I had a brainstorming call this morning.
We have scheduled 10 calls to see what he can do to replace his income and work from home.
I was quizzing him. He has been talking to me, at least once a week for 11 years... the results of the conversation were very eye opening: He was never really interested enough to learn from me. 11 years.
I have gifted him courses, activators, I have gifted him with my famous health consultation... Result: he never used any of it, and of course he never benefited from it. He eats, thinks, lives exactly as he was 11 years ago.
Still has no idea much of anything. But why?
On one hand, he is not curious. On the other hand: if you have brain fog, you can only take advantage of a tiny part of your innate intelligence: you are in survival.
The below article is 10% truth value. Meaning: 90% of it either not true, or even if it could be true, unless you have a system, where parts work synergistically, you have nothing really useful.
I am someone who spent decades in brain fog. Decades. And with the slightest diet mistake, I enter Brain Fog even now.
So there is no cure for brain fog, you can only manage yourself for highly efficient brain function.
Brain fog comes from the gut. 100%. It has nothing, or next to nothing to do with your brain or even brain health.
Of course if your diet and lifestyle has been killing brain cells, or forcing your brain to store pollution, toxic or not, your brain will not perform optimally.
For that I have been making my "energetic brain cleansing" available, but it won"t help your brain fog.
For brain fog to go away, and stay away, you need to change your diet, and you need to get your body out of survival, scarcity mode.
Neither is easy, and neither is too pleasant, but when a person follows my instructions, they all achieve a brain that is not foggy.
Ambition is impossible with a foggy brain. Ambition is the aspiration you are willing to go to bat for, work for, take on inconvenience, maybe even pain. Ambition is the measure of your willingness to work for what you want.
People with an under-functioning brain have a low ambition score, and a disproportionately high desire score.
Desire is a delusional state for getting something without working for it, without knowledge, without learning anything.
Another aspect of the person who lives in scarcity and survival is that they live in their mind, listen/read through their mind, which is a filter.
This way everything is translated to personal, puny, and supporting or threatening to imaginary self.
People who live in their mind are puny... have a narrow cone of vision, and live a small life.
So getting into a state where your brain fog doesn"t force you to live in your mind, where you are able to look around and actually see the world, where understanding is the booby prize, and where you can grow is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself.
Spirituality, self-realization, self-actualization is impossible and unattainable unless you have covered the more essential elements of a human life, specifically be well, and be able to use your body, including your brain, to the max it can be used.
If your innate IQ is 100, this method won"t make you suddenly have a genius IQ, but in an environment of people with brain fog, you"ll be able to outperform geniuses with your 100 IQ.
If you don"t have the funds, you can start with the simplest instructions: drink pure water, and remove grains and processed foods from your diet. Do not eat out, do not buy anything packaged. It will likely make a dramatic difference, and you"ll regain half of your lost brain power.
If you have $90, get my Water Energizer package. It will make the same amount of difference... and seeing the results, you"ll be able to grow enough ambition to go all the way.
Getting the Water Energize set up and remember to drink the water is beyond most brain-fogged people"s ability. They have no power, they have no energy. And honestly, unless you get on death row (a cancer diagnosis is a good way to get on death row) you won"t do it. I have seen this time and time again.
Most people will opt to the shotgun method: a little bit of this and a little bit of that. No commitment, no system, no improvement, no life.
But it allows you to remain a belligerent child who says: "Don"t tell me what to do". And you"ll continue making decisions from half-mast brain... stupid as the stupid does.
There is no hope for you if you do that.
OK, here is the article. it"s from https://www.selfhacked.com
Please don"t forget, this article"s truth value is 10% only
After helping over 1,000 clients with brain fog and healing my own, I’ve figured out all of the causes and the most effective solutions. Read on to learn more about brain fog and how you can also find the solution to eradicating it.
What Is Brain Fog?
Brain fog is a collection of symptoms such as forgetfulness, lack of mental clarity, confusion, and inability to focus. It’s not a clinical term and is also referred to as ‘mental fog,’ ‘clouding of consciousness,’ or ‘cognitive dysfunction.’
It is generally caused by inflammation in the brain, stemming from some underlying cause.
Brain Fog Symptoms
- Fatigue and low energy (including chronic fatigue syndrome)
- Irritability
- Inability to concentrate
- Poor working memory and executive function
- Poor ability to memorize things
- Impaired ability to process new information and delayed processing
- Confusion
- Low motivation
- Mental confusion
- Wandering thoughts; inability to sustain a train of thought
- Disorientation
My Brain Fog Story: Finding the Cure
I’ve suffered from brain fog as long as I can remember. Brain fog is what got me interested in health at an early age. At 12, I endeavored to stop eating any food with sugar and ate only whole grains.
I’ve always tried to eat as healthy as possible, yet I still had brain fog. I would always read about health when I got the chance, but nothing helped that much.
After many years of experimentation and research, I finally figured out what caused my brain fog and how to heal it. After having over 1,000 clients with brain fog (as of March 2018), I’ve identified the most common causes of brain fog and have helped others heal their condition as well.
How Long Does Brain Fog Last?
Brain fog can last anywhere from a few minutes to decades, especially if someone hasn’t found the underlying causes. It depends on what the causes of the brain fog are.
In most cases, brain fog is reversible.
The Cause of Brain Fog
An Imbalanced Limbic System
Brain fog is essentially caused by an issue in the area of the brain responsible for many functions, including executive function, general cognitive function, and emotional balance. This area is called the limbic system. Within the limbic system, the hypothalamus – often known as the ‘control center’– is most affected.
Brain fog can be caused by the limbic system being imbalanced, usually as a result of an injury or highly stressful event. A big bout of inflammation, free radicals, or emotional stress are the mechanisms by which these brain changes occur.
The limbic system is responsible for:
- Wakefulness (increases)
- Appetite (increases)
- Mood
- Motivation (increases)
- Body warmth (increases)
- Gut flow by way of the vagus nerve (increases)
- Metabolism (increases)
- Blood pressure (increases)
- Emotional regulation
- Executive function
- Memory – short and long term
The hypothalamus, in particular, plays a critical role in the following:
- Thermal regulation
- Sweating
- Wakefulness/fatigue
- Circadian rhythms (regulates sleep-wake cycle)
- Thirst
- Hunger, satiety
- Blood pressure, heart rate
- Gut function
- Emotions
- Sex drive and hormones
- Glucose regulation
- Vision [R]
Inflammation and Free Radicals Can Cause Brain Fog
Brain fog/cognitive dysfunction comes from inflammation, and too many free radicals oxidative stress) [R, R].
Inflammation and oxidative stress affect the limbic system and can cause it to be imbalanced.
In 2014, 2 studies found that the level of gene expression of the antioxidant SOD2 (MnSOD) was strongly correlated with cognitive performance [R, R].
The main SOD2 variant rs4880 GG is more common in my brain fog clientele, and there’s a lot of scientific research on it.
A study in 2014 found that the expression of another antioxidative enzyme gene that breaks down H2O2 .
Another 2014 study found that mutations in genes that code for (ASMT) – an internal antioxidant hormone– were tied to cognitive impairment [R].
Conditions Associated with Brain Fog & Caused by Oxidative Stress and Inflammation
Brain fog is much more likely to be experienced in conjunction with other conditions. This is the case with conditions that are heavily associated with oxidative stress and inflammation.
There’s evidence that chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are caused by oxidative stress and inflammation [R, R, R, R,R, R, R, R, R].
Inflammation hits the brain stem as well in CFS [R].
It’s no wonder that brain fog is commonly cited in people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia – the same processes are driving all three.
Brain fog can be exacerbated by mood disorders such anxiety, OCD, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar, andalcoholism because it is widely believed that oxidative stress plays a role in these disorders [R, R, R.
In fact, science is discovering now that many antidepressants work by combating oxidative stress [R].
I’ve noticed a strong correlation with these disorders – especially OCD, anxiety, and depression- and brain fog in my clients. I had all three when I used to have brain fog.
It’s not surprising that all of these conditions also have a connection with inflammation.
In multiple sclerosis, Sjogren’s, and lupus, brain fog is a common feature. In all of these disorders, inflammation and oxidative stress are increased.
Female hormones such as estrogen and estradiol tend to display antioxidant activities and lower oxidative stress, which is why women with menopause sometimes develop brain fog.
When a woman goes through menopause, a reduction of these hormones shifts the oxidant-antioxidant balance in favor of oxidants.
Symptoms of Limbic System Problems
The limbic system is responsible for many things, so if you’re having brain fog, it will often go together with other symptoms. The hypothalamus is the most impacted part of the limbic system.If you have a handful of these symptoms, it could mean that you’re having limbic system problems:
- Fatigue
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Circadian rhythm issues – tired in the day, awake at night
- Lower motivation
- Suppressed appetite and often weight loss
- Memory problems
- Cold hands and feet, problems with tempature regulation
- Gut problems, including constipation
- Lower thyroid and sex hormones
- Overstimulated HPA axis
- Lower blood pressure
- Frequent urination
- Procrastination – Overambitious, but not enough motivation to implement the ambition
- OCD/problems letting go of thoughts
- Hypoglycemia
- Attention problems
- Hormonal issues
- Lower libido and sex drive
- Pain
- Visual problems
The Most Common Brain Fog Triggers
I’ve had clients with brain fog from all of the following causes. I’ve ordered them from most common to least common. These can cause brain fog either by causing inflammation or by causing long-term changes in the brain.
- Lectins and inflammatory agents in plants
- Anxiety or chronic stress
- PTSD or a very stressful event
- Depression
- Drug-induced (usually THC, LSD, MDMA, alcohol)
- Sleep problems (bad quality or not enough)
- Infections
- Toxins
- Night shift work/circadian disruptions
- Injuries
- Not enough light or sun
- Imbalanced hormones
- Obesity or a terrible diet
- Lack of exercise
1) Brain Fog and Diet
There are many other possible sources for brain fog. However, I’ve only listed the most common ones that wouldn’t be diagnosed by your doctor.
If you get brain fog after eating, then you must look more carefully at your diet.
Brain Fog After Eating
The most common causes of brain fog are lectin and food sensitivities. When people consume a food that causes inflammation, it will often cause brain fog.
Lectins are plant proteins that induce an immune response.
Plant lectins resemble certain tissues such as the joints (synovium) and the thyroid.
People with lectin sensitivity will most often experience inflammation in their gut, joints, thyroid, and brain (hypothalamus). Sometimes they’ll go on to develop an autoimmune condition eventually.
In some cases, people only have to stay away from specific proteins or foods and they’re fine.
However, lectins are not the only problem in food.
Some common triggers of inflammation are:
- Lectins (every food has lectins, but we can be sensitive to different lectins)
- Gluten (wheat, spelt, rye, barley, and oats)
- Casein (all dairy products)
- FODMAPs (short-chain carbohydrates that are often poorly absorbed by the small intestine)
- Amines
- Tannins
- Trypsin inhibitors
- Oxalates
- Yeast (in gluten-free breads)
- Food additives like carrageenan (in rice milk, almond milk, etc.)
