BRAIN
FOG
by Lawrence Wilson, MD
© January 2013, The Center For
Development
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 today, even though I
have not seen it listed as a diagnosis or recognized health condition in most
medical or psychological texts.
A clinical definition of brain fog. 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 ability to think clearly. It can cause a person to become
forgetful, detached and often discouraged and depressed. It usually is present most of the time,
meaning it does not come and go, although it may become better or worse
depending on what a person eats, or oneÕs state of rest and hydration.
Brain fog is not recognized as a clinical diagnosis because it is not
easy to test for it. It is quite
subjective, in other words. The
person just knows that they do not function well, and the mind often seems
foggy or cloudy. This is not the
same as dementia, mental retardation, anxiety, depression or other common
mental symptoms. I hope that
medical doctors will soon expand their diagnostic ability to assess brain fog,
but for now it is a subjective condition, though it is very real.
Brain
fog is quite 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.
The onset of brain fog. Some people have had brain fog for most
of their lives, and may even think their state of mind is normal. In some other cases, it comes on slowly
with age or time. In still other
instances, 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. However,
the most common, by far, are nutritional and biochemical imbalances that affect
the brain and central nervous system of the body. In my experience, the cause is usually somewhat
complex. It can involve a combination
of many factors. The most common
contributing factors are:
Toxic metals that can cause or contribute
to brain fog. The most common
metal imbalances with brain fog that we see include:
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 cellular level
and probably the blood level of copper level rises.
However, many people, and more so women, have elevated copper levels
all the time. Using birth control pills or
patches makes this problem much worse. Copper imbalance also affects the thyroid gland, and this,
in turn, can create the symptoms of brain fog.
Copper
imbalance can be very hard to diagnose. Blood and urine tests are often normal. Serum ceruloplasmin may be normal. Hair tissue copper is often normal. A liver biopsy for copper is considered
diagnostic, but it is a painful and somewhat invasive and costly test that is
not worth doing in most all cases.
Dr. Paul C. Eck, my teacher, figured out how to assess copper imbalance
easily using a properly performed and correctly interpreted hair mineral
analysis. He called the indicators
hidden copper toxicity. This means the hair copper level is
normal, but one can use other indicators on the test to infer its
presence. These include a hair
calcium level above about 60 mg% or so, a hair potassium level less than about
6 mg%, a hair mercury level above about 0.02 mg%, a hair zinc level less than
about 14 mg%, a four lows pattern, or a ratio of
sodium to potassium less than 2.5:1.
Other indicators that can be less reliable are a hair zinc level above
about 16 mg%, or a hair phosphorus level less than about 12 mg%.
Causes
of copper imbalance include weak adrenal glands, vegetarian diets or
semi-vegetarian diets, zinc deficiency, stress, fatigue, use of birth control
pills, copper intra-uterine devices or copper contamination of water supplies
or food. Many children are born
with copper imbalance today from their mothers.
Problems with vegetarian diets. 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. Stay away from vegetarian diets if you
have brain fog, and be sure to eat meat every single day, at least at one
meal.
Many
vegetarians believe their diet makes them feel ÔspiritualÕ, when in fact their
feeling of detachment is often a symptom of brain fog brought on by their diet
or other factors.
Correcting copper imbalance. Most of
the time, copper imbalance cannot be corrected with just a diet or just taking
a few supplements. The best way to
correct it is a complete nutritional balancing 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
or 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 of the
toxic metals – about two dozen of them. I do not recommend chelation therapy, as it always depletes
some vital minerals and thus makes a lot of people worse in subtle ways that
may not show up for years. See the
article on the Dangers
of Toxic Metals for more information about this important topic.
Toxic chemicals and brain fog. Everyone is exposed to high levels of
toxic chemicals today. Often, one
is not even aware it has occurred.
They are everywhere, from car interiors, to upholstery, to plastic
equipment, to lawn chemicals, paints, inks, insecticides on food, and always in
the water supply. In cities, the
air is often contaminated as well.
