Hi Everybody Dr Hagmeyer here and today were talking about the 10 most common causes behind Brain Fog and what you can do to eliminate Brain fog, problems with memory and fatigue naturally.
Maybe you’re watching this and you’re not really sure what’s wrong with you….. other than just feeling like your brain is a little off.
You have noticed over the last several weeks or months you Feel increased fatigued, you’re noticing your focus is off, (you start a task and you never complete it, you come out of the grocery store and you forget where you parked your care, you’re noticing that you’re having a hard time finding the right words to say, you’re losing the enjoyment and zest you once had in life.
You’re not going to get a lot of help from your General medical doctors when you describe these symptoms in fact your probably going to be told that your just getting old, your just stressed out or you might be asked if your a little depressed.
Be careful how you answer this last question. If you say yes- you will be walking out the door with an antidepressant and you might not need those especially with the things your going to learn in today’s video.
One thing you need to understand is that in order for your brain to keep up with the many needs and demands of the body, your brain needs to be steadily and properly fueled and it needs the proper stimulation.
Anything that disrupts the fuel delivery to the brain or anything that causes a hemispherical imbalance to the brain will cause Brain Fog, fatigue, loss of mental stamina etc.
Today we will be talking about the metabolic causes behind fuel delivery and in a future video, I will talk more about the Hemispherical imbalances you need to be aware of.
Unlike muscles that can store fuel easily and breakdown stored fat and turn it into energy, this is not so easy for your brain, and so your brain needs to have a constant and steady dietary source of fuel.
The fuel sources your brain primarily depends on is Oxygen and Glucose. So what are some of the things that can interfere with oxygen and glucose delivery to the brain. These are things I have done with patients that over and over again brings about improvement and changes their life.
See Testimonials link at the end of this article.
These 10 Metabolic Imbalances Should Be Checked With People who Suffer with Brain, Fog, Memory Loss and Fatigue.
#1 Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome
Your adrenals control your stress response, they monitor inflammation in the body, they play a role in blood sugar, so this is one of the first areas I think of when someone describes brain fog, that mental fogginess, and fatigue. When your body is under stress, whether it is physical, mental, chemical or other, the adrenals kick in to stimulate your body’s survival (Fight or Flight) mechanisms.
Once the threat is over, the relaxation portion of your nervous system (Rest and Digest) takes over. But when the stressor continues to be present, for prolonged periods of time your adrenals continue to fire off cortisol and deplete your bodies DHEA levels.
When this happens everything seems to come to a grinding halt. You body now goes into survival mode slows down to conserve energy. If you look at the diagram, the two areas of importance for this video is the (carbohydrate Metabolism) and the Neural Tissue Health Portion.
Underneath that you will notice is says cellular energetics and glucose homeostasis. This is our connection between adrenal function and fuel delivery to the cells and tissues of your body.
When your blood sugar levels drop, your adrenals mobilize stored fat (glycogen) for energy.
Every cell in your body needs glucose in order to make ATP, If you don’t make ATP cellular function comes to a grinding Halt. And one of the first organs to let you know is not happy is the brain. The other arrow that you see here is pointing to Neural Tissue Health. Here you can see that cortisol levels are also involved in (Mood, learning, Sleep and mood) This is why its so important when you are experiencing brain fog to check this system out.
2nd Major Cause of Brain Fog, Memory Problems and Fatigue is Dietary Consumption Of Sugar.
This is a huge problem for people. We are all a bunch of sugar junkies. One of the common problems I see for many people who have gone on a gluten free diet is the consumption of many so called Gluten free foods. These “gluten free” foods from Rice protein, Sorghum, and Potato and many of the other Gluten free flours break down to sugar very quickly and cause a sudden surge of insulin.
Every spike or surge in blood sugar is followed by a plummet. It’s this drop or plummet in your blood sugar where your brain shuts off. If you look at this picture below, you can see the roller coaster ride most people are on.
Take a look at some of the common symptoms a person with low blood sugar has (shaky, irritable, depressed, they can’t think straight, get headaches, feel like their brain is inflamed), now the longer this cycle of dysglycemia continues, the worse the brain fog gets and this is where we really start to upset the neurotransmitters of the brain and this is where depression and anxiety sets in.
One thing I want to mention here is that there are many things that affect blood sugar, the obvious is diet, but some of the other factors that influence blood sugar balance include Adrenal glands Function, Inflammation, Infection, Absorption, Food Sensitivities and even other Hormones imbalances.
#3 Artificial Sweeteners
Now you might be thinking I dont use sugar I use Artificial sweeteners like NutraSweet, Equal, Splenda, Aspartame, Sucralose. Remember anything that is artificial is probably not good for you. and its something your going to want to eliminate.
These sugars have all been linked to depression, migraines, irritability because of their neurotoxic effects and impact they have on special brain cells called Glial cells and astrocytes. Take aspartame for example, when aspartame is broken down, it breaks down into phenylalanine (50%), aspartic acid (40%) and methanol (10%) The excess of phenylalanine blocks the transport of important amino acids to the brain when this happens these amino acids can’t be converted into dopamine and serotonin.