- Salicylates
- Caffeine
You can be allergic to any other food as well. Egg and fish allergies are quite common, so pay attention to them.
Read this post on 19 antinutrients in plant based foods that can cause inflammation.
Fix:
You should try out the strict version of the Lectin Avoidance Diet, which has helped a lot of clients with brain fog.
In some cases, brain fog can simply come from a horrible diet. High glucose levels can cause a threefold increase in free radicals, which can damage human cells .
If you’re living on a Standard American Diet, then that is likely a significant contributing factor to your brain fog.
Check out these markers for lectin sensitivity and listen to my interview with Dr. Gundry.
2) Brain Fog and Sleep
Not sleeping well is another common cause of brain fog.
If you have sleep apnea, that will most likely be the cause of your brain fog. Sleep apnea causes hypoxia (lack of oxygen) at night, which increases ROS/oxidative stress [R].
Hypoxia drives psychiatric conditions by causing neurons to get overexcited (glutamate excitotoxicity). This excitation causes increased levels of free radicals and mitochondrial breakdown.
Even if you don’t have sleep apnea, bad sleep is still a significant cause of brain fog, but may not be the whole story.
Sleep loss increases oxidative stress in the hypothalamus, by the loss of glutathione [R].
Sleep deprivation for even one night exacerbates brain fog by increasing inflammation in the hypothalamus as well as in the rest of the body [R, R].
People with morning brain fog should particularly watch out for this. Adequate sleep in my book means getting the amount of sleep you’d get if you didn’t have an alarm clock.
Fix:
- I suggest doing a sleep study and checking how much slow wave and REM sleep you’re getting.
3) Brain Fog and Infections
Science is increasingly becoming aware of the link between various autoimmune conditions and infections – usually earlier in life.
When someone was healthy their whole life and suddenly comes down with brain fog after an infection, an effort should be made to identify and get rid of the infection. In the case of viral infections, you should take steps to control it.
Infections can cause chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, leading to brain fog.
a) Viruses
Sometimes, infections such as viruses can be latent and then be reactivated by some stressor (lack of sleep, poor diet, etc.)
People with >Th2 dominance often can’t control viral infections well and experience chronic inflammation. This is likely the case with >chronic fatigue syndrome.
The Epstein-Barr Virus is a common viral infection that causes harm. Even if it’s another virus, controlling viral infections have common themes.
People with severe immunodeficiency struggle with controlling viral infections.
Since you can’t rid yourself of a virus, you want to instead make sure your immune system always keeps it at bay.
Fix:
- If you’re Th2 dominant, then you want to rebalance your immune system.
b) Bacteria
I’ve seen cases where brain fog was caused by a bacterial infection.
If you can identify that you have a bacterial infection, then targeted drugs such as antibiotics would be a better option than herbs.
Gram-negative bacteria are also known to cause overproduction of inflammatory cytokines (TNF, IL-1, and IL-6) [R].
Only gram-negative bacteria have lipopolysaccharides, which is a significant reason why they cause inflammation.
Some common infections include Lyme, Mycoplasma pneumoniaeand H Pylori.
c) Fungal
I’ve seen other cases where candida or fungal infections were the sources of the brain fog.
Candida comes from an immune deficiency. Environmental triggers include refined carbs, stress, low stomach acidity (could be from antacids), and antibiotics.
Anybody with brain fog after antibiotic treatment and/or a particularly stressful period should look into candida as being the cause. People with candida or bacterial infections will often have a chronic type of brain fog. Candida increases TNF, IL-1, and IL-6 [R, R]. Candida and bacterial infections can usually be cured through conventional and alternative means.
d-e) Parasites and Protozoa
Although less common in the developed world, parasitic infections can also be problematic. Blastocystis hominis, tapeworm, roundworm antibodies, tissue worm, and toxoplasma are common parasitic infections.
4) Brain Fog, Heavy Metals, and Toxins: The Role of Mold
Any kind of toxins can stimulate the immune system and cause inflammation and oxidative stress. Heavy metals and toxins increase oxidative stress in the body. Since heavy metals accumulate in the body, they may cause increased levels of oxidative stress in the body. Even necessary minerals can also accumulate in the body and cause oxidative stress in the long term. Toxins such as pthalates and BPA pesticides and others also cause oxidative stress. However, these are usually contributory in a minor way, but not the main cause. People exposed to mold or other biotoxins and who go on to develop Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) develop a certain kind of brain fog. These inflammatory markers will often be elevated if exposed to toxins:
* C4a
* TGF-beta
* MMP-9
I discuss mold-induced illness and what to do about it in a different post.
5) Brain Fog and Low Acetylcholine
People with chronic inflammation and brain fog (often from chronic infections) sometimes exhibit a mix of symptoms that almost exactly match symptoms from drugs that inhibit acetylcholine. People with toxin issues will often fit into this boat.
Acetylcholine inhibits inflammation/cytokines and modulates the immune response [R, R].
Cytokines (TGF-b, IL-1, IL-17) can also decrease acetylcholine [R, R].
Fix:
* Galantamine
6) Brain Fog, Insulin Resistance, and Hypoglycemia
People with brain fog often get hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) because the limbic system helps control blood glucose balance. But, hypoglycemia can in turn cause brain fog. Insulin resistance is when insulin doesn’t do a good job at bringing glucose into cells. When you are insulin resistant, you’ll experience more significant blood glucose fluctuations, which is even worse than sustained high levels of glucose [R]. These swings in blood glucose levels result in oxidative stress and inflammation and, therefore, even more, brain fog [R, R]. Fix: Read my post on how to fix insulin resistance and what causes insulin resistance to occur in the first place.
7) Brain Fog and Hormonal Imbalance
A deficiency of hormones such as pregnenolone, progesterone, melatonin, luteinizing hormone, oxytocin, DHEA, testosterone, estrogen and IGF-1 can contribute to brain fog. Melatonin, progesterone, estrogen, DHEA, luteinizing hormone, and oxytocin all have antioxidant effects [R, R]. Genes that resulted in lower melatonin, for example, were found to be associated with cognitive dysfunction [R]. More specifically, these hormones inhibit superoxide (and other free radicals): Melatonin, pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA, testosterone, estrogen, androstenedione, DHT, IGF-1, and oxytocin [R, R, R, R, R, R, R]. All of these listed hormones are anti-inflammatory as well. Brain injuries from car accidents, being in the military, being a competitive athlete, fighting (professionally or not), or any kind of hit to the brain can lead to low hormones. If you’ve received head blows from any source, you must check your hormones. Fix:
* Pregnenolone
* I believe the most common, fundamental causes of low hormones are generally chronic inflammation, circadian imbalances, sleep problems, or chronic stress.
Brain Fog and the Thyroid
With regard to thyroid hormones, low or high thyroid hormones can cause oxidative stress [R]. People with brain fog often have low levels of thyroid hormones. However, low thyroid hormones are a result of inflammation, not the cause of it. In fact, having a high level of thyroid hormones increases inflammation. [R, R, R].
8) Brain Fog, Leaky Gut, and Dysbiosis
With regard to gut health, intestinal permeability or “leaky gut” and/or an imbalance of your gut microbiota (“gut dysbiosis”) can increase inflammation, thereby contributing to brain fog. Lectins are the most common reason for having a leaky gut, in my opinion. To prevent microbial imbalance or dysbiosis, the gut needs the right ingredients to work well (like prebiotics), which is also why the right foods matter. Probiotics can also be great at helping to modify inflammation. I’ve noticed that many people with brain fog also have IBS (including my former self). This is because inflammation of the gut contributes to IBS [R]. Also, the limbic system is important for gut function. Fix:
* Hi-maize/resistant starch
* Consuming leafy greens
* Probiotics
9) Brain Fog, Allergies, and Histamine
People with asthma and allergies commonly report brain fog, which is in part from the production of histamine. Allergies and asthma are as a result of Th2 dominance. Histamine can be produced from lectins or allergic reactions as a result of an elevated Th2 immune system. People can also consume foods with histamine – mainly fermented and cured foods and beverages. If you don’t have enough of an enzyme to break histamine down, then this can be the cause of your brain fog. I’ve found this to be the case for some people. The mechanism by which histamine causes brain fog may be as a result of oxidative stress [R]. Otherwise, when mast cells activate, they release superoxide, which supports my central theory of brain fog (that superoxide is responsible) [R]. Fix: Read my post on reducing histamine. Also read my post on reducing Th2 dominance.
10) Brain Fog, Anxiety, Chronic Stress, and Depression
In almost all cases of brain fog, people experience anxiety and often depression/bad moods. This is mainly because inflammation increases our stress response and causes anxiety. This also lead to depression. This certainly happened with me. Indeed, that’s why cognitive dysfunction, depression, and anxiety often go together (also because they’re all influenced by the limbic system) [R]. Inflammation (TNF, IL-1) activates the stress pathway and causes us to be more anxious and depressed. Cytokines also degrade the hippocampus and other areas of the brain, which causes depression.
Oxidative stress can also cause anxiety [R]. Chronic stress can elevate inflammation in the long run (by causing glucocorticoid resistance) [R]. Depression can be caused by inflammation and oxidative stress [R, R]. Read my post on why stress is bad and my post on Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (CRH).
11) Brain Fog and Drugs
There are many drugs that can cause or contribute to brain fog. Alcohol is a neurotoxin and increases inflammation and oxidative stress [R, R, R]. If you’re an alcoholic, then that will most likely be the cause of your brain fog. I’ve seen brain fog induced by alcohol, marijuana, LSD, MDMA, cocaine, and ayahuasca. The mechanism is almost certainly related to limbic system dysregulation. I’ve also seen brain fog induced by antibiotics, which can produce free radicals and may damage your mitochondria [R]. All 3 bactericidal antibiotics induced a dose- and time-dependent increase in free radical production: Ciprofloxacin (a fluoroquinolone), ampicillin (a ?-lactam), and kanamycin (an aminoglycoside). The fluoroquinolone antibiotics and some other antibiotics can damage the mitochondria and produce free radical leakage.
12) Brain Fog and Genetics: MTHFR, CNR1, SOD2, APOE4, and Other Mutations
There are a whole bunch of genes that don’t interact with our current environment well. Three significant ones are CNR1, MTHFR, and SOD2 mutations. There are many others, but that’s beyond the scope of this post. Genetic mutations interact with the environment in very significant ways. Knowing you have a mutation can help guide you on a more focused course of action for your brain fog. The CNR1 variation can cause a lot of problems with the limbic system and your gut. Having the MTHFR mutation can hamper your ability to ‘detox’ and can result in inflammation and oxidative stress. The SOD2 mutation causes a 33% decrease of the enzyme (MnSOD) that breaks down superoxide in the mitochondria. Superoxide production can cause of brain fog. Obviously, your genes are only a part of the story. It’s usually the case that you need to have these mutations and other factors that increase oxidative stress. The good news is that genes can be overcome with lifestyle and supplement choices. Is your brain fog from lectins, an infection, or something else? The genetic data can help you figure that out. It’s a significant piece of the puzzle. Therefore, you want to check your 23andme and upload it to SelfDecode, by far the most powerful genetic analyzer and the most innovative and largest company on the market. Just spit in a tube and send it out.