Most chemicals are not too toxic, but some severely affect brain
function in some people. A
nutritional balancing program will almost always remove all of them, without
the use of drugs. However, one
must be patient and, if possible, use a near infrared sauna daily to promote
their elimination much faster.
Food chemicals can cause brain fog if one is sensitive to them. One
person recently reported that soy lecithin, found in many foods such as chocolates
and candy, caused brain fog for her.
A calcium shell and brain fog. Another toxic mineral problem occurs
when the level of soft tissue calcium increases in the body. We call this a calcium shell. The calcium tends to dull or numb the
brain somewhat. One usually
becomes somewhat out of touch with reality. 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 mineral imbalances. Excessive levels of other trace
elements such as iron, manganese and chromium also affect brain activity and
may give rise to symptoms of brain fog.
BOWEL TOXICITY AND BRAIN FOG
This
is another 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, or a slow bowel transit time, makes the
problem much worse. A slow bowel
transit time means that food takes a long time to pass through the intestinal
tract. It should pass through in
about 8-20 hours, at the most.
Many people require 2 or even 3 days for their food to pass through. This gives the food more time to rot,
releasing toxic substances into the bloodstream.
One
may not be aware of bowel toxicity, as there may be no specific or precise
symptoms. Blood tests for liver
function and general health will not reveal problems in most cases. 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 containing sweets or fruit, for
example. Fruit causes problems for
many people due to its yin quality and its higher sugar content. Most fruit is also sprayed with
pesticides, even if labeled organic.
Other causes are weak
digestion, a slow bowel transit time, a need for supplementary digestive
enzymes, intestinal infections, stress, poor eating habits, or even just
negative emotions.
Drinking
too little water or the wrong type of water is important for the
intestinal tract. Inadequate water
or worse, drinking soda pop, fruit juices of any kind, more than one cup of
coffee or other caffeinated drinks, 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. Second best is carbon-filtered tap
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.
Especially bad is reverse osmosis water, for example, that is sold at
most health food stores and supermarkets as Òdrinking waterÓ or Òpurified
waterÓ. Most designer waters,
alkaline water, clustered water and others are also not as good, and some are
harmful. Read the article entitled
Water For Drinking on this website for more on this
subject.
Do not fast to clean out your liver. Be wary of cleansing programs such as
fasts to correct liver and kidney toxicity. These may give some temporary relief, but usually do not
address basic causes such as food allergies, toxic chemicals in the diet or
environment, and many nutrient deficiencies. I used to supervise fasting for several years, and believed
it was helpful. However, today
people are so toxic that fasting can easily cause one to become even more
nutrient deficient, making things worse in the long run.
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.
Everyone also needs a digestive enzyme supplement today, in my
view. I believe that animal-based
enzymes such as ox bile and pancreatin work far better than the vegetable
enzymes that are quite popular.
Many other nutrients may be needed, and guessing is not a good
idea. We use hair mineral testing
to assess nutrient needs, but only in accordance with the interpretation method
designed by Dr. Paul C. Eck and myself.
I have also added sauna therapy and coffee enemas for
detoxification. In other words, a
comprehensive program is generally best.
YIN DISEASE
This
is an unusual condition in which the body is too yin, in Chinese medical
terminology. The causes for this
rather common condition today include:
¯
Eating a lot of fruit, drinking fruit
juices, or eating a lot of any kind of sweets or sugars.
¯
Vegetarian diets, or worse, vegan
diets.
¯ Drinking alkaline water or
even drinking distilled or reverse osmosis water. All of these waters are very yin.
¯ The use of marijuana on a
regular basis.
¯ Too much sex with fluid loss,
say more than once a day.
¯ Too much travel, in a few
cases.
For more on this important cause of physical and mental imbalance, read
Yin Disease on this website.
ADRENAL BURNOUT, LOW THYROID AND BRAIN FOG
Adrenal
burnout differs from fatigue in that it is a deeper derangement of the bodyÕs
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 an underlying
cause for toxic metal accumulation.
