It’s easy to take for granted what a brilliant biological machine the brain is.
This amazing organ manages every aspect of your body from your thoughts to your hormones, muscles and digestion.
Sadly, diseases of the brain are rampant in our society.
And the U.S shells out around$113 billionevery year on mental health treatment.
With an increasing number of brain health problems we have to ask: why?
Functional medicine is concerned with investigating the root causes.
Leaky Brain: A New Understanding of Mental Health
I have written in the past about leaky gut syndrome.
The Gut-Brain Connection is a foundational system to address for brain problems.
Occludin and zonulin are two proteins that help determine both gut lining and blood-brain barrier permeability.
Elevated antibodies against occludin and zonulin are one way to gauge leaky brain syndrome.
Researchers are also looking at a molecule calledmicroRNA-155, which is elevated with inflammation.
This molecule can create microscopic gaps in the blood-brain barrier that let material through.
This permeability can cause your brain’s immune system to work in overdrive,leading to brain inflammation.
I Think I Have Brain Inflammation.
Here are some action steps you should consider taking for brain health:
1.
Conduct labs to assess your blood-brain barrier.
Blood-Brain Barrier Proteins: I run these labs to help determine if the blood-brain barrier has been breached.
Homocysteine: High levels of this amino acid have beenlinkedwith blood-brain barrier damage.
Learn more about why you should get your homocysteine levels tested.
Brain Agers: Chronic inflammation accelerates your brain’s aging.
High blood sugar is onerisk factorfor blood-brain barrier destruction.
An unhealthy gut can lead to an unhealthy brain.
That’s because bacterial imbalances andyeast overgrowthcan have neurological implications.
For example, anxiety and depression have beenlinkedto lower levels of bacteria called Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum.
Be sure to steer clear of common brain-damaging foods like refined and sugary foods, as well asother toxins.
Researchsuggeststhat acute stress increases blood-brain barrier destruction.
Tai chi, yoga and mindfulness meditation can all be effective ways to mitigate stressful times.
Try targeted natural medicines.
The correct dosage will be case specific.
Even with natural medicines, what works for someone else may not be right for you.
Cut back on alcohol.
Alcohol is stressful for the brain, and some studiessuggestit can damage the blood-brain barrier.
Consider having a free webcam or phoneevaluationto see if functional medicine might be right for you.
