BRAIN ARCHITECTURE, AND ITS CORRECTION by Lawrence Wilson, MD © October 2014, The Center For Development This is an important topic, but an unusual one. Brain architecture, in this article, refers to how the brain sits within the cranium or skull of the body. Another term would be brain placement, perhaps, but brain architecture is also a good term for this concept. WHAT CAUSES DISTURBANCES OF THE BRAIN ARCHITECTURE? The most important causes today include a rape, a beating, especially around the head and neck areas, or perhaps an accident or injury. Examples of accidents would be a car accident in which the head is thrown forward into the windshield, or backward causing a whiplash injury. A fall down a flight of steps could do it, as well. A sports injury of the head or neck could do it, as well. Any of these is enough to slightly displace the brain inside the skull, so that it no longer sits properly within the cranium. SYMPTOMS OF DISTURBANCES OF THE BRAIN ARCHITECTURE Symptoms may include disorientation, dizziness, inability to think clearly, memory problems, seizures, and perhaps other cognitive or perceptual difficulties. These can be as bad as any other symptoms that are due to the rape, beating or accident. It could also give rise to hair analysis patterns, in particular sympathetic dominance, or perhaps a calcium shell or a fast oxidation rate. Doctors may give these symptoms various names such as cognitive defects, dementia, or others. They may persist for a long time, more than other symptoms related to a trauma or accident. Very subtle damage. The displacement of the brain is extremely subtle. For this reason, it is usually not noticeable on a brain scan such as an MRI, PET, CT or any other. Chiropractic care and even cranio-sacral care often do not correct it. This can make it very frustrating for the person experiencing these symptoms. CORRECTION OF THE BRAIN ARCHITECTURE USING FOOT REFLEXOLOGY Fortunately, there is a rather simple method that usually will correct the problems described above. It is a specific protocol involving foot reflexology, also called zone therapy. Before giving the protocol, here are important notes about doing the procedure: 1. The toes contain the reflexes to the head and neck, so they are the focus of this technique. 2. You will do this on both feet. 3. Follow the technique exactly, without skipping any toes. 4. You can do this on yourself, or you can have another person perform the technique on you. 5. Do the technique once or twice daily for a week. Usually, that is plenty. There is no need to do it more often, unless you definitely feel that it is needed. 6. Doing the technique should take no more than 1 minute per foot. Do not overdo the technique, as it can negate its effectiveness. 7. I do not think the method can do harm, but certainly exercise good judgment with it. The corrective protocol: 1. Begin with the large toe and work through each toe - big toe, second toe, middle toe, fourth toe and pinky toe or small toe. 2. For each toe, do the following: A. Pull the toe hard outward and downward. Count to 6 and with each count, pull the toe outward and downward hard. B. Move the toe sideways to the left and then to the right and then left, again, etc. Do this to the count of about 10. With each count, move the toe to the right as far as you can, or to the left as far as you can. C. Move the toe in a large circle. Do this to the count of 10, as well. For each count, move the toe in a large circle clockwise, followed by a count to 10 while you move the toe in a circle counterclockwise. D. Finally, twist the toe back and forth as far as it will comfortable go. Do this to a count of 5. BRAIN FOG by Lawrence Wilson, MD © January 2013, The Center For Development 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. A clinical 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 they do not function well, and the mind 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 Brain fog can have many causes. However, the most common, by far, are nutritional and biochemical imbalances that affect the brain and central nervous system of the body. In my experience, the cause is usually somewhat complex. It can involve a combination of many factors. The most common contributing factors are: Toxic metals that can cause or contribute to brain fog. The most common metal imbalances with brain fog that we see include: 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. BRAIN DEVELOPMENT BEHAVIORS by Lawrence Wilson, MD © May 2014, The Center For Development Some children, and rarely adults, engage in unusual behaviors, apparently to help develop their brains. Usually, but not always, the children are malnourished, and this is hindering their normal development. The behaviors discussed below, which are sometimes referred to as sensory-motor integration behaviors, seem to be compensations that some children spontaneously learn. COMMON SENSORY-MOTOR BEHAVIORS 1. Spinning 2. Rocking 3. Walking on the toes or balls of the feet. 4. Head banging 5. Athletics such as bicycling, running, walking or swimming 6. The Brain Gym exercises such as the cross crawl and others. OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THESE BEHAVIORS 1. They are more common in boys. 2. They may be more common in children with a bowl pattern on a hair mineral analysis. This pattern is associated with feeling stuck. Another possible hair analysis pattern is the double low ratio pattern. This is a double give up pattern. 