It is also 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 bodyÕs 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.
THYROID IMBALANCE
Most people today have a low-functioning thyroid. The reason is quite simple. They either have copper or mercury in
the thyroid gland, and/or they have iodine
antagonists affecting their thyroid gland. These are fluorine, bromine and chlorine compounds. For more information, read Thyroid Imbalances And Their Healing.
CHRONIC CANDIDA ALBICANS OR OTHER YEASTS AND BRAIN FOG
Candida
albicans overgrowth is extremely common today. 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 feel or 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 or low blood sugar is
associated with brain fog.
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 canÕt think clearly?
FOOD OR
CHEMICAL ALLERGIES
Brain
allergies, as they are called, can be a cause of brain fog. Here are some examples:
Perchlorate and brain fog. 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 townÕs 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.
Lecithin
and brain fog. Mrs. Richards, age 70,
began to forget things and could not remember what she had said during a
conversation just an hour before.
She finally figured out that soy
lecithin was causing her problem.
She used it as a supplement and ate it with her food as well. When she stopped all soy lecithin, her
brain fog cleared.
Nutrasweet
(also labeled as Equal, Canderel, Spoonful, aspartame, aspartic acid, neotame
(a newer variant) 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.
Foods
can cause brain fog.
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 cowÕs 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 OFTEN CAUSE OR CONTRIBUTE
TO BRAIN FOG
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. Birth control pills,
the patch and the birth conrol IUD can sometimes cause brain fog.
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 protein, 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. Others are the omega-3 fatty acids,
vitamin D, and in fact all of the vitamins.
The Merck
Manual, the most common doctorÕs handbook, notes that symptoms of B-vitamin
deficiency include confusion, irritability, and stupor. Correction is often
quite simple and inexpensive.
The
author recalls a 7-year old patient who had recurrent ear infections. The ear infections cleared up on a
nutritional balancing program.
During a follow-up visit, her mother mentioned the girlÕs 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 Ôside effectÕ of nutritional balancing correction of body chemistry.
HIDDEN VIRAL AND OTHER INFECTIONS
Viral and other infections
can affect the brain by excreting toxins into the blood, for example, or by
weakening the mind, or by depleting certain nutrients that are needed in the
brain. Many viruses can directly
or indirectly affect the brain such as Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus,
hepatitis C, and others.
Infected root-canal filled
teeth, or any teeth for that matter, or cavitations in the mouth are also
common and can also release toxins that definitely cause brain fog. See the article on Infections for more
information.
BRAIN PARASITES
Occasionally,
brain fog can be due to Lyme disease infection, trichina worms or cysts from
consuming pig products, and even fish tapeworm eggs and other parasitic
organisms that are very common today.
This
cause of brain fog is subtle and hard to detect with any standard testing
procedure. In my experience,
however, a nutritional balancing program, especially with GB-3 as a digestive
aid and the use of a near infrared light sauna daily, will slowly kill and
remove all of these parasites from all areas of the body, including the
brain. This will take some years,
however, so one must be patient.
Taking
drugs or herbs to kill the parasites are rarely necessary or helpful for
several reasons. First, most of
them will not penetrate deeply enough to kill all the organisms, and as soon as
the drug or herb is discontinued, the parasites may begin to multiply again. Also, and far worse, the drugs and
herbs are themselves somewhat toxic.
They must be removed from the body for complete healing to occur, and
this can take months to years to do with a nutritional balancing program.
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD EFFECTS
Electrical
fields are quite harmful for some people.
They can affect sleep, school performance and can cause brain fog in
selected people. Sources include
computer screens, cell phones, dimmer switches in the home or office, 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.
LACK OF GROUNDING CAN OCCASIONALLY CAUSE BRAIN FOG
Many people are overstimulated and perhaps easily distracted. Some are diagnosed as ADD. However, that is not a helpful
assessment because it is mainly a descriptive term and does not tell us the
cause. However, hair tissue
mineral testing may reveal the cause.
Remaining 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 Òtheir chi is in their headsÓ.