Other Factors That Contribute to Brain Fog
The following are biological factors that make brain fog worse and are a contributory cause of brain fog.
* Low NAD+ levels
* Low oxygen (hypoxia)
* Low cyclic AMP
Brain Fog and Adrenal Fatigue
The Limbic system/hypothalamus directs the adrenal glands. Adrenal fatigue is a misconception and the root cause of fatigue has to do with the hypothalamus, not your adrenal glands.
Brain Fog and Derealization/Depersonalization
People who have strong levels of depersonalization and derealization have a bit of a different category of brain fog. See my post on the biology of depersonalization and its potential solutions.
Brain fog and EDS, G6PD, Thalassemia, Anemia, and Gilbert’s Syndrome
Some conditions like Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and Thalassemia increase the risk of brain fog for somewhat different reasons. G6PD deficiency results in higher levels of oxidative stress because of less reduced glutathione. Thalassemia results in lower red blood cells and hemoglobin, which means less transport of oxygen. This increases the risk of hypoxia in various tissues. Anemia will also increase the risk of brain fog for the same reason: increased risk of hypoxia in various tissues. Gilbert’s Syndrome is associated with brain fog possibly because it’s often caused by low glucuronidation, which limits the ability to detox. Euler’s Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is associated with brain fog because of its effects on collagen formation, which affects many systems in the body.
4 Brain Fog Treatments, Fixes, and Cures
1) Get Sunlight and Fresh Air
Sun is great for decreasing inflammation. Although uncommon, I’ve had a few cases of brain fog that were relieved simply by being outside and getting more sun. Sun is capable of suppressing inflammation and preventing autoimmune disease [R, R, R]. Keep in mind that sunlight can make some autoimmune conditions worse. Sun also suppresses seasonal allergies, which are IgG and IgE related allergies. [R]. Besides UVB rays directly suppressing autoimmunity, vitamin D, which is a byproduct of UVB, also decreases Th1 and Th17 immune responses. The sun makes sulfated vitamin D, which is better than supplemental vitamin D. With regard to oxidative stress, UVB increases our body’s internal antioxidant defenses [R]. People think that taking a vitamin D supplement will make up for not getting sun. This is false. In my opinion, most of the benefits from sun don’t involve vitamin D. The most beneficial ingredient of the sun is probably not even the vitamin D, but the infrared that it provides. I recommend an hour of sun on most of your body (don’t exceed an hour for any spot). If you can’t get sun, then use infrared sauna and low-level laser therapy (LLLT).
2) Take Care of Your Sleep and Circadian Rhythm
The circadian rhythm is deeply connected with inflammation and both can cause the other to get out of balance. I explore this subject a bit in my post about why we get tired even with enough sleep. Circadian disruption increases inflammation (Th1 and Th17) [R, R]. The circadian rhythm is also tied to oxidative stress [R]. Disrupting your circadian rhythm will result in brain fog, as happens during jet lag. Some people are more sensitive to circadian disruptions. Researchers have shown that the 24-hour circadian clock also influences cognitive performance in a wide variety of areas, including verbal reasoning and working memory. Researchers conclude that factors that disturb circadian rhythms can also affect cognitive performance. Circadian disruption can come about for a variety of reasons, but the most common is a lack of light in the day, too much light at night, disrupted sleep patterns, and chronic inflammation. Disrupting circadian rhythms can also lead to heart diseases, neurodegenerative conditions, and cancer [R]. People with brain fog are often wired but tired at night, fatigued in the day, and lack a cortisol spike in the AM. They can be hot at night and wake up to pee multiple times. These are all symptoms of circadian disruption. I used to have these symptoms, but getting better meant my metabolism increased in the day and slowed at night. I now get tired at night and am awake in the day. I feel warmer in the day and cooler at night. I don’t get hypoglycemic at night. My vasopressin release has normalized so I don’t wake up to pee. I am alert and awake in the day and get tired at night, and have a good amount of energy until right before bed – when I crash out. I wake up refreshed and ready to hit the day when my circadian rhythm is working properly. Read my post on how to take care of your circadian rhythm.
3) Exercise
Too much or too little exercise can contribute to inflammation and oxidative stress. I’ve never had a client whose brain fog was solely related to exercise, but it can be a contributory factor. Moderate exercise brings down inflammation and oxidative stress. Interval exercise is particularly good. Yoga is also particularly good because it balances the HPA axis. However, endurance exercise increases inflammation (Th17 immune response) [R]. Don’t confuse endurance exercise with moderate aerobic exercise. Although not as good as interval exercise or yoga, aerobic exercise can decrease inflammation as well (Th1, Th2 and Th17 immune responses) [R]. Recommendations: Push-ups, yoga, pull-ups, walking, and sprints. Short sprints running as quickly as possible for 30 seconds make me feel really good, yet not worn out after 3 sets.
4) Stimulate the Vagus Nerve
One common theme with people who have brain fog and chronic fatigue is lower vagal tone, which means lower vagus nerve activation. Vagus nerve activation is important for relaxing us by decreasing norepinephrine and increasing GABA, and lowering inflammation (such as TNF) by stimulating acetylcholine. Removal of the vagus nerve or desensitizing it with capsaicin increased brain oxidative stress and decreased glutathione following a stressor [R]. Overall, the vagus nerves are important in maintaining the antioxidant status of the brain [R]. Vagus nerve stimulation decreased ROS/free radicals in response to stressors such as during an animal model of a stroke (via AMPK-PKC-Nox pathway) [R]. The bottom line is that the vagus nerve is important for optimal brain function and directly combats the underlying causes of brain fog. See my post on the vagus nerve and ways to stimulate it.
Supplements and Vitamins for Brain Fog
These supplements get rid of inflammation and oxidative stress and help the limbic system.
1. Magnesium
2. Zinc
3. DHA
4. Butyrate
5. CBD oil
6. Curcumin
7. Olive leaf extract
8. Galantamine
9. Nicotinamide riboside
10. Vitamin B6 (P5P)
Other Brain Fog Posts
* An In-Depth Look at Brain Fog
* Supplements for Brain Fog
* Brain Fog: Definition, Causes, Solution (guest post)
* The Cause of Brain Fog
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344 COMMENTS
* richard dale
Submitted March 31, 2018 04:36PM
how did your lectin free diet go?
Reply
* Drew
Submitted March 29, 2018 02:46PM
its me, mario
Submitted March 28, 2018 08:24PM Hi Joe! first of all thanks for writing this, its very informative!
im 30, and i was very healthy a few years ago… back in 2015 i started to deal with weird symptoms… (awful headaches, tinnitus, mild brain fog, etc)
long story short, it turned out i had sleep apnea, OSA to be more specific.
this Jan it has gotten worse, so i decided to get a CPAP
i started my cpap treatment…
and at day four i started to notice that my brain fog got worse….
like real worse, i cant pay attention anymore, no retention, i easly forget stuff ( but at the same time i have a good memory, dont know if that makes sense) and i just feel weird.
im finally getting the sleep i need but my brain fog got worse i dont understand, do you have an idea of what could be happening…?
i would like to add that at some point i developed “fibro symptoms” in late 2016…
lots morning joint pain, numbness etc… its usually mild and comes and go.
but it has gotten worse since i started the CPAP too
:/ i thought cpap was going to help me feel better.
Mike
Submitted March 17, 2018 05:56AM Thank you so much for writing and publishing this article. All the symptoms that you quote at the beginning are exactly what I have been suffering on and off from for years (I was diagnosed with glandular fever/Epstein Barr virus 15 years ago which led to chronic and adrenal fatigue since) . I’ve tried so many supplements, dietary changes, lifestyle choices, like so many who suffer from these symptoms. I’ve been to my doctor on countless occasions and had so many blood tests. I’ve been to homeopathic therapists and had hair samples taken and tried homeopathic remedies. Nothing seemed to work and I was almost resigned to thinking this was the way I was going to be feeling for the rest of my life…….. BUT very recently your article on proline rich polypeptides changed everything! I don’t know how but I’m so grateful that I took the plunge and decided to try colostrum. From the first scoop I felt better but having experienced temporary relief from other supplements such as d-ribose, creatine etc I was taking the results with a pinch of salt wondering if this would help or if my symptoms would return. To my astonishment I found that the effects were lasting. I upped my intake to 3 times a day on an empty stomach mixed with water (it mixes terribly!) and I swish and leave it in my mouth for as many seconds as I can before swallowing. Along with a ketogenic based diet, intermittent fasting, regular exercise and supplementing with liposomal turmeric, vitamin B12 and D3 + K2 i seem to have found a regime that has really helped decrease my brain fog. I really do hope that this is going to last. It’s been 2 weeks now and honestly I haven’t felt this good for 15 years. I know people might think this is rubbish and can’t be true but for me it works and I hope that everyone finds the thing that works for them. Best wishes and thanks again.
Kim
Submitted March 10, 2018 04:09PM You could have CFS if you’ve had extraordinary fatigue for longer than 6 months, feel unrefreshed after sleep, and feel worse after physical activity. If so, try to find a specialist in your area. There isn’t much in the way of treatment. But, you might respond well to antivirals. Good luck!
Ravi
Submitted February 19, 2018 12:19AM Put me into the SSRI camp. I only took them for a month but ever since coming off 2 years ago I’ve had horrible brain fog. It is important that people only take them if they absolutely need them because the potential downside is massive.
Elise Haynes
Submitted February 15, 2018 06:45PM I also have the mthfr A1298 gene, heterozygous. I am a 32 yo female and have had brain fog so long that i didnt even realize that is what it was. I have changed my lifestyle for 2 years now to be as healthy as i can be and was able to break out of the fog after adding Bovine Collagen Peptides and Colloidal Silver to my daily routine. I believe it is the Collagen peptides that really did it. I also supplement with Folinic acid, zinc, and other minerals and vitamins. I drink mostly water and have taken up running for several months now, which is why i bought the collagen peptides for my knees which get aggravated by my running as i heard it helped joint pain. It does help with joint pain, body aches and all, i almost feel like i reversed time as the difference it made in the way i feel and clearing the fog and taking away aches are incredible.
Prinko
Submitted January 26, 2018 03:43AM Hello i think im feeling the same as i read in these posts. My brain feels tired lack of concerntration and its been 5months. Can sit up straight orwalk. i feel beter when laying down. What can i do?
AlasdairM
Submitted January 21, 2018 10:48AM I suffer from brain fog and am trying to wade my through all the information. Once you start researching online, it’s like entering a rabbit hole. Very confusing and overwhelming. I’m wondering if you’ve started creating a framework/protocol? I’d be very happy to help if I can.