3. The goal of the exercises is partly physical brain integration, and partly a psychological benefit, perhaps. The exercise is enjoyable and fun, in some way. 4. Manganese toxicity may be involved in some of these behaviors. This affects the pons and the brain stem. 5. Paramin (or calcium and magnesium) supplements may help the child calm down. 6. TMG supplements may be helpful. 7. Vitamin D supplements may be helpful. BRAIN PATHOLOGY by Lawrence Wilson, MD © March 2014, The Center For Development Medical science is often baffled by the wide array of brain disorders that afflict the people. Nutritional balancing science and hair mineral analysis can help, in some cases, to identify the problem in ways that can be corrected using nutritional balancing science. Here are some of the most important brain disorders I have observed. I have divided the pathologies into several simple categories: THE STARVED BRAINS 1. Glucose-starved brain (needs MCT oil). This is also called brain diabetes because the person cannot move enough glucose from the bloodstream into the brain, for some reason. This causes a severe dementia that will lead to death if it is not reversed quickly. It is more common than one might imagine. This condition is associated with some cases of metabolic syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and it may occur more often in those with blood type A. For much more on this condition, please read Brain Diabetes and Dementia on this website. 2. The blood-starved brain. This causes a dementia that is harder to reverse if caught late after cell death begins. It is easy to reverse with various methods including herbs like Gingko and others if caught early. It is rather common in the elderly and those with generalized arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis, or other cardiovascular diseases. Another possible cause is adrenal exhaustion, which can lead to low blood pressure and an inability of the heart to pump enough blood to the brain when one is in a standing posture. This may cause dementia, or simply dizziness, fainting or other symptoms of postural hypotension. 3. The oxygen-starved brain, (but one that has an adequate blood supply). This usually is due to shallow breathing, lung problems such as COPD or asthma, anemias, or other illnesses that cause low oxygen transport to the brain. It usually causes a slow, insidious dementia to occur. Correction is not that difficult if one can supply more oxygen to the body and brain. Method to accomplish this include deep breathing, correcting posture and breathing habits, correcting anemia, correcting lung and bronchial diseases, using a home ionizer/ozonator air purifier, and administering oxygen therapies such as hydrogen peroxide IV, ozone therapies, and others. 4. The dehydrated brain. This is quite common, although it is not usually severe enough to cause well-defined brain pathology. For much more about this topic, please read Hydration, The Dehydration Diet, and Water For Drinking on this website. 5. The vitamin and other nutrient-deficient brain. This problem is very widespread. Almost everyone needs more omega-3 fatty acids, for example, and many people are also low in vitamin D, which also affects the brain. This problem can also include some common nutrient deficiency diseases that are well-known in medical science, but are often sub-clinical or latent or just mild, and are thus overlooked. I believe this is one reason that some clients report feeling better and thinking more clearly within a day or two of changing their diets to a largely cooked vegetable diet and taking rather simple nutritional supplements. Among the more common nutrient deficiencies that affect the brain are: a) B12 deficiency. b) Other B-complex vitamin deficiencies such as B1 and and B6 deficiencies. c) Methylation or methyl group deficiency. d) Zinc, magnesium, selenium, lithium, and perhaps other minerals or special forms of minerals that are needed in the brain every day. e) Omega-3 fatty acid deficiency. f) Vitamin D deficiency. OTHER COMMON IMBALANCED BRAINS 1. Undermethylated brains. 2. Oxidized brains. THE INFECTED BRAINS 1. The viral brain. This is also common and can cause a wide variety of symptoms from seizures to cloudy thinking. The source of the virus can be a vaccine, an ear or sinus infection, encephalitis, meningitis, arteritis, gonorrhea, syphilis or, for that matter, any viral infection anywhere in the body that slowly spreads to the brain. The blood-brain barrier helps prevent some of these, but certainly not all of them. For more about infections, please read Building Immunity. 