The
solution to this problem, and it is recommended for everyone, is to set aside
time each day for a specific type of mental exercise. Just any mental exercise will not work. Many types of meditation and even some
prayer, for example, just keep one floating in oneÕs head.
I
can only recommend one type of Judeo-Christian exercise taught by Mr. Roy
Masters because it is extremely grounding and helps develop a quality called
the witness. This is most helpful. Read more about it by clicking on
the Observation-Meditation
Exercise.
Other
helpful activities may include a slow, conscious daily walk, and even writing
each day in a journal. Other
methods that may help grounding are gardening, extremely gentle yoga, or
extremely gentle tai chi or chi kung.
One should do these on a daily basis, as part of your routine, to reap
the benefit. Be very careful with
yoga, tai chi or other Oriental methods as many people are subtly injured doing
these. This is the rule, not the
exception. A website about
Earthing sells pads that one places the feet upon to help with grounding, and
this will help some people as well.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES
Mental/emotional conflicts. In some cases, brain fog can be due to
mental or emotional conflicts, unresolved traumas or other psychological
causes. Essentially, in such
cases, one does not really want to see or think clearly about something or
someone. Thus brain fog becomes
oneÕs defense mechanism.
In
these cases, brain fog may 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 Òthe truth will set you
freeÓ. 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
(www.drlwilson.com) will help you sort things out.
I am
stupid. An interesting
psychological 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, or perhaps nutritional imbalances
in the brain. 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
childrenÕs brains. See the article
Why is the School
System in Trouble?
The Indigo
Children, in particular, often suffer through school and they number in the
millions today in all nations of the world. They do not learn well in school, and many come to believe
they are stupid and may give up on clear thinking. The school issue is very important today because:
á
Parents are often not helping their
children with school work as much as in earlier generations because they are
exhausted, or too busy.
á
Television sets, Ipods, computers at
home and other electronic toys may further confuse and overload the childrenÕs
brains.
á
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 gives one the
impression 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,
bodywork, meditation, nutritional balancing, chiropractic and other natural
healing techniques and methods may also help in some cases.
OTHER CAUSES
FOR BRAIN FOG
Chiropractic imbalances. 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 oneÕs breath.
Fear and worry can cause shallow breathing. Sometimes a physical disease such as asthma, chronic
bronchitis or emphysema impairs breathing.
Other
illnesses. Brain fog is rarely caused by an
illness such as a brain tumor, epilepsy, meningitis or encephalitis.
Vision problems. This is a more rare cause
Dyslexia and
autism. These often result in mental confusion
and psychological dysfunctions.
The cause for these conditions is usually the same as for brain
fog. Many autistic children and
those with ADD improve dramatically when the underlying factors above are
addressed.
Emotional
conditions such as neuroses, paranoia or mental fixations. These might rarely contribute to brain fog.
Too much
sweating during exercise. This is an
unusual and uncommon cause of brain fog.
It occurs due to electrolyte imbalances.
Poor
circulation to the brain due to low blood pressure or arteriosclerosis. This can easily cause brain fog, usually in older people,
although low blood pressure can occur at any age.
Kidney
problems.
This is another less common cause.
Even not drinking enough water could result in metabolic waste products
in the blood that could travel to the brain and interfere with its functioning.
Too much sex. This may sound odd, but sex depletes the body of certain
nutrients in both men and women.
Sex once a week is fine in most cases, but more can contribute to a type
of brain impairment that causes a foggy type of sensation.
IDENTIFYING
BRAIN FOG
I
am not aware of any specific medical tests to identify brain fog. Instead, diagnosis is usually based
upon the symptoms. These include
lack of mental clarity, some usually mild memory loss, mental confusion,
inability to perform simple mental tasks such as calculating or writing well,
and mental sluggishness.
I
do not believe that this constellation of symptoms fits into any known Òmental
illnessÓ or dementia, and that is why I believe brain fog is a separate health
condition that needs to be investigated more.