Brain dead and happy
Submitted January 20, 2018 08:43AM Hi Dr….. Oh wait I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name. I would like to know what medical school you trained at? I can respect your opinion and your experience with certain medications but every human body is different and reacts differently to any and all substances. I’m sorry you had a bad experience with SSRI but to assume everyone else will and advise others not to take them because of what happened to you is like me telling people not to take penicillin because I’m allergic to it. I personally have had a tremendous turn around of my depression, anxiety and motivation since starting on an SSRI and also with SSNRI. I have never been suicidal and outwardly I was able to fool people that I was very happy, unfortunately on the inside I was sad and tired and avoiding my life and slept as much as possible. My main reason for writing this is that 4 years ago, my father felt very ill and this started a path of tests on all his bodily systems. He had a heart cath, stress test, colonoscopy, multiple blood tests, saw an infectious disease specialist and a rheumatologist. The results…he is healthy as a horse. So last resort, family doctor says it’s possibly chronic fatigue and try some “antisepressants.” My father being a proud, hard-working, no nonsense, old school kinda guy refused because he isn’t “sad.” I have tried to explain to him that these medications help with the chemicals in your body, they aren’t “pep pills.” Instead he has now tried every OTC vitamin/supplement, changes his diet monthly to a new fad he read about on the internet and orders miracle treatments from Amazon. He recently retired and it is becoming worse. He’s grumpy and not motivated and very pessimistic. Instead of trying an FDA approved medication, prescribed by a trained and experienced physician, he continues to try anything and everything else. Again I’m sorry you had a bad experience with a medication. I have had nothing but luck from the same medication. Isn’t that what makes this world such a wonderful place, that we are all different. If I am brain dead from taking SSRIs, I’ll take it because I’m happy and really living life to the fullest.
I started to have a mild brain fog when I started to take a muscle relaxer for a recent back injury. Mostly forgetfulness and taking time to remember peoples names I knew in the past, but most always come to me after thinking about them for a few moments to minutes. Its very annoying I also have been having trouble sleeping.
mercurydan
Submitted January 12, 2018 02:23PM Nature is a dictator. Its natures way or no way. Trying to think we can create a system better than nature just goes to show how little we understand. The systems are in place already to heal us in the natural world. There is no need for any drugs created in a lab.
mercurydan
Submitted January 12, 2018 02:20PM You need to take Magnesium through the skin as Magnesium Chloride food grade salts, in an oil or cream. Magnesium tablets go through the gut too quickly before being absorbed. Salts need to be taken over time through the skin. Lower the carbs and meat intake and increase mineral water intake. oxygen (e.g. vitamin C and exercise) and sunlight are also important. These things all work together.
Sebastian Catana
Submitted January 8, 2018 11:14AM Hi all.
I have been experiencing brain fog for as long as I can remember. I am 32. The only relief I get is after a night of serious drinking. It happens very rarely (3-4 times a year). But when it does, it’s great. I tried gluten-dairy-sugar-free pretty healthy diet (I am a nutritionist). I tried tons of supps (NAC, vit D, probiotics, B12, L5MTHF as I have MTHFR 1298, zinc, magnesium, ashwaganda, rhodiola, and many many more). I can’t seem to find a pattern. I will try the lectin avoidance diet starting tomorrow and report back after a month or so. I am not depressive, I have enough energy throughout the day and drive (but I get really tired during the day sometimes). I have mental fatigue and memory issues alsi. I am ADA homozygous (very rare!). Can anyone recommend a supp protocol to try out? I’m confused by the ton of info.
Ish
Submitted January 7, 2018 07:01PM Assalamoalaikum,
Can you please email me in regards of the khajoor dates recipe you mentioned to help woth brain fog.
Jitesh Rajak
Submitted December 23, 2017 06:06AM I had a brain fog attack last year(November 2016) after smoke weed and still my brain is clicking that incident and this causing me foggy all the time!! If your treatment work then i will be very thankful to selfhacked
Jason Lake
Submitted November 10, 2017 07:35PM I personally had good experience with SSRI. It helped me to reduce my brain fog. I took it for 4 months and I dropped them only because of lack of motivation. I was happy, but very unmotivated to do anything. Increased serotonin dropped my dopamine.
Red112
Submitted October 14, 2017 02:11PM Has your brain fog improved in any way? I am experiencing the exact same thing, ssri have left my brain in shambles, permanent fog feeling detached bad memory and whats worst is that it never changes in intensity. I strongly advise anyone who is thinking about starting ssri therapy NOT to do it!!!! I am not saying that they will definitely destroy your brain but there is a very high chance that you at the very least retain some permanent damage like bad memory which seems to be one of the more common symptoms. And trust me your memory will be absolutely horrendous, you will feel as if you are mentally retarded which you probably actually are after taking ssri so DONT EVER TAKE SSRI. I also think its worth noting that the time you are on the medication doesn’t matter. I only took them for a couple of weeks and already suffered lifelong damage because the medication alters brain chemistry within hours.
Here is what I think they actually do that could be considered an improvement in very very few cases, what I found that they did, as already described, is they make you dull and insensitive, killing your creativity mental acuity. That might be desirable for a severely depressed person who is contemplating suicide because they would no longer be able even to worry about these things because of their mental blankness. Everyone else though would be better off staying away from them, however miserable you think your current situation is, it is nothing compared to what these medications do to your brain. You should know better than to interfere with something as delicate as your own brain chemistry, dont expect your brain to recover from changes afterwards, it never will. You will regret taking ssri.
Drew
Submitted October 12, 2017 08:01PM Hi Kacper, I have had minor fasciculations for a period of time. Magnesium supplementing took care of that for me and is worth looking into if you haven’t. I recommend mixed forms like Ultra Mag via Amazon. Magnesium threonate (“Magtein” name) is also interesting for an increased effect on the brain. Good luck!
Dominic Rodriguez Chug
Submitted September 23, 2017 11:14AM I’m dealing with it since I was 13. I think I hace CFS, but I’m not really sure…
Dominic Rodriguez Chug
Submitted September 23, 2017 11:12AM I’m not really sure, but I think you maybe have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity that is asociated with food. I hope I can help you. (I dont’t speak English very well).
Naim Shaikh
Submitted September 19, 2017 05:03AM Since last 8-9 years I suffered from extreme Brain Fog.
ONCE I WORKOUT I FEEL DIZZINESS AND BRAIN FOG TO EXTREME LEVEL UNTIL NEXT 2-3 DAYS.
SOLUTION: CONSUME DATES(KHAJOOR) JUICE EVERY MORNING. (soak 10-15 dates in water for whole night and morning grind this mixture).
Please share it and help others….
Ryan
Submitted September 12, 2017 09:17AM Hi, I have been dealing with brain fog ever since I did MDMA four years ago. I saw that you mentioned drugs and how they can cause brain fog. I was wondering if anyone else dealt with drug induced brain fog and what treatment plan worked for you to get over this. Thanks.
Ann Riesenberg
Submitted September 5, 2017 12:28PM Have you tried magnesium? I had brain fog for years. Finally diagnosed with severe sleep apnea but even after a year on CPAP my brain fog was there. I started on Magnesium Malate. It’s very absorbable. Drs. don’t typically test for magnesium deficiency and the most common test they use if they do isn’t accurate. There is an RBC magnesium test that’s much more accurate. Google it. I felt an incredible difference within a week of taking just a standard highly absorbable dose. Good luck!
Kacper
Submitted August 14, 2017 05:47AM I have all the exact same symptoms as you mentioned. Do you get dizzy in crowded places? Do you get dizzy in supermarkets? I have fasciculations 24/7, it might be BFS (Bening Fascicualtion Syndrome). How did the MRI come out?
Mariano M.
Submitted July 19, 2017 06:42PM Hi Andy, I had some of your symptoms…since you mentioned that you did a lot of tests I´m wondering if you checked your heavy metal toxicity status? Also, did you check how your mitochondrias are working? Oxidative stress tests? Also you need to check your inflamation markers (i.e. hs-CRP)…brain fog and pshycological symptoms with no apparent cause are a strong sign of mitochondrial dysfunction and heavy metal toxicity (i.e. lead, mercury).
Henry
Submitted July 15, 2017 06:49PM Well how do you get and rid yourself
of these “hidden” infections?
And why do you think most have this?
Brian
Submitted July 14, 2017 07:46AM How often do you masturbate/look at porn/have sex/ejaculate? Chronic porn use/ejaculation messes with your dopamine receptors, prolactin levels, and GABA levels as much as some drugs. If you’re ejaculating more than once every couple of weeks at your age (despite what pop culture tells you) you’re throwing the balance in your brain completely out of whack. Go 8 or 9 days without ejaculating and see how you feel. Guarantee you’re almost 100% better. Thank me later.
Klaudia
Submitted June 28, 2017 06:07PM I’ve been dealing with brain fog for quite some time. It’s really affecting my memory, but I can recall having it for around 2 years now. I’m 18 and I actually don’t like leaving the house a lot because I feel extremely disorientated and confused. It’s scaring me as I literally cannot do anything about it. I’ve tried eating right, drinking lots of water, exercising, meditating, revising new information and still nothing. I get blurry vision along with it and I actually cannot function properly when it comes on. This is probably the best post I have found about it and has made me feel better. I’m currently awaiting an MRI scan as everything else is clear and normal. Thanks so much for this post, great work.
Armen Gergis
Submitted June 15, 2017 10:43PM I felt thst is me When I read you comment. I have permanent Tinnitus .
Andy
Submitted June 15, 2017 01:19PM Hi there, I’m bit lost but maybe somebody here will have an idea. But first thanks to Joe for all that work and research. Really appreciate that.
I’m 27 and reaaally fighting last 2 years with brain fog and with my body. Have doctors in family so I have behind me sooo many examinations… MRI, CT, any many bloodtests and many more. I have tried probably every possible diet. Lecitin avoidance, low histamine, low carb etc. Also tried many supplements, detoxication and right now even anti infection antibiotics for few months without any change.
I can make super long post but I will try to put just few things that are related to this site.
-I have super foggy mornings – oxidation stress is the strongest in the morning right
-I’m one of those few who is having strong brain fog and depersonalization on halucinogenic drugs.
-I have difficulties to speak like I did before. I mean creativity of speach, wrong spelling sometimes. Just lost flow of speaking like I had before. Back than I was very social now speaking for me is very often super exhousting. I have to focus almost on every word to be sure my sentence will make sense. But I have moments daily when its better so its changing a lot.
-In those 2 years I had few moments of clarity and mostly it was when I didn’t eat for long time. But it worked like that only few times.
-During that period developed other health issue like occasionall fasciculations, tinnitus, periods of anxiety that is not triggered by anything but probably my body is just not working properly. Also psychologist said that I’m ok and excluded psychological cause.
I’m surviving day by day but I’m tired of fighting invisible enemy. If you will tell me to fight lion with bare hands I will do it… but having not properly working brain is literally killing me.
I would appreciate any thoughts or ideas.
Take care
Nattha Wannissorn, PhD Submitted June 15, 2017 04:20PM
martha
Submitted March 23, 2017 10:36AM This is awesome, but i am still a little lost in where to start in treating my brain fog. Any help would be gratefully appreciated. In 2005 I tested positive for epstein barr and the extreme exhaustion set in. From 2008 – 2011 I was treated for lyme disease with high amounts for antibiotics. 2011 I stopped the treatment and antibiotics. Since then i have still had extreme exhaustion and serve brain fog. Some days my brain fog is so bad, by eye sight is blurry.
