Naperville Integrated Wellness

NAPERVILLE'S TOP RATED LOCAL® FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FACILITY

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Brain Fog & Fatigue Causes – Our Functional Medicine Doctor Elaborates

Fatigue and brain fog are two of the most common health issues we treat in our office…and they usually occur together. I have also found they usually have a common cause and solution. Most who suffer with these conditions do not get much help from traditional medicine. This is because they are a functional disorder and therefore require a functional medicine solution. 

Brain Fog 

One of the most common things that I hear people say is that they have brain fog. They have fuzzy thinking or unable to feel sharp in their thoughts anymore. They sometimes have problems with their short-term memory as well and forget little things that were not a problem to remember before. This is a common health concern today, but it’s not supposed to be happening. It’s not normal and it’s really complicated because it can be caused by a long range of lifestyle problems, medications, or health conditions. Brain fog is the inability to have a sharp memory or to lack a sharp focus. You just really feel like you’re not yourself and you’re unable to think clearly. 

https://www.webmd.com/brain/ss/slideshow-brain-fog#:~:text=What%20Is%20It%3F,put%20your%20thoughts%20into%20words.

Fatigue

There are many possible causes for fatigue. Low iron or anemia, low thyroid function, adrenal gland fatigue, low blood sugar and chronic inflammation are some of the most common sources of fatigue. There are of course general lifestyle concerns such are poor sleep hygiene, too much stress, poor diet and lack of physical activity. Sometimes fatigue is a side effect of medications. 

https://blog.doist.com/mental-fatigue/#:~:text=%E2%80%9Cmental%20fatigue%E2%80%9D%3F-,What%20is%20mental%20fatigue%3F,over%2Dand%2Dover%20again.

Fatigue can also be due to a chronic infection. Most adults have been exposed to the Epstein Barr virus (this the virus that causes “mono” / mononucleosis. This virus remains in the body and can “reemerge” and become “active” thus creating fatigue. 

“Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous virus that infects at least 95% of the population. Most persons are infected during infancy and early childhood and are asymptomatic or have nonspecific symptoms (1). Infection of adolescents and young adults with EBV often results in infectious mononucleosis…

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776035/

Chronic EBV infection is considered rare, but I have tested many patients who have the presence of antibodies indicating they have been exposed to it in the distant past, but the virus is currently replicating (early antigens/EA).

When this occurs, the most common symptom experienced is chronic fatigue. 

“The presence of antibody to early antigen (EA) of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) indicates that EBV is actively replicating.”

https://www.childrensmn.org/references/Lab/serology/epstein-barr-virus-(ebv)-early-antigen-igg-antibody.pdf

Brain Inflammation

After ruling out the common causes for brain fog and fatigue and I have listed above. We need to look at the environment of your brain. 

Brain inflammation does not hurt. Instead, the inflammation causes symptoms like:

  • Chronic fatigue
  • Brain fog 
  • Brain fatigue 
  • Insomnia
  • Changes in mood 

Inflammation changes the way your brain works; it makes it more difficult for your brain to make the energy it needs to function properly and maintain the health of the nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. 

Your brain has its own immune system

What is the most common source of brain inflammation? It is the immune system of the brain, which is distinct and separated from the immune system for the rest of your body. 

At the root of brain inflammation are microglia cells, the brain’s immune cells. They were once considered simply to be glue that held neurons together…they outnumber neurons ten to one. 

You have more immune cells than neurons in your brain…

The brain can become inflamed like the rest of the body, although the brain has its own immune system. It’s important to take brain inflammation seriously because it can rapidly degenerate the brain, raising the risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other brain degenerative diseases. Scientists have discovered that brain aging is more related to the brain’s immune cells…inflammation…than any other factor. 

What can cause brain inflammation? 

  • Food sensitivities or allergies 
  • Leaky gut and other disorder of the digestive system 
  • Nutrient deficiencies 
  • Hormone imbalances 
  • Systemic body inflammation 
  • Viruses 
  • Chronic stress 
  • Poor blood sugar regulation 
  • Alcohol 
  • Food toxins 
  • Environmental toxins 

How does brain inflammation cause fatigue and brain fog? 

Inflammation reduces your brain’s ability to produce energy. Your brain uses 20% of all the energy your body makes. The brain weighs only 3 pounds but uses 20% of the energy made by your body! 

“How much energy does the brain require? For the average adult in a resting state, the brain consumes about 20 percent of the body’s energy. The brain’s primary function — processing and transmitting information through electrical signals — is very, very expensive in terms of energy use.”

https://www.brainfacts.org/brain-anatomy-and-function/anatomy/2019/how-much-energy-does-the-brain-use-020119#:~:text=How%20much%20energy%20does%20the%20brain%20require%3F,in%20terms%20of%20energy%20use.

This energy must be created in the brain. Neurons, like other cells in your body contain small structures called mitochondria. Mitochondria turn the food you eat into energy for the cell use. They turn food into ATP. See the Aerobic respiration image, this shows how food (in this case glucose or blood sugar) goes into mitochondria and out comes ATP (energy), water and carbon dioxide or CO2. 

“Neurons need an enormous amount of energy. … Mitochondria use oxygen and glucose to produce most of the cell’s energy. The brain consumes large amounts of ATP. The chemical energy stored in ATP is used to fuel most of the biochemical reactions of the neuron.”

https://cerebromente.org.br/n07/fundamentos/neuron/parts_i.htm

Mitochondria don’t like inflammation!!! 

“Mitochondria are well known as the key energy generators in our cells, but we found that during inflammation they switch that role instead to making toxic products…which promotes inflammation.”

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313090#Mitochondrias-roles-switched

Inflammation reduces the ability of mitochondria to make energy and as they fail at this, they actually become a source of inflammation. It becomes a vicious circle of inflammation, toxicity and neuron damage and even neuron death. 

Any reduction in energy production will result in fatigue and brain fog. You feel fatigue because your brain is fatigued… you have brain fog because your neurons can’t function properly…they cannot store or transmit information. 

There is not a drug or medication to fix this. 

With the help of a functional medicine doctor, you can identify the root cause of brain inflammation and restore your brain’s ability to make the energy it requires to function the way that is should. 

The purpose of functional medicine is: 

Understanding how the body works, knowing how and where to investigate health issues, knowing what to look for, understanding the significance of what is found and creating a plan of action to reverse and correct the root cause the health problems.

My wish for you…health, happiness and a better quality of life! 

If you would like more information about functional medicine and integrative medicine or Dr. Sexton go to napervilleintegratedwellness.com

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information, you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources and organizations. 

This approach to healthcare is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. This article is for information purposes and is not a substitute professional healthcare services. Contact our office for more information.

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