BRAIN FOG
This is not really a cause, but it may contribute to
feelings of confusion, lack of clarity and even depression. Many people are overstimulated
and perhaps easily distracted.
Some would be called ADD today, but that is not a helpful assessment, in
my view.
Staying
overstimulated and distracted can become a mental
habit or way of life. Many bright,
loving people are this way because they are very sensitive and respond quickly
to many stimuli in their environment.
Their weakened body chemistry and high copper level, in particular, may make them even more prone to this
condition. The ancient Taoists
would say “their chi is in their heads”.
The
solution to this problem, and it is recommended for everyone, is to set aside
time each day for a practice such as meditation. However, not any meditation will do, as many types of
meditation just keep one floating in one’s head.
I
recommend an Observation-Meditation
Exercise because it is grounding and helps develop a quality called the
witness. This is most helpful. Writing each day in a journal is also
helpful for some people. Other
techniques to assist grounding are gardening, slow deliberate walking, yoga,
tai chi or chi kung. One should do
these on a daily basis, as part of your routine, to reap the benefit.
BRAIN PARASITES
This cause of brain fog is due to Lyme spirochetes such
as borrelia and others, trichina worms or cysts from
consuming pig products, and even fish tapeworms and other parasitic organisms
that are very common today. This
cause is subtle and hard to detect with any standard testing procedure. In my experience, however, a
nutritional balancing program, especially with GB-3 and the use of a near infrared
light sauna daily, will slowly kill and remove parasites from all areas of the
body.
Drugs
to kill the parasites are rarely necessary or helpful, as the drugs themselves
are usually quite toxic and must be removed from the body for complete healing
to occur. However, they may help
in some cases.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES
Brain
fog can also be due to mental or emotional conflicts, unresolved traumas or
other psychological causes. These
can be subtle, and one may only figure them out with help from a trained
professional in counseling, hypnotic regression of other psychological
specialties.
Essentially,
in such cases, one does not really want to see or think clearly about something
or someone. Thus brain fog becomes
one’s defense mechanism. This use
of brain fog as a psychological defense is more common than might be imagined.
Developing
brain fog is one way to deal with conflict or an overload of information,
especially if you have difficulty sorting out what is true. Brain fog may also be your way to deny
reality when your life is not going well.
I
recommend to always ask for and seek the truth, and cultivate a belief that
“the truth will set you free”.
This does not mean the truth will be pretty. However, seeing and accepting the truth about oneself and
everyone else does lead to clearer thinking and eventually, to happiness, in my
experience. I hope the articles on
this website will help you sort things out, as I have had to do this for some
thirty years.
I am stupid. Another psychological/spiritual aspect of brain fog has to
do with a belief that one is stupid and cannot think clearly. This can be a result of parental or
school influences. While there are
a few exceptions, I believe the public school system, with its authoritarian
style, its emphasis on grades instead of on learning, its one-size-fits-all approach
and its lack of spiritual focus damages thousands upon thousands of children’s
brains. See the article Why is the School
System in Trouble?
Particularly the Indigo Children
often suffer through school, which number in the millions today. Some come to believe they are stupid and
may give up on clear thinking. The
school issue is very important today because:
· Parents are often not helping their children with school
work as much as in earlier generations because they are exhausted, or too busy,
or in one-parent households.
· Television and computers further confuse and overload the
children’s brains.
· So many children are not functioning as well to begin
with due to nutritional and other biochemical imbalances.
Several
methods can help one let go of negative programming that one is incapable of
clear thinking. The most important
is to make a decision that you are loved by your creator, and that you have
many gifts and skills. This must first
be an intellectual decision. Usually, one will only begin to
feel it later. Counseling, of
course, may be helpful, as may bodywork, meditation, nutritional balancing and
other techniques.
OTHER CAUSES
FOR BRAIN FOG
· Chiropractic
subluxations.
Although less common, misalignment of
the spine, or any impingement on the cranial, cervical or other nerves may
cause or contribute to symptoms of brain fog.