Nattha Wannissorn Submitted March 23, 2017 11:56AM
Try the lectin avoidance diet first. You can book an appointment with Joe at selfhacked.com/contact.
Matt
Submitted February 28, 2017 10:45AM Infrared Sauna – how much of it should do the job?
Alexander
Submitted February 17, 2017 03:59PM Joe, I didn’t have any isssues with brain fog. Doctor prescribed SSRI medication and a few weeks in the fog
Came over me. I got off the medication after 4 months but the fog never went away. 3 years later still got it. Any suggestions?? Please and thank you. Just wanting to give up at the point!
Nattha Wannissorn Submitted February 17, 2017 05:01PM
You can book an appointment with Joe at selfhacked.com/contact
Gordon
Submitted January 11, 2017 01:19PM Had brain fog several times until I realised that aspartam was causing it.
Mark H MD
Submitted January 8, 2017 06:45AM Mr Cohen. Excellent information. First time to your site.I am an MD who is now specializing in food, environnent, allergic, genetic /snp, interactions and their end effect . That being many of the symptoms you discuss here.
The big issue for me as an MD is that the general medical community is not up to date on much of what is being discussed here by you! Alooking, with 23andme.com then using Promethease to run the raw data through is like genetics 101 but I think < 5% of practicing mds even know about snp"s and their relationships to illness/symptoms and metabolic chaoes on a cellular level.
I deal with and read about millions of patients that are lost and truly suffering that have searched for years for help.
I want to help organize this information/testing in an algorithmic fashion so we can help each other evaluate and effectively treat and inform patients and the medical community. The main goal is to decrease or alleviate endless suffering in these patients.
Thank you for your efforts sir!
Mark H MD.
Nattha Wannissorn Submitted January 8, 2017 08:51AM
Awesome, Dr. Mark. Feel free to get in touch with us if you want to help with our writing/content. ~Nattha @ Team SelfHacked content selfhacked com.
Hey Joe,
Thank you for your efforts to compile such a thorough corpus of knowledge. This site has been a guiding torch in a tunnel of fog. It has been 4 challenging years for me now, but I am more optimistic than ever that I will find the answers I need. I have done many of the blood tests to eliminate possibilities (thyroid, candida, biotoxins, etc.), and I’m still trying different methods. I have found some good results with taking high doses of Magnesium in the recent weeks.
I was wondering if you have ever heard of Advanced BioStructural Correction as a way to help alleviate BF. It’s a type of correction that essentially realigns the spine that might have been putting strain on the brain stem, causing less signals to fire, and hence causing brain fog as well.
Any thoughts on this? Prior knowledge?
Kind Regards,
Eesa
Jackson Gardner
Submitted September 23, 2016 01:20AM 
Hey Joe! Just came across your blog mate, really impressed with the level of indepth info on Brain fog here. It’s been a real b##tch for me too the past 18 months, and I’m kind of in the same boat as you, it’s really motivated me to improve my health, do my own research etc, and also to start a blog about it (see my details if you are interested).
Anyway, really inspiring to see both the fact you’ve overcome this stuff, and also that you’ve turned it into a successful outcome.
Great work dude, keep it up!
m
Submitted March 15, 2016 03:08PM I developed social anxiety when I was 13. Since then, I’ve been on high alert constantly with extreme anxiety almost all the time and now my brain fog is so bad I can’t think. But I didn’t see that as a cause in the article, rather as a consequence. ?
kasey
Submitted March 8, 2016 04:23PM is it recommended to supplement with superoxidase supplement? is wobenzym good for inflammation and the immune system, and what does leptin resistance have to do with this? i haven’t tried the lectin diet yet, and i was found to have multiple infections which i am treating for now. did not start an anti candida diet yet either. i know all these issues can cause inflammation and oxidative stress, but what are some things that can be tried to help symptoms while trying to fix underlying causes
Renae
Submitted November 24, 2015 12:17PM I can’t recall how many times I’ve read this article. I’ve been constantly dissecting it. I have brain fog that started after trying a synthetic hormone. I stopped taking it and everything has gone downhill since. The brain fog has rapidly gotten worse along with my vision that started to diminish. Tests showed low progesterone (synthetic suppresses the natural) and low normal estradiol, but now I’m experiencing gut issues (along with other symptoms). I’ve never had gut issues but seeing where everything is connected here in this article to the same causes, it explains why things are getting worse. I really want to get rid of this brain fog and blurred vision and pray that everything else falls into place. Those are my worst symptoms in whatever this is. I will continue to read this article and eliminate possibilities. What could this be?
Edward Submitted September 4, 2016 05:35AM
When it gets too bad I use baking soda(bicarbonate of sodium ). Half a teaspoon diluted in a glass of water and i get a lot better. You can get it at a supermarket. Try not to use it for more than two weeks else you won’t like the consequences.
Dylan
Submitted September 11, 2015 03:40PM Hey Joe,
While I agree there is a combination of factors that cause brain fog, I think many people have hidden infections like HHV6/CMV/EBV reactivations and or mycoplasma, or even lyme. They are immunocompromised, but not enough to be sick, just enough to have fatigue and brain fog
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted September 11, 2015 04:49PM
I agree
nice blog but men! your arrogance still needs tons of work! quite hilarious to be precise. thanks
This documentation has finally given me the opportunity to take a profoundly gargantuan step forward in helping myself to understand, and possibly even self-treat the living obstacle that is my mind.
You’re providing something here that should benefit many of those suffering, who are diligent enough to forge their very own understandings of this material that you’ve been good enough to hand them.
Joe, thank you for enlightening us with the gift of an organic understanding. I honestly feel that you’re what all doctors should strive to be.
You’re my hero, you beautiful bastard!
Now to await my <10 word response!
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted August 28, 2015 09:18PM
lol, thanks ?
Chuck K. Submitted December 7, 2015 05:07PM
Hi Joe – this is FANTASTIC information. I know you’re not a doctor, but do you do any consulting? I would absolutely love to pick your brain about my specific brain fog. There are so many tests, and so many directions one could go (and many of which I’ve already tried), that I’d like to make the most informed ‘next step.’
Chuck Submitted December 12, 2015 05:08AM
Great, thanks Joe! I just checked out your consulting page and started clicking through as if I’m about to schedule a session, but I’m unable to find your fees/rates?
Traci Submitted August 28, 2015 10:15PM
I would highly recommend all research KLS- Kleine Levin Syndrome. My daughter has just recently been diagnosed and although a champagne/hangover discovery tgere is some comfort in knowing what is going on and understanding the possible triggers.
N
Submitted June 2, 2015 10:02PM
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted June 3, 2015 09:12AM
30 yr old news
Zach Submitted June 5, 2015 06:48PM
Any evidence that starting a new regimen of ATP related supplements may cause temporary brain fog? Is brain fog related to some cognitive healing?
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted June 5, 2015 09:50PM
no
Traci Submitted July 1, 2015 12:22PM
How can I speak with you? I am desperately seeking answers to help our 18 year old daughter who is experiencing her 3rd episode of debilitating life-altering brain fog. She has had every medical test known to mankind and all tests turn up “normal.” There is nothing “normal” about what she is experiencing. Please help.
Dmitry
Submitted May 4, 2015 02:06PM What’s about ammonia and other endotoxins possible not properly wiping out by liver and kidney?
Do you recommend taking SOD (superoxide dismutase)? Why or why not? Thanks Joe!
Dmitry Submitted April 12, 2015 06:17AM
Studies show SOD supplements are useless because being degraded in stomach.
Marie
Submitted February 23, 2015 09:34PM I’ve had brain fog for as long as I can remember and it seems to be getting worse. A few days ago I was driving with my daughter on a scooter and took both hands off the steering wheel to adjust her helmet. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Marie
Submitted February 23, 2015 09:24PM Hi Joe,
Have you heard of H2 therapy on brain fog? Do you know anything about it?
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted February 23, 2015 09:28PM
Yes.
SSR
Submitted February 3, 2015 10:12AM Surprised to see no mention of chronic ejaculation here. There are many cases of brain fog after a prolonged masturbation habit. Many normative reports on no fab boards on the net. Any thoughts Joe?
Interesting. In the case of oxiditive stress, most of the symptoms are linked to vegetable oils and margarines. Omega 6 (65% of the oil of unmodified sunflower, newer strains have less) is associated with depression and bipolar (see Wikipedia on Omega 6), inflammation (some kind of immuno screw up, you mentioned lupus etc which might be connected), ADHD (and anecdotally with OCD, also to eating disorders which may be a particular species of OCD). I’ve seen info that supports both immuno confusion and immuno suppression linked to veg oils. Veg oils are in an awful lot of food these days, although often now palm or other oils with only 10% Omega 6. Omega 3’s substitutive role in the brain plus reducing Omega 6 may help; people often feel less depressed after eating salmon, for instance. But recent research of retail Omega 3 supplements in NZ (or australia, can’t remember) had almost 90% as severely oxidised. Probably best to eat salmon if it has enough DHA which is the Omega 3 that actually does something in the brain apparently (haven’t checked it out). Lack of Omega 3 is also associated with post partum depression.
Dmitry
Submitted January 20, 2015 10:11AM Hello. So what to do?
Dmitry
Submitted January 13, 2015 11:14AM Thank you for the prompt response. Have you thoughts what to do?
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted January 13, 2015 12:10PM
yup
Dmitry
Submitted January 13, 2015 09:20AM What’s about a Gilbert’s syndrome?
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted January 13, 2015 09:29AM
groentjes
Submitted January 4, 2015 05:34AM Do you have any information/studies on CBD oil ? Not for brain fog per se but for brain health in general ? I get find so many studies but I’ve read that it is great for inflammation and they are going to give it to autistic children.
Amanda
Submitted December 10, 2014 01:46AM Is there any way to contact you, if so do you work with people in person to cure their brain fog?
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted December 10, 2014 10:31AM
I don’t work with people in person and I don’t offer cures. I offer information that can help you help yourself.
Look on the right side of the page for phone or skype consults. Email Dhowell at selfhacked dot com.
Jane Parry
Submitted November 16, 2014 12:03PM Joe, I wanted to thank you sincerely for your advice about brain fog. What with that controlling my routine and other long term symptoms I was at my wits end. Even with regular internet research on health and nutrition I had never heard of lectin sensitivity here in the UK. 37 days later on a strict low lectin diet I am a different girl. Absolutely brilliant. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Jane.
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted November 16, 2014 01:39PM
Thanks for your feedback!
Jane Parry Submitted November 17, 2014 04:54PM
What a difference ?
Nate
Submitted November 11, 2014 10:05PM Hey Joe, great post.
I just recently graduated from college and am dealing with constant brain fog. I’ve noticed it getting progressively worse each year… definitely due to a little too much binge drinking lol. I exercise pretty regularly and try to avoid high glycemic index foods and saturated fats in my diet.
