Brain Fog

BRAIN FOG
by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

UPDATES - January 2019: Some people with brain fog feel worse when they eat meat. The usual reason for this is that the meat causes the elimination of copper and other toxic metals from tissue storage sites. The metals enter the bloodstream, bringing on symptoms. These people need a complete program to balance all the minerals.

Also, the newly discovered pattern called the Anchor And Pivot Patterns gives us a lot more insight into the causes and correction of brain fog. We now check that on all hair analysis retests.

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.

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 one’s 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 the brain does not function well, and 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

Most brain fog is due to nutritional and biochemical imbalances. Often, more than one imbalance is involved. The most common contributing factors are:

MINERAL IMBALANCES

The most common of these are:

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 ‘spiritual’, 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 “drinking water” or “purified water”. 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:

Ø Eating a lot of fruit, drinking fruit juices, or eating a lot of any kind of sweets or sugars.

Ø Vegetarian diets, or worse, vegan diets.

Ø Drinking alkaline water or even drinking distilled or reverse osmosis water. All of these waters are very yin.

Ø The use of marijuana on a regular basis.

Ø Too much sex with fluid loss, say more than once a day.

Ø 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 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 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 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.

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 can’t 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 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.

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 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 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 doctor’s 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 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 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 “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 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 one’s 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 one’s 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 “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 (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 children’s 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:

· Parents are often not helping their children with school work as much as in earlier generations because they are exhausted, or too busy.

· Television sets, Ipods, computers at home and other electronic toys may 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 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 one’s 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 “mental illness” 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 one’s 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 don’t 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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