2. The yeasty brain. Yeasts produce alcohol and often other toxins such as aldehydes, acetaldehyde and others. Yeasty brains cause a feeling of drunkenness due to the alcohol production, and fatigue due to the aldehyde poisoning of the body. Alcohol also depletes B-complex vitamins and magnesium, leading to other brain disorders if the condition is chronic, as it usually is. This problem is extremely common in young and older people on earth who: A) Cannot get rid of their candida albicans and other yeast problems due to copper and zinc imbalance, mainly. B) Complicate the problem severely by eating sugars of any kind, including fruit, fruit juices, rice milk, regular milk and other sweet foods and beverages. These just “feed the yeast”, and cause flare-ups of symptoms. C) Have yin bodies for any reason. Most young people today are born this way, and it only gets worse due to a nutrient-depleted food supply, eating refined food, taking medical drugs, using marijuana, exposure to ionizing radiation, not enough rest and other reasons. For much more about this topic, please read Yin Disease and Candida Albicans Infection on this site. 3. The parasite-infested brain. Certain parasites such as trichina cysts or worms, Lyme disease and others can find their way into the brain. The symptoms depend on where the parasites settle. For more on this large subject, please read Parasites. 4. The cancerous brain. Brain cancer is occurring more and more frequently, even in small children today. Cancer is an epidemic, in fact, in many nations. For much more on this large topic and how to prevent cancer, please read Cancer And Alternative Therapies and The Cancer Pioneers 5. Brain entities. This is an unusual cause for brain pathology, but it occur relatively often. Entities are souls without bodies, basically. They can move about and can settle either in the brain itself, or near the brain in the energy field surrounding the brain. Entity attachment can be either partial or quite complete. When it is partial, symptoms are often mild such as milk confusion or mild cognitive or memory difficulties. When entity attachment is more complete, it is sometimes referred to as entity possession. This is far more serious can cause schizophrenia, psychopathic behavior, severe dementia, suicidal thoughts and more. Entities can be removed either with a nutritional balancing program, via exorcisms, or perhaps using frequency generators that emit frequencies the entities dislike, causing them to flee. For much more on this topic, please read Entity Attachment And Release on this site. THE METAL HEADS This is a very important cause of brain pathology. Most children today are born with higher than ideal levels of toxic metals that are passed to them from their mothers through the placenta. The only simple way I know of to avoid this problem is for the mother-to-be to follow a nutritional balancing program for a few years before becoming pregnant. Other ‘cleansing’ or detoxification programs do not seem to work nearly as well. Two groups of minerals cause many brain pthologies. One is the toxic metals. The other is called the amigos. These are oxide forms of many vital trace minerals. The amigos are discussed under heading #4 below: The manganese-toxic brain, and in an article entitled The Amigos. The toxic metals, and how to remove them all from the body and brain, is the subject of an article entitled The Toxic Metals. 1. The aluminum-toxic brain. Aluminum is a toxic metal that has an affinity for brain tissue. I call it the soft-in-the-head mineral. This is a slight play on words, because aluminum is a soft metal and it causes cognitive and memory problems, as well. Aluminum toxicity is known to cause the neurofibrillary tangles that are diagnostic for Alzheimer’s disease. A shrinkage of the brain tissue occurs, along with a type of dementia that is common in the elderly population. However, I find cognitive effects of excessive aluminum even in teenagers today. They complain of brain fog, sluggish thinking, memory difficulties and learning problems. When the aluminum comes out of the body and brain with a nutritional balancing program, cognitive function improves, often dramatically. For more on the sources and metabolism of aluminum, please read Aluminum. 2. The mercury-toxic brain. Mercury has a strong affinity for, and ability to settle in the brain. The blood-brain barrier has little effect upon it, (or on the other toxic metals). Mercury is so widespread in the environment, food, water and air, that most people have too much of it in the body. A very common brain condition associated with mercury toxicity is autism. Vaccines are very commonly preserved with mercury. In young children, especially, the amount of mercury in just a few vaccines, particularly when they are given together at one doctor’s visit, can be enough to completely derange the electrical circuits of the brain. This can cause a child who is developing normally to regress and become autistic. Mercury toxicity is also seen commonly in conditions such as attention deficit disorder, hyperkinesis or hyperactivity, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, irritability, multiple sclerosis and many other brain disorders. Unlike aluminum, whose action is often diffuse, mercury causes different conditions depending upon where it settles. This is a vital topic in brain pathology, and one that must receive more attention. On earth, the mercury problem is getting worse each day, thanks to more vaccines, amalgam dental fillings, and higher levels of mercury in ALL fish and seafood eaten on planet earth. Mercury has been removed from some products, but not nearly enough. For more, please read Mercury and Mercury Removal on this site. 3. The copper-toxic brain. The effect of copper