Currently I take various supplements including:
Fish oil
Vitamin E
Turmeric Curcumin
N-acetyl-L-cysteine
Alpha-lipoic acid
SAMe
MSM
Can you offer any other advice or suggestions to speed up the process?
Thanks,
Nate
Visitor
Submitted September 24, 2014 09:16PM Joe, just read an article recently and would like to hear your thoughts about it: http://www.buzzworthy.com/science-proves-gluten-sensitivity-isnt-real-people-are-just-whiners/
Joe Submitted September 28, 2014 07:12PM
Did you read the actual study?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23648697
It talks about IBS and found gluten to give GI effects, but not worse than whey. Thus, all we can say is that gluten itself isn’t worse than whey when it comes to IBS – but wheat has WGA, a lectin and FODMAPS, which also exacerbates IBS.
I need to read the full study since the abstract doesn’t give enough info.
mixy Submitted November 21, 2014 02:12PM
According to Dr Perlmutter, that study only involved 37 subjects,
Also, the funding of the study came from George Weston Foods, one of the largest purveyors of breads, pastas and cakes in Australia…
Dr Perlmutter blog article:
http://www.drperlmutter.com/gluten-sensitivity-challenged-new-study/
G.Hav
Submitted September 2, 2014 11:32AM Hello Joe . Thank you for your article! It really helps to put things into context. I believe I have started having what everyone is calling Brain Fog since I was 11 years old . I am now 25. These occur suddenly (maybe over night) and last for a couple of weeks. When I was younger it used to last longer than it does now. During the 4-5 years it has been occuring every almost 2 years and last for a couple of weeks. I have allergies (Th2 dominance) but I can not always relate it to my allergies as my IgE levels are normal sometimes and I still get it. I would say I am a moderately stressful person and I like to work hard and ‘think a lot’.
Would you say it is stress related or diet related?
Jon
Submitted August 26, 2014 03:26PM It has been 2 1/2 weeks before my brain fog started and it hampered my scheduled job interview yesterday. I am really happy that I found this site but to what doctor would you suggest me going to? (I am a working student right now and as such do not have that enough money owing to debts that my family and I still try to pay off)
Main things that affect me:
•lack of cognitive response (while remembering things, also attentiveness to respond when hearing a word/names,etc.)/ lack of mental clarity- “that grasp of reality”
•lack of emotion (I used to be very cheerful)
•fatigue
•lack of motivation to start working on things
•difficulty digging up from my memory
+ other brain fog feelings
Days before that too, I had a diarrhea (owing to lactose indigestion; stomach easily upsets even just by drinking coffee). But 3-4~ days after that, I was not experiencing nothing else, everything was the “normal” me. a day after, I drank maybe around 8-10~ cups of coffee to finish some work. I was also fine after that (just feeling too awake) and still could say that I didn’t have brain fog symptoms. Two days after that, I woke up feeling sickly (idk but i felt i had viral fever too and resorted to just take fever and pain relievers- I really dont have money lol), my head (maybe around the rear right portion, also sometimes that lightheaded feeling for the whole brain, i.e. airy feeling in brain) was hurting so bad that I had a panic attack. I dont know too but, my vision feels like it is less lively to see colors just like when feeling sick- up to now,i.e. less vibrant?).
After that day up to now, the common feelings I had felt (see above) started and is not ending. I’ve consulted a neurologist saying that I have normal and could still process normally (and have normal reflex) but I know that I am processing things real slower than before (it is really hard explaining this kind of feeling. it is like things naturally comes processed when I hear a word before but now I need to pay really really really attentive to grasp the sentence. its like i think fast but the natural hearing-encoding-grasping of a word or sentence I need or need to beforehand think was fucked up by this brain fog)
It’s at its worst when I wake up and lessens (a bit only) maybe after 5-6 hours~ when I try to realign myself to doing written work and checking my email.
I normally eat but not that I eat very many. I somewhat was used to being easily satiated after eating just a normal rice meal (e.g. chicken/beef + rice is the usual for me. and some of those instant foods too and snacks). With this brain fog, then, I became more easily satiated by taking only a small amount of a meal’s portion
I am a student architect (22,M). I usually work on with my neck bent over the drafting table. (Is this a contributor? e.g. not enough oxygen going to brain?)
I became more detached and less motivated to socialize after this feeling (usually I would visit my university organization a week.) but now, I am just here at home, really feeling dull.
I feel that somewhat my hypothalamus isn’t working correctly- low mood, lack of motivation, flat emotion- compared to a very cheery version of me before.
just recently (3 days~ now) too there is like a minty feeling around my throat maybe around the tonsils and oropharynx?
Those are some of just what I think I could salvage from my brain right now.
What do you think happened? Did I just suddenly catch a viral disease that affected my brain? Candida? Lyme (we have dogs too)?
What doctor would you suggest me going to? I really don’t have enough money so I don’t want wasting them seeing a wrong doctor. What tests?
I really feel paronoid by having these symptoms; I want this to clear up so badly ?
Sorry for this long post and I hope you could help me with this, Joe. Thanks and hoping that you could help more with your selfhack.
Jon, I’ve been thinking about your post since I read it yesterday. Your thorough explanation is helpful in unlocking the mystery! The biggest thing I noticed is that we as humans rarely recognize our unhealthy patterns; we think we’re taking good care of our bodies, we think we are invincible, and forget to do the basics! ? When I was in high school and having Fibromyalgia symptoms, the doctor asked me how many times I was having a bowel movement. I flippantly answered that there wasn’t a problem there, only to realize years later that OH YES there was a problem there! ? Until you experience health (and the solution) you don’t always know what the problem is!
Start here:
FREE/CHEAP VERSION
1a: Stop drinking coffee
1b: Or, drink 10 cups of water before AND after each cup of coffee (I’m not joking. It’s not “just” coffee. Coffee is acidic and HORRIBLE for our bodies. You can also dilute the effects by drinking water with baking soda before and after each cup of coffee. Of course, that’s not fun, so you may just want to eliminate it! Switch to green tea!
2: Detox : Your symptoms sound like you’re full of toxins. Drink a gallon of water a day. Add fresh lemon (from an actual lemon) to the water–that will make it taste better, and it will help balance your pH. If you suspect candida, go ahead and add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to your water. This will also give you a boost of energy.
3: De-flame: You also sound like you’re suffering from Inflammation. Cut out gluten and sugar. Try taking Ibuprofen; see if you feel better. If you do, you’ve got Inflammation (pretty much all Americans do!).
4: Exercise: No really. Exercise. Walking doesn’t do anything for those of us with this condition. STRENGTH training does! There’s something about lifting weights that gets the inflammation-causing-toxins moving out of the system. I just moved to a new house, and after a week of moving heavy items–I FEEL AMAZING, and can’t believe all my excuses for not going to the gym! LOL. I’m seriously wondering if I can work for a moving company a few times a week, just for the exercise!! Look for Youtube videos that walk you through at-home body sculpting or strength training, using every day household items. Or just grab something that’s 10-20 pounds and run up and down a flight of stairs 3 times each day.
5: Fruits and Vegetables all blended up: This will help you detox and replenish your system, and vegetables are SUPER CHEAP. Your body may be malnourished to the point of not being able to digest vegetables (they’ve got a think cell wall). Blending them will make the digestion easy so your body can just focus on sending you GOODness. If you have a blender, do Green Smoothies for a week. If you can, JUST eat green smoothies: plain yogurt/milk, green pepper, green apple, spinach leaves, kale, banana. You can also throw in a clove of garlic and a chunk of fresh ginger (for energy and candida). If you’re starving, add a raw egg (buy organic eggs). [You should be able to pull this off for less than $50/week]
EXPENSIVE VERSION
I have tried all of the above, but I tend to fall short at some point. It’s so overwhelming. So much work, with such slow results. I mean, sure I could do all of that if I was in a GREAT mood! But if you need the above, you’re not. You’re suffering and feel like life is impossible! Am I right?! I invested in my health with the following:
1: Organo Gold Black coffee (on eBay for about $15-20/box. That’s 30 packets, or a month’s worth of coffee (one a day, please!)).
I LOVE coffee and kind of depend on it for getting a creative rush of energy to do my work (web design). This coffee is laced with Ganoderma mushroom extract. I have no clue what that’s all about; all I know is I don’t suffer when I drink it. I get the great coffee high, without the acidic after-effects or emotional downer.
2: Univera products:
-Aloe Gold ($20/month)
-xTra ($50/month)
-Regenifree ($60/month)
These are sold through a multi-level marketing program (which I struggle with). But the products are so good I can look past the annoying cheerleading of the company. I take a serving of each of the above each day. I take them around 3pm, right when I normally have a dip in the day–I want to go for another cup of coffee, but shoot, it’s getting late in the day…–UNIVERA TIME! In about 7 days, you’ll feel a dramatic shift in your moods and your health. If you’re overweight, you’ll start losing pounds. You’ll never have a problem with bowel movements (detoxing) ever again. You’ll feel like exercising!!! You’ll feel like cleaning your house and getting that overdue project done. OMG! You’ll feel like playing with your kids (if you have kids)! And thinking!!
I had such severe brain fog that I had to outsource my thinking projects (blogging, web content, answering the phone, replying to emails). Now I’m able to do all that work on my own again!!! And more!!! Yesterday I carried my 5 year old daughter on my back, on our walk home from school–in 100 degree weather!!! WOW!
3: Exercise:
The Univera products work great on their own, but you’ll get 10 times the results if you throw in 5-10 minutes a day of exercise. Work it into your schedule, but like I said–you’ll WANT TO when you’re on Univera.
I was on a candida diet and was totally off gluten. I HAD to stay away from sugar and gluten just to get through the day. On Univera, I can eat almost whatever I want!!!!! ? Life is good!
ONE MORE OPTION
1: Seek out someone like Joe (on this site) and do a consultation. Get some one-on-one coaching and accountability. This stuff is hard; but can be done with a friend!
Since you’re low on funds, you gotta make every dollar count. You have many of the answers already–try them, stick to them!
The brain fog community is here to help!!!
?
Thank you very much Angela (and Joseph) for your insights. They are both informative and comforting for people like me with the fog to inspire hope in a ever-persisting foggy realm. All of what you have said was in line with what I had already thought, so this info helped solidify my decisions to make the right steps now. I am evermore optimistic. Cheers.
Joe Submitted September 1, 2014 01:03AM
Classic hypothalamus issue. I don’t know enough about you. I don’t know any doc.
Todd
Submitted August 14, 2014 10:28AM I have brain fog from what I think is sleep fragmentation. The fog started suddenly one morning over 4 yrs ago and I’ve had it since. I was diagnosed with mild to moderate OSA last year. I started using a cpap last year and in 2 months the fog lessened some. But lately after trying Zoloft it has increased. It usually decreases some right after a nap. I do toss and turn alot at night so I feel I’m not getting solid sleep and as a result have daytime fatigue. I’m in the process of getting a newer firmer mattress to see if that helps. Was sleeping on a memory foam mattress before.I started taking melatonin before bed. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Londoner
Submitted July 23, 2014 11:13AM Hi Joe, are Th1 and Th2 levels supposed to be somewhar equal ?
