Banishing Brain Fog
Cheat Sheet
1. High or Low cortisol
The biggest hormonal imbalances
we see in clients are excess or
depleted cortisol, and reliance on
adrenalin. This often results in low
progesterone in women and low
testosterone in men. Cortisol is
vitally important for immune system
function, blood sugar and gaining
body weight, energy and especially
mental performance. Cortisol is
quite irritating to parts of the brain
that have to do with memory and
executive function, and cause an
increase in size in the parts of the
brain that respond to fear and
threat (the amygdala). If you find
yourself struggling to recall words
or to think clearly, or you notice
you are becoming irritable or angry
often, cortisol imbalance could be
to blame.
Clinical Test: DUTCH complete
hormone test
Home Test: Pupillary contraction
test. Go into a dark room with a
mirror. Allow
your eyes to dilate in response to
the low light for 2 min. Then take a
flashlight and shine it into your eyes,
watching in the
mirror to see your pupils contract.
It should be able to hold this
contraction and not pulse or return
to the larger size.
2. Inflammation
Inflammation is said to be a
ubiquitous driver of chronic
disease. While it serves an
important function in immune
defence and injury healing, chronic
low grade inflammation can cause
major brain fog through hijacking
cellular energy production and
diverting neurotransmitter
production. Common causes
of low grade inflammation are
intestinal permeability (leaky gut),
chronic sinus or dental infections
(you may not even know about),
exposure to mould, heavy metals
or environmental contaminants,
excessive stress or exercise,
circadian rhythm mismatch, diet
high in refined carbs or the wrong
types of fats.
Clinical Test: hs-CRP
Home Test: VCS online Test
This test looks at swelling of
the optic nerve and our ability
to distinguish visual contrast
sensitivity. Swelling of the optic
nerve often suggests
neuroinflammation
& directs us to the cause - i.e.
mould biotoxins, heavy metals or
nutritional deficiencies.
3. Insufficient time
in Delta-Sleep
In this phase of sleep the brain
is literally taking a dump of toxic
proteins and metabolites that have
built up during the day. Without
sufficient deep sleep, we
are at an increased risk of
dementia, as toxins build up in
the brain (which can also lead to
neuroinflammation). If you feel you
are in bed for enough hours, but
still don’t feel sharp the next
day, lack of deep sleep could be to
blame. Alcohol and sleeping pills like
Zopiclone, while they can put you to
sleep, change our sleep architecture
and make us miss out on this critical
phase of sleep.
Home and Clinical Test: Sleep
Cycle app
4. Nutrient deficiency
Big ones I commonly see in
entrepreneurs are magnesium and
B complex vitamin deficiencies.
These are depleted with stress
(we literally pee them out under
stress), alcohol use and various
over the counter medications
(oral contraceptives for women &
metformin/Glucophage are big
ones). Without adequate B complex
vitamins we cannot liberate energy
from food, make neurotransmitters
or detoxify certain hormones. B
complex vitamins and Magnesium
are vital for over 300 enzymes
in the body.
Clinical Test: Capillary vitamin
andminerals OR Organic Acids
Testing
Home Test: Signs of Deficiency
include: fatigue, cracked lips/corners
of the mouth or swollen tongue,
anxiety/depression/brain fog, Issues
with nerve conduction/tingling or
twitching muscles.
5. Blood Sugar
If you find your mental performance
tanking after you eat a meal, or
you cannot go more than 4 hours
without food, you could have major
blood sugar issues causing brain
fog. When we eat high carbohydrate
or refined foods, we get a nice
blood sugar rush, which tends to
be followed by a big dump of the
hormone insulin. High blood sugar is
terrible for the brain, with research
even suggesting glycation (the
process by which sugar molecules
from the blood stick to proteins in
the body) can cause dementia and
cognitive decline later in life. High
blood sugar is highly inflammatory
and can damage lipids in the blood
leading to atherosclerosis. This is
counter to our goal of longevity
as research clearly shows lower
average blood sugar (HBA1C) to
be protective against diseases of
ageing.
Clinical Test: HBA1C
Home Test: AM fasting glucose with
a $40 glucometer you can buy from
a pharmacy.