Heal Your BRAIN

How do you know if you have an unhealthy brain?

Below you will find some of the most common symptoms of an inflamed brain; or a brain that is not working properly:

Signs Of Brain Inflammation

• Chronic fatigue
• Brain-fog
• Short-term memory decline
• Insomnia
• Depression / Anxiety
• Lack of motivation
• Reduced ability to handle stress
• Less emotional stability
• Poor digestive function
• Strong reactions to foods or environmental

How to Fix Brain Inflammation

‘Brain on Fire’

You will notice that I have placed Brain at Level #8 of the Functional Medicine Health Pyramid. This is because the lower Levels of the FMHP will have the most significant impact on your brain health. This means you have need to correct problems with your Digestive System and Nutrition at Level #1 or fix Blood Sugar problems are level #3 or reduce Inflammation at Level #4; etc. For more on this, keep reading…

One of the earliest signs of a poorly functioning brain is poor digestion. The poor brain function I am referring to includes poor memory, inability to find words, or difficulty learning new things.  Simultaneously one might have trouble digesting foods, episodes of bloating and gas, or alternating constipation and diarrhea.  The conventional health care model overlooks many of these symptoms because they are not tell-tale signs of DISEASE.  Many signs are overlooked and blamed on advancing age.

Did you know that 90% of your brain’s output influences the digestive system and other autonomic functions? So, by the time you are experiencing digestive problems, your brain is already being adversely affected.  

When the GUT is ‘ON FIRE’ the BRAIN is ‘ON FIRE’ and vice versa. They go hand in hand.

Neither the gut nor the brain experiences pain (inflammation) as we experience pain elsewhere in the body.  The gut and the brain do not have pain fibers, so inflammation of the brain may be experienced as brain fog short term memory loss, for example.  Gut inflammation on the other hand, can be experienced as bloating, gas, food sensitivities or abnormal bowel movements.  In the brain, inflammation slows the transmission of information from one nerve to another.  In the gut, when inflammation is present, we see intestinal barrier breakdown and activation of the intestinal immune system.

Brain Inflammation and Fatigue

Brain Inflammation rapidly ages the brain. This can be thought of as ‘brain cell atrophy.’  In addition to brain fog, this can cause low brain endurance (brain fatigue).  This happens because brain cells get activated in the presence of a leaky brain barrier.  Think ‘leaky gut = leaky brain.’ So, any trauma to the gut activates the gut’s immune function also causes an insult to the blood brain barrier and creates immune activation to the brain.  This alters brain function and destroys brain tissue.  It is important to point out that direct damage to the brain itself, as in a concussion, for example, leads to impaired function of the gut as well.

You might be thinking that your brain-related problems are genetic/hereditary, and they might be; but all of the Levels below Genes #10 will have a huge impact on how your Genes express themselves…they will express health or illness. This is the field of epigenetics; which is the study of changes in health caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. Epi- means above or before; so this really means that the environment of your body (Levels 1-9) it more important than what your genes are; what you inherited from you parents.

Ok, back to your brain. Some of the biggest problems that will affect your brain and its ability to function properly include:

1. Poor diet (high inflammation, food allergies or sensitivities)
2. Lack of vital nutrients required for neuron (brain cells) health
3. Lack of physical exercise
4. Poor sleep habits
5. Chronic stress
6. History of head injury or concussion
7. Chronic infections; especially viral, Lyme and mold exposure

Your Brain is Sensitive

Your brain is sensitive and does not follow the same rules as the rest of your body when it comes to inflammation and immune system function. Here are just a few interesting facts about your brain:

1. Only 10% of your brain is composed of neurons
2. 90% of your brain is composed of neuron-supporting cells called glia
3. When your brain is exposed to chronic inflammation, physical trauma or emotional trauma many of your glial cells change into inflammation-creating cells and never return to their normal state.
4. Poor health of your gut (Level 1) or liver (Level 2) will directly cause brain inflammation via your vagus nerve.
5. Your brain has a protective barrier that keeps harmful chemicals away from it; called the blood-brain barrier (BBB); poor gut health, head trauma, infections or severe emotional distress will cause this barrier to deteriorate. This permits the immune system of the rest of your body to “enter” the brain and potentially initiate autoimmune disease in your brain…you can’t have brain autoimmunity unless this has occurred.
6. Chronic brain inflammation is the leading cause of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

What you NEED TO KNOW About Your Brain

Your brain is a very complex structure, and it needs to create a lot of energy to work properly. Your brain weighs about 3 pounds but uses almost 25% of all the energy your body makes. It is also very sensitive to inflammation and immune system problems. Unfortunately, your brain does not “hurt” and you don’t feel pain when your brain is suffering; instead you experience the symptoms I listed at the beginning of this article. You MUST take care of your brain because you don’t get any more brain cells than you have right now and if your brain is inflamed, you are losing neurons that you can’t get back. Every part of your body can make new cells except your brain and to some degree your heart. If you are losing brain function, you will lose quality of life; and if permitted to continue, YOU MAY NEVER GET BACK TO NORMAL…when you lose your brain, you are losing YOURSELF. Loss of self is one of the most terrifying experiences my patients talk to me about.

Take care of your brain. You have a limited number of brain cells and chronic inflammation destroys them.

In my next article I will be covering Heart which I have placed at Level #9 of the FMHP.

I hope you have found value in this information.

I wish you health, happiness and a better quality of life!

Take the time to do your research so that you can make an informed decision on the next steps in your wellness journey.  It is my sincere hope for you to find abundant health, happiness and an improved quality of life! – Dr. Sharon Borkowski ND, DC

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

Functional medicine doctors and assistance in Naperville, Geneva, Chicago and other surrounding areas. Contact us today!

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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.