I think i am Th1 Dominant…. but how do you treat that? ie: is it dominant because the Th1 level is too high, or dominant because Th2 is too low…. to separate conditions, needing two separate paths of treatment…..
Sibin
Submitted July 23, 2014 01:36AM I have been suffering from brain fog from past 3 years.I was doing very well in my engineering course but suddenly I don’t know something happened and I could not concentrate or even try to keep things in mind . This happened all of a sudden .Due to this problem I could not study well and thus I came across depression.I consulted a phsychirtist and he gave antidepression pills and thus my depression was gone. But now since iam into a new firm it takes me a lot of time to understand things, this has made me so sad . please help me out what might be the reason. First I thought it was due to mood swing. But now I realize that since I had this stange feeling in my brain where I cannot concentrate or study iam not been able to do task which I used to do easily. So please tell me what to do and ur suggestions.
Josh
Submitted July 14, 2014 04:33PM Hi Joe great article, do you have a page of meal examples using the clean ingredients that you recommend? if so could you direct me to it?
Joe Submitted July 14, 2014 07:35PM
Coming soon…
Londoner
Submitted July 14, 2014 03:24PM Hi Joe, great article. I appreciate the effort.
is there a test that can be done to measure Th1 and Th2 ? is yes, from where ?
thanks !
So I went to see the acupuncturist. She did a saliva test to see what was going on with my adrenal system. Still waiting on the test results, but based on what she could see, my adrenal system is a mess. She gave me a variety of elixirs, which I have been taking. Not sure if I’m seeing an improvement yet.
I’ve been off of my Univera supplements for a week (so that we can see if the Acu prescription is working), and have dipped back into somewhat of a sporadic depression, and really feeling awful when it’s about to rain.
I think the Univera stuff really helps with the inflammation. Which helps with EVERYTHING.
Now I’m not sure if I keep doing the Acu stuff, or go back to what was working… It takes a good 10 days for the Univera supps to kick in, so I feel like I’m losing time!!!
Joe Submitted July 11, 2014 11:09AM
What’s universa?
Your acupuncturist has no clue what brain fog comes from if she’s looking into your adrenals. It’s a red herring. Save yourself time and money and stop going.
dang, i was afraid you’d say that. Univera is one of those fancy multi-level marketing products; that’s why you’ve never heard of it. the concept: univera has applied the same concepts that pharmaceutical companies apply to chemicals, to PLANTS. they’ve poured millions into researching the benefits of herbs and natural things, and then they’ve super-charged them by mixing them in new ways. i take AloeGold, RegeniFREE, and Xtra. they all help with inflammation.
i took these years ago and felt AMAZING. had a bad experience with the whole multi-level approach, and stopped taking them. big mistake. i was feeling so good that i was going to the GYM and doing a nice, gentle strength-building routine. i had muscles! and ENERGY! i could finally wake up before my daughter! and the biggest thing–i wasn’t hurting every time it rained. in fact, i left my car windows down over night when it RAINED; first time my body didn’t alert me that it was going to downpour. lol.
the thing is: i had to take them regularly. once i stopped, it took a few weeks for the effects to fade. and then when i was back to feeling awful, i couldn’t figure out if it was Univera or the Gym that was making me feel good. and i was broke, and depressed again, so i just gave up.
now i’m determined again. and kicking myself for not ditching the Acu right there in the middle of the appointment. my INTUITION was saying, “she’s not hearing you; she’s listening more than an MD, but she’s still not getting the whole picture.”
what they don’t understand: i’m on borrowed time as it is. i can’t afford to spend any more time on EXPERIMENTATION. i need a SOLUTION!
thank you again for all that you’re doing to bring awareness to this topic!
Dan Submitted April 7, 2017 12:10PM
Hi Angela, I had the worst brain fog of my life while on Univera Products. I took their Xtra and the Aloe. Really bad experiences with both the company itself and the people but most of all the products… Not good products at all… unless you are not natural-minded or care about health and nutrition. Univera has pharmaceutical grade products, that have severe (SERIOUS) negative side affects, including aging more quickly…. I personally would warn strongly against getting addicted to their products or being Bullied into the fake lies.
Ryan
Submitted July 8, 2014 05:33PM If I had to guess, based on your description, I’d say Th2 dominant… thanks for the response.
Joe Submitted July 8, 2014 11:05PM
Alcohol increases Th2 dominance by inhibiting Th1.
Ryan
Submitted July 7, 2014 04:50PM I’d be curious to hear more about the effects of alcohol on brain fog. I seem to get brain fog 2-3 days after drinking (even if its only 2-3 drinks).
Mike Submitted July 8, 2014 08:17AM
That happens to me too, but mainly with beer.
I get drunk very quicly and then i get brain fog
Wine is fine and beer used to be fine… strange…
Joe Submitted July 8, 2014 08:22AM
Beer has gluten
Mike Submitted July 8, 2014 08:35AM
yes. that is true.
I am in that stage of the elimination diet where i have reintroduced oat with success (no fog) but I have not reintroduced wheat yet
And I have also reintroduced alcohol with the above mentioned brain fog with beer.
So, I guess it is the barley in the beer?
George Submitted July 11, 2014 03:14AM
You could have gluten intolerance, thats why malt and yeast in beer will harm u unlike wine
Mike Submitted July 11, 2014 01:29PM
Thanks for your comment George
I thought that yeast was also used in the winemaking process?
I never thought about the malt…
The other variable is barley, is not it?
Thanks and have a great weekend!!
Judd Crane Submitted July 9, 2014 06:36AM
Do we have any reacreational substances for the Th2-camp? lol
Joe Submitted July 9, 2014 05:15PM
lol, nicotine – ecigs
Cody
Submitted July 6, 2014 04:36PM You wrote somewhere that it is best to eat inflammatory foods (if TH1 dominant ) in the evening.
For the same reason, is it not better to exercise in the evening? (some research points that it may be healthier to raise exercise- induced inflammation in the evening)
Joshua Brown
Submitted July 1, 2014 03:54PM Hello I have a question. When i first started eating green bananas I very quickly felt a noticeable boost in both energy and cognitive function, however, since then the boost has decreased to a non noticeable level any thoughts on this? I have been consuming 3 a day almost everyday.
Mike
Submitted June 29, 2014 05:46AM Joe,
Have you checked Dr Coca Pulse Test?
He discovered that when you eat a good you are allergic to your heart rate increases noticeably.
If this works, it could be a very nice way to measure food allergies and could be a nice companion to the Elimination Diet
His work is a bit old ..from the 60s… but is a very easy read. It is freely available to read in here: http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020108.coca.pdf
I have occasional brain fog, I am doing an elimination diet and I have started to check the pulse rate as an experiment.
I have noticed an increase in my pulse rate after certain foods (+25 bpm) . More experiments planned
The part I didn’t fully grasp is whether in the delayed response case you will get an increase of the pulse both immediately after eating the food and also in a delayed date…
or just in a delayed instant..
Cheers
Joe Submitted June 29, 2014 08:12AM
I’ll check it out
Mike Submitted June 29, 2014 01:00PM
Thanks Joe. It sounds quite promising to me.
All the food that I had identified with the elimination diet as suspicious had increased my pulse rate when I experimented with the pulse tests.
If this works, it will make the whole food allergy investigation much more accessible
You know your food allergies very well. If there is a person that can rigorously confirm whether this method works or not that is probably you Joe ?
To get the pulse rate, I use an app called azumio. You get it in 10s by placing your finger on the camera lens.
I found it quite accurate in the tests i did but i wonder if everybody thinks the same
Thanks
Ethan
Submitted June 28, 2014 08:20PM Hi Joe, thanks for all the time you’ve put in to make these articles. They’re super helpful and detailed. I’m so brain-fogged, so to say, though, that I’m unsure of how to implement your strategies, or what to do first… Pretty much I’m having a harder time comprehending this, which you have written well, than I normally would, if I wasn’t in this state. (Which seems to be getting slowly worse over the past 3 years or so.)
So.. Should I start with a diet, and if so, do I start with the elimination diet or the RS? Or should I just eliminate gluten? Should I buy the pull-up bar first? And should I get thyroid or other tests done? A couple months back, I got an EBV test and it came back with high titer count, but I forget what the count was. The only thing I appear to be doing right on your checklist is getting enough sleep…
If this helps – I appear to be Th1 dominant (based on your article), I’m “relatively skinny”, I consume lots of caffeine and gluten, and I feel really confused a lot. My reaction time has slowed, and I definitely feel tired after meals. I never really know how to talk to people anymore. I don’t have many thoughts, and if I do, they always short out or disappear. I have considerable anxiety, but I swear, it’s from not being able to understand things, and not wanting to present this less-coherent version of myself to people, knowing I used to be so quick-responsive and sharp-witted in the past! (It took me an hour to write this comment.) Now I struggle to finish a thought out loud. >_> Oh, and I don’t exactly have the largest budget to get everything in the diets.
So, can you write a short step-by-step guide to what things I should try first, then second, etc? If you don’t mind. I’ve taken in a lot of your writings but haven’t been able to connect the dots, haha. I’m almost done with high school and I really don’t want this to affect my life forever. Again, thanks for your awesome devotion to this stuff. Sorry if what I wrote was scattered.
Joe Submitted June 28, 2014 10:24PM
Future post.
Angela
Submitted June 13, 2014 03:49PM Wow! I was diagnosed with FMS 15 years ago (in high school). I was living in Minnesota and under a lot of physical and mental stress. I changed up my lifestyle (de-stressed, got more sleep, took naps), and things calmed down. I also moved to Nevada which gave me major relief. I was no longer a victim of the changing weather.
I have relocated again, to a humid climate, and all my old stuff is back: fatigue, depression, anxiety.
I’ve made tremendous dietary changes in the past 15 years: no gluten, minimal processed foods (and only the somewhat healthy ones), very low-sugar diet. I’ve done a variety of cleanses/detoxes, as well.
Negative: I added coffee. I drink Organo Gold coffee like it’s going out of style. ?
I get severe brain fog/depression from noon to 3, and later depending on the weather. If it’s on the brink of rain, I’m miserable. Once the downpour hits, life is golden again.
Thank you for getting the conversation going and for your help to the foggy masses!
Joe Submitted June 13, 2014 11:39PM
Interesting….
pj Submitted June 14, 2014 07:18AM
hi angela. thanks for sharing your experiences. They might explain why I get foggy when I travel or the weather changes
I found this interesting article about coping with humidity http://blog.stillpointmindandbody.com/2011/07/18/coping-with-summer-humidity/
Jean
Submitted June 13, 2014 01:00PM CBS C699T (homozygous) mutation was what caused my fatigue, brain fog and joint pain.
These supplements/foods made me sick:
ALA, NAC, Glutathione, MSM, Glycine, Gelatine, Chondroitin&Glucosamine, Broccoli, Taurine, Eggs, Onions, Garlic, etc. One has to eat molybdenum when eating these foods if this mutation is present.
Cysteine is damaging for people with this mutation. So they have to avoid high sulfur/sulphur foods and mercury distribution due to high cysteine levels from raised thiols.