on the brain was a favorite topic of Dr. Paul Eck and one of his mentors Dr. Carl Pfeiffer. Copper has a strong affinity for the brain. All young children have a lot of copper in the brain, which causes them to be a little detached or spacey, and to “live in their own little world”. If that tendency persists into adulthood, one becomes too detached or spacey, foggy in the head, schizoid or even frankly schizophrenic. Copper imbalance in the brain is also associated with anger, fear and exaggeration of all the emotions because copper favors the synthesis of the biogenic amines – epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine. Copper may also affect the levels of serotonin and other neurtransmitters and cause symptoms such as anxiety, depression, attention deficit with or without hyperactivity, autism, tics, Tourette’s syndrome, headaches, electromagnetic sensitivity, food allergies, yeast growth in the brain, and more. For more on this topic, please read Copper Toxicity Syndrome and Copper Elimination Symptoms on this website. 4. The manganese-toxic brain. Somewhat less is known about manganese toxicity in the brain. However, it is common and may be associated with some cases of Parkinson’s disease. I find it is also associated with some types of electrical or EMF sensitivity, and this just depends on where the manganese settles in the brain. Often, the form of manganese that causes problems in the brain is an oxide. I also call this amigo manganese. This is because iron, manganese and aluminum are often seen together, like friends or amigos, on hair tests. They can form oxides that are particularly irritating to the body tissues, and this includes the tissues of the brain. Other minerals that can form oxides and deposit in the brain and elsewhere include calcium, magnesium, chromium, selenium, cobalt, lithium, molybdenum, boron, and vanadium. Nutritional balancing is excellent to remove the oxide forms of these important minerals from the body. One can observe their removal on retest hair mineral analyses when a person follows a complete nutritional balancing program. Often, as this occurs, symptoms of brain pathology decrease. For more, please read The Amigos. 5. The iron-toxic brain. Iron is another mineral that can accumulate in the brain. Interestingly, if a person holds on to anger, iron often accumulates in the amygdala, a portion of the brain associated with feelings of rage. Not surprisingly, high iron in this area is seen in those who have experienced rape, incest, and other traumas that often cause severe anger in the soul and body. Iron is one of the minerals that forms oxides easily in the body and in the brain. These are extremely irritating to the brain tissues. The website, www.hemochromatosis.org states that “Mismanaged iron in the brain has been observed in autopsies of people with neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer's, early onset Parkinson's, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington's disease”. For more, please read Iron on this site. 6. The calcified brain. This is extremely common. Calcification occurs due to adrenal weakness, old age, psychological shut down, and trauma. On many hair tests it can be revealed as a calcium shell pattern. The Calcium Shell article explains how it arises due to low levels of the solvent minerals, sodium and potassium, and perhaps for other reasons, as well. Brain pathology that can be associated with excess calcium in the brain include fatigue, depression, lowered awareness, sluggish thinking and memory loss. Other symptoms, such as dementias, are also possible. Calcium can also deposit in an oxide form, in which case it can be very irritating and interfere with sleep, for example, and cause anxiety. In addition, if the hair calcium level is greater than about 400 mg%, we call it petrified pattern. This is associated with deep fears and perhaps paranoia. It may also have to do with a so-called freeze response to stress. For more, read Calcium on this site. 7. The cadmium-toxic brain. Cadmium is one of the most toxic of the heavy metals. It commonly accumulates in the brain, where it can cause risk-taking behavior, violence, a short temper, fearlessness, and psychopathology. Thisis a combination of a short fuse, fearlessness and a tendency for violence. Cadmium in the brain is also associated with anxiety, irritability, attention deficit and learning disorders in children, and perhaps other symptoms. It replaces zinc, a calming element that is also an important neurotransmitter substance, according to some health authorities. Cadmium is found in cigarette smoke, marijuana, and junk food. It is also associated with the development of cancer anywhere that it deposits in the body, including the brain. 8. The high-nickel brain. Nickel is extremely neurotoxic, as are all the toxic metals. Too much is associated with depression, suicidal thoughts, and an unusual attachment to others. Nickel is found in rooibos tea, tobacco and marijuana. It is also found in hydrogenated oils such as that used to make margarine. Metal-workers are often exposed to it, as it is used widely to make chrome-nickel steel and for plating. A few people are nickel-toxic due to their nickel-plated costume jewelry. and rarely due to other exposures. 