· Reduced
oxygen to the brain. This may be due
to clogged arteries, low blood pressure, shallow breathing or holding one’s
breath. Fear and worry can cause
shallow breathing. Sometimes a
physical disease such as asthma, chronic bronchitis or emphysema impairs
breathing.
· Chronic infections might also contribute to brain fog. Nutrient deficiencies, along with
fatigue, often permit viral and other infections to take hold. Many can directly or indirectly affect
the brain such as Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis C, Lyme
disease and others. Even a
chronically infected root canal or cavitation in the
jaw (a pocket of bacteria) can secrete toxins that affect the brain. See the article on Infections for more
information.
· Other
illnesses. Brain fog is occasionally caused by an
illness such as a brain tumor, epilepsy, meningitis or encephalitis.
· Vision
problems may affect mental clarity and
cognition.
· Dyslexia
and autism syndromes may cause
confusion, though they may also be the result of causes listed above. For example, many autistic children
improve when the factors above are addressed.
· Emotional
conditions such as neuroses, paranoia or mental fixations might contribute to brain fog.
· Rarely, too
much sweating during exercise
is an unusual cause of brain fog.
It occurs due to electrolyte imbalances.
· Rarely,
poor circulation to the brain
due to low blood pressure or arteriosclerosis could cause brain fog.
· Rarely,
kidney problems, even from not
drinking enough water, could result in metabolic waste products in the blood
that could travel to the brain and interfere with its functioning.
CORRECTION OF BRAIN FOG
If
one is fortunate, brain fog improves in a few weeks on a nutritional balancing
program. All that may be needed is
to clean up one’s diet, rest more, breathe more deeply and make other simple
lifestyle changes.
In
other cases, one must deeply remove many toxins from the brain, liver and
kidneys. This can easily take several
years. I don’t know that it is
possible to know in advance how much healing will be needed in a particular
instance, so I advise clients to just begin a complete program to rebalance and
strengthen body chemistry. Time tends
to pass rapidly as one usually begins to feel a little better each day.
Rarely,
the brain is so damaged with drugs, for example, such as marijuana, that
complete recovery will never occur.
This is not to discourage anyone, but just stating a fact. It is important to know facts so you can
tell others the truth.
The best treatment. Most often, a nutritional balancing program
is excellent. However, if
emotional causes are foremost, then meditation, counseling and other emotional
therapies may be more critical, at least at first. However, in most cases, nutritional approaches will assist
any other therapy to succeed best.
In
addition to the standard nutritional balancing regimen, one may wish to
supplement with coenzyme Q-10 and more anti-oxidants or B-complex, provided
they do not upset the mineral balance.
The brain is quite prone to oxidant damage, usually due to the presence
of toxins that damage the tissues.
Adaptogen herbs such as gingko biloba
and garlic may also be helpful, provided they do not upset body chemistry. Be careful with most herbs, however, as
they can be somewhat toxic if taken for long periods of time. Think of them as medication to be
handled gingerly.
Often,
quality chiropractic, osteopathic manipulation, craniosacral
therapies, Rolfing or other structural therapies are helpful as well. At times, they are essential as
part of a complete healing program. Among the very best are detoxification methods such as sauna
therapy, colonic irrigation and coffee enemas. See the article on Sauna Therapy for
more details on this excellent detoxification method. Detoxification
Procedures are available on this site.
If
you are not yet ready for nutritional balancing, then improve your diet and
lifestyle as recommended on this website, rest a lot more, and meditate as we
recommend twice or more daily.
These are simple but powerful ways to improve your brain and the entire
body as well.
In
a few cases, more extensive testing for brain diseases may be necessary. Physicians often begin with a CAT scan
or an MRI. However, in my
experience, almost all cases of brain fog will clear up without these costly
tests by correcting the factors discussed above such as diet, lifestyle,
infections, toxic metals, chemical toxicity and psychological/emotional stress
factors.
References
While
there are a limited number of references to brain fog on the internet, I have
not found much medical research on the subject. It needs more!
This article represents my experience and that of other clinicians with
whom I have worked or whose work I have studied. Some of the other articles on this website referred to above
contain long lists of references as well.
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