Hair tissue
mineral analysis. I use this test
specifically to set up a corrective program, and we have excellent success with
this method. There is no single mineral imbalance that shows up on all mineral
tests of people with brain fog.
However, most of the mineral
analyses show a sluggish oxidation rate, copper imbalance, and the presence of
several toxic metals in the body.
Most of the people are also chronically low in the many nutrients provided
by cooked vegetables, so I increase their intake of these drastically.
I believe that the exact
cause of brain fog varies, and is different in different people. Some day it may be possible to separate
it into more specific categories.
CORRECTION OF BRAIN FOG
Most
cases of brain fog respond well to a nutritional balancing program. If one is fortunate, the brain fog
improves in a few weeks on a nutritional balancing program. All that may be needed is to clean up
oneÕs diet. Just eliminating
sugar, wheat, fruit and a few other foods from the diet can do a lot in some
cases, often in matter of days, in fact.
Also, be sure to drink 3 quarts of spring water daily, rest more,
breathe more deeply and make other simple lifestyle changes.
In
most cases, however, one must deeply remove many toxins from the brain, liver
and kidneys. This can easily take
several weeks, and in bad cases to several years. I donÕt know that it is possible to know in advance how long
healing will take, but almost everyone who follows a nutritional balancing
program eventually feels much better.
I advise clients to just begin a complete program to rebalance and
strengthen body chemistry. To do
this, read Introduction To Nutritional
Balancing and other articles on this website. You may also begin a program using instructions on this
website. Time tends to pass
rapidly as one usually begins to feel a little better each day.
Very
rarely, the brain is so damaged with drugs, for example, such as marijuana,
that complete recovery is difficult.
This is not to discourage anyone, but just stating a fact. If you want your brain to be healthy, avoid
all unnecessary drugs, toxins and especially recreational drugs of all kinds. Marijuana may be good for cancer pain, but
it is horrendous for your mental health.
Detoxification procedures. One or two coffee enemas daily and two near infrared sauna sessions
for about a half hour each day are also very helpful and very safe when done
properly. See the articles on Sauna Therapy and Detoxification Procedures
for more on these excellent detoxification methods, and why avoid many of the
other methods of detoxification.
Other natural therapies to use along with a nutritional
balancing program.
Daily foot reflexology, along with gentle chiropractic, osteopathic
manipulation, craniosacral therapies, Rolfing or other structural therapies may
be very helpful. At times,
they are essential as part of a complete healing program.
If you are not yet ready for nutritional
balancing, begin with the free parts of the program, as outlined in the
article The Healing Lifestyle. Improve your diet and lifestyle as
recommended on this website, rest a lot more, and meditate as recommended twice
or more daily. Do not do other
meditations that can make the problem worse by ungrounding a person more. These are simple, but powerful ways to
improve your brain and the entire body as well until you are ready for a
complete program.
In rare cases, if emotional causes are foremost, then meditation,
counseling and other types of counseling and therapies may be more critical, at
least at first. However, a
properly designed nutritional balancing program seems to be a basic need and
will also assist any other therapy to succeed better.
The use of remedies for brain fog. Many doctors use remedies
for brain fog that vary from herbs, homeopathic remedies, vitamins, minerals,
hormones or medical drugs.
Interestingly, in most cases they do not work well. In fact, they often make things worse. Instead of remedies, we find that
balancing the body chemistry is the most powerful approach for brain fog in
almost all cases.
Rarely, more extensive
testing for brain diseases may be necessary. Physicians often begin with a CAT or MRI scan. Avoid CAT scans if possible due to high
radiation exposure. In my
experience, however, almost all cases of brain fog will clear up without a need
for costly and perhaps high-radiation exposure medical diagnostic tests.
References
I
have not found much medical research on brain fog. There needs to be more! This article represents my experience and that of other
physicians and nutrition consultants with whom I have worked or whose work I
have studied. Some of the other
articles on this website referred to above contain lists of references, but I
have found little in the way of clinical studies. Of more importance is that the condition can be healed in
almost every case with a nutritional balancing program.
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