9. The arsenic-toxic brain. Arsenic also affects the brain. The effects are diffuse and symptoms include malaise, nausea, and general weakness. If exposure continues, death can occur. Arsenic is widely used as a pesticide on earth, and one compound called Rotarone, is still allowed in the poultry industry to fatten chickens. Pigs are often fed discarded chicken parts and may obtain large amounts of it this way, which then deposits in the flesh of these animals. To avoid much of it, eat only organically grown food where it is not permitted. Also, avoid all pig products, even organically raised. TOXIC CHEMICAL HEADS Thousands of toxic chemicals are permitted on earth. Not all affect the brain very much, however. Among those that do affect the brain are anesthesia drugs used in surgical procedures, and certain other medical drugs such as tranquilizers, stimulants, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, sleeping pills, lithium and others. Some of these can accumulate in the brain and cause a variety of symptoms from depression to dementias. Another class of drugs that definitely accumulate in the brain are the recreational drugs, including heroin, cocaine, marijuana, ecstacy, alcohol and others. Once again, their symptomatology varies greatly depending on which drug one has been exposed to, how much, when in life, and where the drug has settled. Other large classes of toxic chemicals that most people are exposed to are pesticides and solvents. Some of these chemicals can settle in the brain, where they may contribute to any and all brain pathologies. Another important source of chemical poisoning is that almost all children born on earth today are born with some toxic chemicals passed on from their mothers through the placenta. This is called congenital toxic poisoning. It is an important cause of brain pathology, failure to thrive, attention deficit and many other brain pathologies, in some children. All drugs cause nutritional depletion. Recreational and psychotropic medical drugs can open a person to entity attachment and other problems. As a result, symptoms may be due to entities and/or nutritional depletion, and not just to the drug itself. Nutritional balancing programs can remove toxic chemicals, although it can easily take several years. THE VIBRATIONALLY-AFFECTED BRAINS 1. Cell-phoned brains. Radiation in the microwave frequency belt affects everyone today. It comes from cell phones, cell phone and radio and TV towers (much worse), computer screens, and flat-screen televisions (worse than the old CRT screens). It also comes from all portable phones, wireless and wi-fi hookups, microwave ovens, so-called ‘smart’ electrical meters (not good), automobile electronics and spark coils. If you travel by air, it also comes from aircraft electronics and fields given off by spinning gas turbine engines in most all of them. Other sources few are aware of include wirelessly connected spy cameras that are being used everywhere and more and more wireless devices used in homes, businesses and everywhere else. Cities are by far the worst places, as are newer apartment buildings. For more on this topic, please read Electromagnetic Sensitivity. 2. The beams. These are extremely high frequency radio waves that are broadcasted throughout the world by governments and mainly by rogue leaders to incite violence and hatred, upset, unbalance, sicken and kill people. It is a sophisticated weaponry science sometimes called psi weapons. They are everywhere, including in your cell phones, portable phones, smart meters and elsewhere. 3. Radionics, psychotronics and voodoo. There is some overlap here with the psi weapons. However, these are more sophisticated. They are intricate frequency patterns matched to brain chemistry and physiology that can thoroughly upset and unbalance a person’s mind. The beams and radionics are made much worse when a person has a lot of toxic iron and other toxic substances that resonate with some of these frequencies. That is a secret of how to overcome some of them. Sick bodies also resonate with other frequencies, such as that of viruses, fungi and yeast, and others. Cleaning up the body with a nutritional balancing program, and not simply nutrition, is key to overcome some of these attacks on your sanity and humanity. For more on this topic, please read Psychotronics on this site. 4. Homeopathic remedies and frequencies. These are specially prepared remedies that operate via a frequency method. It is most interesting, but not part of nutritional balancing science as the remedies can be somewhat toxic today. For more on this topic, read Homeopathy And Other Therapeutic Methods on this site. 5. Array weapons. GENETIC, TRANSCRIPTION AND SYNTHESIS ERRORS OR PROBLEMS THAT AFFECT THE BRAIN Many disorders having to do with improper copying of the DNA and protein synthesis problems affect the brain. This is another large topic that is discussed in two articles on this site, Genetic Testing and Genetic Defects. EMPATHIC BRAIN DISORDERS These are brain problems caused by resonance or connections between people. “Positive” examples include benefits to the brain that occurs when a person is either intimate with, or at least in close proximity with another, and the two like each other and get along well. This can occur between friends, husbands