Two very important neurotransmitters that are involved in the health of your brain Dopamine is important for attention, motivation, joy, pleasure and goal-directed behavior and serotonin is important for calmness, desire and emotional well-being.
Point here is, the foods including these synthetic sugar can influence the amino acid profiles. So start looking at and Reading food labels and stop using these artificial sweeteners.
#5 Heavy Metals heavy metals, such as aluminum, lead, cadmium and mercury can cause brain fog.
Aluminum can be found in antacids, antiperspirants, soda, vaccines and more. Identifying this as a factor, eliminating the exposure and detoxifying from the metals will improve brain fog. Mercury is a heavy metal and it is a potent neurotoxin that persists in our bodies. It can cause many neurological symptoms such as brain fog, memory loss, and tingling. Mercury is unfortunately present in our fish supply. Consuming fish that contain mercury can cause mercury to accumulate in our bodies.
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recommends limiting fish consumption to no more than twice per week. They also advise pregnant women, children, the elderly and those with health concerns to avoid eating fish that are typically high in mercury content ~ swordfish, shark, and king mackerel. and what baffles me is that the same FDA that can warn people about the mercury in fish have nothing to say about all the toxins in vaccines that we push on the young and elderly.
Another common and overlooked source of mercury toxicity is in dental amalgams, those silver fillings in our mouths. These should be removed by a trained biological dentist who specializes in this procedure. The procedure releases mercury as they are removed and a specially trained dentist can limit this exposure and guide you through eliminating the mercury that is release in your body.
Mercury is also contained in various vaccines, so it is important to be aware of the ingredients. Vaccines also carry other risks, so it is important to know the risks and benefits of vaccines before considering to receive a shot. Here is a test I ran on a patient and his test results. He was off the charts in ARSENIC,CADMIUM
#6 Gut Infection, #7 Leaky Gut, #8 Sensitivities to Grains
Another common area I suspect when a patient complains of brain fog, anxiety, depression is tied into problems connected with the gut. This can be a parasite, this can be a bacterial infection, it can be a yeast such as Candida or it could be coming from a grain sensitivity. Eating grains affects the brain in many ways, Just like refined sugar, grains can cause inflammation in your body.
There is also a book by David Perlmutter titled “Grain Brain” it documents the effects that gluten and many grains have on the brain– how consuming grains is linked to fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and many other psychiatric problems.
When it comes to infections, candida overgrowth, biotoxins made by bacteria are produced and these are very strong driving forces for inflammation in the brain. These biotoxins act as poisons to the nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and again cause brain fog.
One of the questions I would ask you is that when you eat sugars, starches, carbohydrates, do your symptoms gets worse? If they do, your brain fog has a connection to your gut. If you notice this connection you probably have a leaky gut, some sort infection such as Candida (yeast overgrowth) SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
You can see in the Journal from the Neuroendocrinology that a leaky gut and the inflammation it causes has been associated with Depression and that gluten sensitivity is associated with Psychiatric disorders.
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#9 Brain Fog and Nutrient Deficiencies
Most of us are aware of the important macro nutrients that provide us with calories and building blocks for our bodies ~ carbohydrates, fats and proteins ~ but many of us are not aware of the micro nutrients that are so critical to our bodies’ functioning. These are needed in smaller quantities than macro nutrients, but they are extremely critical.
They include minerals, acids, trace minerals and vitamins. By eating a diet of high quality, nutrient dense whole foods, we obtain many of these micro-nutrients. In America, we are a well fed country (plenty of macro-nutrients), but are often undernourished (not enough micro-nutrients).
If we do not have enough micro-nutrients, our bodies don’t function well. For example, if we are deficient in B vitamins, our brain exhibits irritability, confusion and lethargy which mimics Alzheimer’s disease. Identifying and correcting nutrient deficiencies will resolve the problem.
Brain Fog #10 is Anemia
Anemia affects the oxygen carrying capacity of the Red blood cell. Anemia is usually defined as a decrease in amount of red blood cells or the amount of hemoglobin in the blood. Symptoms of Anemia are often vague and may include: feeling tired, weakness, shortness of breath, poor ability to exercise, confusion, feeling like one is going to pass out, and increased thirst.
Closing Thoughts About Brain Fog, Memory Loss and Fatigue
So to wrap things up… here As you now know, Brain fog can be caused by many things. You dont need to continue allowing your brain to further deteriorate. Today’s video was my top 10 causes of fatigue that I see most often in my practice and there are other causes that I just didn’t have time to get into I think the topic of hormone health is also a huge area for men and woman who suffer with brain fog and fatigue and I have done videos specifically about Thyroid and sex hormones so I didn’t cover them in today’s video but just realize that they are important players as well.
When it comes to correcting Brain Fog, I encourage you work with a holistic physician who will really investigate these causes, help you get your life back. Just make sure whoever you work with that they also teach you about the dietary changes your going to need to make.
Don’t continue working with a physician if they don’t talk to you about dietary changes. I Hope you enjoyed today’s video and I would encourage you to contact our office if you are looking for a natural Holistic Approach to Better Health.
Patients testimonials can be seen here.
Medications that Cause SIBO and Leaky Gut
