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 to look for in oneself and others. The earlier you spot it, the sooner you
can begin to correct it. If it
goes too far, it can be hard to recover fully.
Brain
fog may be described as feelings of mental confusion or lack of mental clarity. It is called “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,
children as well as adults. It contributes
to school and work problems, low self-esteem, accidents, unhappy relationships
and even crime and delinquency.
Although it is common, it is not a recognized diagnosis, either in
medicine or psychology.
Some
people have been this way for most of their life and think this is normal. In other cases, it comes on slowly or
perhaps almost overnight.
The
best solution for the many causes below begins with eating and living as
healthfully as possible. One must
eat nourishing food and drink pure water.
I also recommend everyone use digestive enzymes for a while,
particularly GB-3 – a product with ox bile and pancreatin. Click here to learn more about
GB-3.
CAUSES FOR
BRAIN FOG
Brain
fog can have many causes - physical, biochemical, emotional and even
spiritual. Let us discuss these,
starting with the most common ones.
TOXIC
LEVELS OF METALS AND CHEMICALS AFFECTING THE BRAIN
Toxic metals. These are likely the most common cause of brain
fog. They may include the
following common conditions:
Copper. Excessive or biounavailable copper is strongly associated with feelings
of confusion, disorientation, racing thoughts, mood swings and confusion. Some women notice this even more before
the menstrual period, as their copper level rises at this time of the month. However, many people, and moreso 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. This means one must infer its presence because the test will
not show a high copper level. Indicators
for hidden copper on
a hair analysis include an elevated calcium level, low potassium
level, high mercury level, low zinc level or a ratio of sodium to potassium
less than 2.5:1.
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 excess of these metals today. Mercury
toxicity is extremely common, as it is found in large fish like tuna 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. However, 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.
The calcium shell. Another toxic mineral problem occurs
when the level of calcium goes very high.
It is like living inside an eggshell and one can become 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.
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
This
somewhat unusual situation is very common today. Undigested food rots, putrefies or ferments in the
intestines. This generates
powerful toxins with names like indol, skatol, cadaverine and
others. These will cause symptoms
of brain fog such as mental confusion, fatigue and depression in some cases.
In
fact, 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, intestinal infections, stress, poor eating habits, or even just negative emotions.
Constipation
makes the problem one hundred times worse. You may not be aware of this toxicity, as you may not
experience gas, bloating or other digestive disturbances.
The problem may be handled by your liver and kidneys if they
are functioning well. However,
often the liver is overwhelmed by all the chemicals in your diet and
environment, and is not functioning as well as needed. Standard blood tests for liver function
will not reveal a congested or toxic liver. However, liver toxicity is the norm today.
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.
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 two or three 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 has indicators for bowel
problems such as 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 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. 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 very 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.
I have written about it elsewhere.
It
requires a complete program of diet, nutritional supplements and rest. I also highly recommend infrared lamp
saunas to 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 on a delicate 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 usually relieves the symptoms in about 10
minutes. Sweet cravings are a
symptom of hypoglycemia. However,
eating sweets is one of the main ways to perpetuate candida
albicans and adrenal problems. Sweets feed the yeast orgnisms in the intestines, and sometimes in other organs
and tissues as well.
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
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. 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 Taoist philosophy would call these people
ungrounded or 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 spirchetes, other parasitic diseases, or consuming pig
products and other foods that may contain parasitic organisms. I believe it can be corrected with a nutritional
balancing program in most cases, especially by including infrared light sauna
therapy to 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.
PSYCHOLOGICAL
CAUSES
It
is possible to have brain for 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 is
one’s defense mechanism. This use
of brain fog as a psychological defense is more common than might be
imagined. In part, it is a
grounding and spiritual problem, though it can be due to information overload
as well.
For
example, much of the “prevailing wisdom” taught in schools is simply not
true. This can cause severe
conflict in sincere and truthful types of people. For example, you may have learned that grades are everything
in school, yet you see people who get ahead who did poorly in school.
Other
examples are that advertising would indicate that people who drink Pepsi are
slim and popular. Yet reality is
the opposite. You may have learned
that guns in private hands are bad.
Yet statistics clearly prove they save thousands of lives every year and
this is one reason the Second Amendment is very clear about their legality. In fact, guns are statistically
extremely safe, much safer than driving and much, much safer than going to a
doctor.
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 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
people’s brains. See the article Why is the School
System in Trouble? Particularly
the Indigo
Children often suffer through school.
This includes many adults today.
Many come to believe they are stupid and may give up on clear thinking. The school issue is so important today
because:
·
Parents are often
not helping their children as much as in earlier generations because they are
exhausted,
·
Televison and computers further confuse the children’s brains,
·
So many children
are not functioning well to begin with due to the causes listed above. These factors make the negative school
influences that much worse.
There
are many methods for letting go of negative programming. The most important is to make a
decision that you are loved by your creator, and that
you have many gifts and skills. First
it must be a decision. You will only begin to feel it
later. Sometimes counseling is
helpful and there are many approaches to help release negative programs from
the mind. These include
meditation, body therapies, nutrition and energetic work like Spiritual
Response Therapy and Holographic Repatterning.
OTHER CAUSES
·
Chiropractic subluxations. Although
less common, misalignment of the spine, or any impingement on the cranial, cervical
or other nerves may cause 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 cause 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 may cause brain
fog as well.
·
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.
WHAT TO DO
If
one is fortunate, brain fog is easy to correct. All that may be needed is to clean up your diet, rest more,
breathe more deeply and other simple lifestyle changes. This can be more work, however, than
some are willing to do.
More
often, one must remove many toxins from the liver, kidneys and brain. This can take a few years, easily. However, the best idea is just to
begin. Time will pass more rapidly
than you would imagine if you feeling better each day. This is usually what it takes to regain
mental sharpness, improved cognition and retrieve other mental faculties that
have been damaged.
At
times, 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 others may also be excellent additions to a nutritional balancing program
provided they do not upset body chemistry. Be careful with most herbs, however, as tthey
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 and Rolfing or other structural therapies are helpful as well. At
times, other natural therapies may be essential to reprogram and rebuild all
brain structures and functions. Among the very best are detoxification methods such as sauna
therapy, colonic irrigation and coffee enemas. Coffee enemas are particularly helpful and better than
drinking coffee. 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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