and wives, and even parents and children. It is a wave phenomenon, not just a psychological effect. A negative example is that there exist machines that can somehow connect two people for the purpose of mentally influencing one of them. For more on this topic, please read Male-Female Blending on this site. UP ENERGY AND OTHER ETHERIC ENERGY BRAIN DISTURBANCES A very important aspect of health is that there must be a subtle flow of energy downward from the head to the feet. This is an etheric concept related to the balance of yin and yang forces in the body. When this movement of subtle energy is reversed, for any reason, it impacts the brain in a very negative way. For example, the brain should influence the body. This is another way of saying that energy should flow downward, from the brain to the body. In contrast, when a lot of consciousness or energy flows upward from the body to the brain, a person tends to be controlled too much by his emotions and bodily urges. This can occur due to illness, trauma, depression or other reasons. This important topic is discussed in the articles entitled Downward Moving Energy And Healing and Meditation For Healing. NERVOUS SYSTEM PROBLEMS THAT AFFECT THE BRAIN The brain is the center of the nervous system. However, some imbalances that originate outside the brain such as some cases of very slow oxidation, very fast oxidation, autonomic imbalances and others definitely affect the functioning of the brain. Nervous system difficulties can be of many types and can be caused by diseases, nutritional imbalances, toxicity, parasitic and other infections, and other factors. An article that touches on this subject is Balancing The Autonomic Nervous System. OTHER These causes for brain pathology may be related and overlap with some of the others discussed above. 1. Soul-related and chain-related brain disorders. This is a very esoteric cause of illnesses of all kinds. For more information about these causes, please read The Chain and Soul Science on this site. 2. The allergic or hypersensitive brain. Abram Hoffer, MD and Doris Rapp, MD, among other physicians, have written about allergic phenomena that specifically affect the brain. Exposure to the allergenic substance can definitely cause severe behavior changes and possibly other brain disorders. The allergies or sensitivities or intolerances can be to any food or chemical substance. 3. Defective brain architecture. This is a common occurrence, and refers to exactly how the brain sits in the cranial cavity. Birth trauma, accidents and other head trauma easily move the brain slightly within the cranium and can cause brain injury and alteration of brain functioning. 4. The cranial subluxated brain. This may relate to brain architecture, as described above. However, it also involves misalignments of the cranial bones and/or damage to the cranial sutures. It may also involve misalignment or other damage to the upper neck area. This may include the atlas and axis bones and/or the intervertebral discs of the upper neck. These are primarily chiropractic or osteopathic imbalances that require proper cranial manipulative therapy to correct, in most cases. I have also seen cases in which nutritional balancing causes shifts in these cranial structures. 3. Other effects of trauma. Physical, emotional and mental trauma such as brainwashing, rape, and torture definitely cause varying degrees of subtle damage to the brain. To some degree, this may be nutritional, but not completely. Perhaps faulty thinking and feeling due to shock and trauma set up improper neuronal pathways that are difficult to repair. This type of brain is not fully understood, and its correction is not often easy. 4. Brain reflex problems. Some brain disorders can originate in the colon, for example, which has a system of reflexes that can refer pain and other imbalances elsewhere in the body, including the brain. Bernard Jensen, DC, ND and others have shown that a blockage or toxic buildup in certain parts of the transverse colon can damage the brain and even cause a brain tumor. Cleaning the colon to remove parasites, blockages and infected diverticuli can lead to restoration of normal brain activity. To read more about the colon reflex system, read Coffee Enemas on this site. 5. Imbalances in the energy centers or chakras, especially the sixth one and those above it. The sixth and seventh energy centers of chakras, in Sanskrit, and the ones above these, involve primarily the brain. Imbalances in these critical energy centers such as reversal of direction and others too numerous to discuss here definitely can affect the structure and function of the brain. For more on this topic, please read The Energy Centers on this website. 6. Leaky blood-brain barrier problems. This is a difficult situation to assess, because it might only affect certain toxic metals or chemicals, or even hormones, proteins, oxygen or other substances. However, it occurs due to many possible factors including nutritional imbalances, toxicity, injury, trauma or other factors. 7. The sex-afflicted brain. This is common in women who experience rape, and in some others who have too much sex. It weakens the brain, probably by affecting the energy centers, but maybe by nutritional means and toxic metal accumulation, as well.