One person’s medicine is another person‘s poison.
Joe Submitted June 13, 2014 11:38PM
I’m homozygous for that and I can handle many of those supplements, including cysteine.
Jim
Submitted June 13, 2014 08:18AM I don’t know if this matters, but I reached the state of fogginess after I had a traumatic experience with marijuana, of which I don’t usually dabble. I’m thinking that the morning after the ordeal, the amount of stress experienced the night before had led to brain fog and anxiety (or vice versa, I don’t quite know how it all works).
I’m 22 years old and this has been going on for about two months now. So far, the anxiety has almost been eliminated (for at first I feared I was going crazy), but the brain fog remains and is the only thing that is sustaining whatever is left of my anxiety. I’ve always been naturally healthy (other than a bit of prehypertension).
What I want to know is whether or not I need to begin changing my diet or if it is more of a psychological issue, in which letting go of being anxious about the brain fog would actually lift the curtains rather than taking a physiological approach. I recently read elsewhere that brain fog can lead to dementia, which makes me anxious, seeing as how this can be very time-sensitive. I just want to move on from this as soon as possible, as I am transferring to university this fall and would like to take care of this before I make the switch.
Katie Submitted June 23, 2014 05:25PM
Hi Jim. My name is Katie. I have gone through the same exact same experience. (Crazy brain fog after bad experience with marijuana.) please contact me if you’d like to discuss.
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted April 1, 2015 09:36AM
Katie,
I’ve figured out the cause.
Jack Submitted July 21, 2015 02:12PM
Hello Josephe, what was the answer? I am going through the same
Gemma Submitted November 20, 2014 08:27AM
Hi Jim, it was really interesting to read your story as the exact same thing that happened with me. Ongoing brain fog from a traumatic first time trail with marujuana in Amsterdam. 6 months on the brain fog remains however anxiety is much less than it initially was.
I would love to hear how you are going and if you sought any treatment?
Cheers
Gemma
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted November 20, 2014 08:43AM
Gemma,
I’ve figured out the cause.
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted April 1, 2015 09:37AM
Jim, I’ve figured out the cause.
hi jim can we discuss about this im having the same problem right now, Im almost 1 month with brain fog for just one night of smoking weed it was my first one pretty much thank you my mail is sixto696@hotmail. anyone that wanna talk about this is welcome
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted December 11, 2015 10:59PM
Brain fog from weed is either a result of SCN malfunction and/or toxin-laced weed. I’d need a comprehensive history…i.e. I’d recommend a consult.
Rachel Zarate
Submitted June 13, 2014 12:20AM Oh and not to mention I got diagnosed with PCOS and I have insane testosterone levels for a women. Your article is putting my peices to the puzzle. amazing!
Rachel Zarate
Submitted June 13, 2014 12:18AM People like you, Joe, are who help people like me save their lives! This is an excellent article! I recently was on the i.u.d. birth control and after 3 days i had it taken out due to infections it gave me and extreme brain fog. I’ve had it out for almost 5 months and I am slowly getting better. The first 3 months I was screwed, Extreme anxiety and depression. I started the Paleo diet and it did me wonders. I wasnt very on it though, as I would slip up sometimes. Now I’m following a low G.I. diet and i’m day 1 and feel moderatley better! I will continue to follow your pointers thank you!!!!!!
pj
Submitted June 4, 2014 05:44PM hi all,
I am doing an elimination diet to try to find out what is going on with my brain fog.
I cannot make sense of the food -> Brain fog symptoms
After 2 weeks of elimination diet (no gluten, sugar, alcohol and dairy), I felt great and I started to reintroduce wine and eggs.
– day 1: i had 3 glasses of wine: felt great
– day 2: I woke up great, and I had 2 eggs. 4h later i did a 20m Yoga session, and right after it I felt foggy
– day 3: more eggs. No fog this time
– day 4: wine. No fog
– day 5: had chill con carne. Felt foggy
– day 6: had watermelon. Felt foggy
I just cannot make sense of all this. I would not think that Yoga could trigger the fog? Only 20m…
I cannot find any correlation with the wine and eggs consumption
The watermelon part buffles me
does this make any sense to anyone?
Thanks
Rachel Zarate Submitted June 13, 2014 12:10AM
yup! makes perfect sense ? Watermelon has a high glycemic indix as well as beef and a lot of red meats. I would go on a low glycemic index diet. I bet youll feel tons better
pj Submitted June 14, 2014 07:20AM
good advice. thanks
@Selfhacked: Thank you very much for your detailed article. I’m really looking foreward to consulting you. In my journey I also discovered that individuality is necessary. I also came across the mentioned Dr. Wilson. I have never tried the nutritional balancing program, but I think he offers more than the article about brain fog would let you expect. His approach is based on mineral amounts in the unwashed hair, but his technique allows him to use them as markers for the metabolism in general (hormones, blood sugar). Except for TCM I’ve never seen anything like this:
– highly individualized, should cure the individuum as whole
– realizes the important role of the hormonal balance (adrenals, thyroid)
– takes blood shugar balance and pre-diabetes stages into account
– many vegetables, also a lot of starchy vegetables
– grains to a certain amount
– minor protein, but important
– minot fat, but also very important
I know he has special political views, but please give his website another look. I’m really interessted in your further optionon.
Joe Submitted June 2, 2014 03:26PM
I gave his website a thorough look and my opinion is it’s quackery
Molly Mathews
Submitted May 30, 2014 02:07PM Have you heard of stablon?
Joe Submitted May 30, 2014 09:26PM
Yup
Molly Mathews
Submitted May 30, 2014 12:30PM How do you feel about treating brain fog/chronic fatigue, etc with LDN, antidepressants, or nutritional iv’s?
Joe Submitted May 30, 2014 01:29PM
LDN is good
Molly Mathews Submitted May 30, 2014 02:02PM
What about the other two? Is it normal to feel a lot worse at first with ldn or am I really just making myself worse?
Joe Submitted May 30, 2014 09:27PM
Can’t answer without more personal info
Bogdan
Submitted May 27, 2014 10:11AM Hi Joe.I suffer from brain fog for 5 years i am a pharmacist student and i find it difficult to live and study with this.i used to weight train like a horse 5 years ago when after a stresfull period in my life i developed fatigue after meals and silent gerd.
I must tell u that i use to follow a strict diet rice and chiken breast whey protein and bb suplements but hell breake loose.
Now 5 years after i gained a lot of fat,i am tired after meals i tried every suplement under the sun u named it even diets othng worked.i still weight train 2 times per week 45 min sesions.
i feel nausea after protein meals with fatigue and i do not understand WHY.i asked a lot of doctors forums u named it i basicly am tired,even now as i write to u is hopeless..i crave a lot of sugar and bread
Mornings are the badest.i get brain fog first thing in the morning especially if i had a late night meal.
If i take some dextrose with whey protein the fog dissapears for a short time.
I get very hungry at night and no hungry at all in the morning until 2 pm.
i tried fasting,inttermitent fasting it made thigs worse.after i eat protein meal especially meat i get fatigue tired bloating brain fog social anxiety.
my life is a ruin i do not know what to eat..i never tried elimination diet because i dont know what to eat on this diet..i get fatigue from meat with veggies,eggs fish is a no no.
WHAT please help me with some hints,that’s the phrase i use for 5 years now with no results…
The only thing that is goo is plain sugar dextrose white sugar but i get FAT from this so i try to keep it to a minumum.
My energy levels suck and i get worse when is hot outside like summer.
in the gym i am verry lazy fatigued sometimes and i force myself because i want to look like 5 years ago.
protein protein protein whyy,all diets recommed low carb high protein well it;s not working on me..small meals are ok for me but i get verry hungry at night i could eat a cow so i do it…and aging the morning comes with brain fog tiredness fatigue.
i never tried honey before bedtime..i will start today after reading you re posts.
SO maybe if u can help me with something,anything small plese !!
ed Submitted June 14, 2015 08:58PM
Hey I really suggest u get on a high fruit only diet..it cured mines
Fritz.Harber
Submitted May 27, 2014 01:31AM Question – I have time to exercise only once a day (whether sprints or 3set pull/push ups), what would be the best time to exercise intensely (in regards to circadian rhythms) – morning or evening?
Fritz.Harber Submitted May 27, 2014 01:34AM
(I know that a person’s peak performance is usually around 6:00PM but it does not mean that this is the best time to exercise)
Joe Submitted May 27, 2014 10:52AM
Morning
dan Submitted May 27, 2014 11:11AM
Why morning? Reference? Thank you!
Joe Submitted May 27, 2014 11:22AM
Releases a lot of cortisol. Better to do that in the day bec of circadian rhythm
dan Submitted May 27, 2014 11:28AM
All research I found shows the only benefit of exercise in the morning comes s from being in a fasted mode and that otherwise exercising in the evening causes less injuries and inflammation.
Joe Submitted May 27, 2014 11:42AM
http://www.nutritiousandnice.com/uploads/2/2/5/3/22533992/1157973_orig.jpg
I’m approaching this from a theoretical POV.
Cortisol peaks at 6am and declines throughout the day. The later in the day you exercise the more you disrupt your circadian rhythm.
I still exercise at night, but I try to do it in the day.
M Malik
Submitted May 19, 2014 11:02AM Hi, I am experiencing a strange condition but can’t say it is brain fog or any other ailment. Usually I wake up fresh in the morning but after morning bowel movement I feel sleepy and tired with foggy mind. Then I had to take half to 1 hr rest or sleep and this symptom vanishes but only for some hours and after 3~4 hrs I again experience this sleepy and brain fatigue condition especially after lunch and again take a nap/rest of approx 1 hr. If I avoid eating my non-fatigue duration increases.
So I have to take these intermediate rests 3~4 times a day from the past 10 years. I consulted many doctors from gastroenterologist, psychiatrists, neurologists and homeopathic but no cure. They tried a lot of medicines from tricyclic antidepressants, SSRI, IBS medicines and much more. I had undergone numerous tests from complete blood picture, thyroid test, blood sugar and pressure tests, EEG to colonoscopy but nothing come unusual in tests.
What u think, am i suffering from brain fog? any guess about my illness which may help me.
Thomas Notting Submitted November 6, 2014 01:31AM
Exactly the same happens to me! One theory is that gas/fecal content pressures a nerve in the intestine and causes neurotransmitters in the brain to fire. This is an energy consuming process.
One thing that tends to help me sometimes (I also get pain in intestine sometimes followed by exhaustion) is the use of GABA and or Glutamine. GABA – Gamma Amino-butryic acid is a neurotransmitter inhibitor.
Try apple cider vinegar diluted with water also to help digest some types of foods.
The root cause could be a candida yeast overgrowth in your intestine resulting in IBS.
Joseph M. Cohen Submitted November 12, 2014 06:35PM
Don’t know, but possibly your sympathetic nervous system is shutting down too much after a crap.
Fredoz
Submitted May 13, 2014 07:18PM Hi! I am an athlete and slightly overweight, are there any ways to cut 40 percent calories from my diet without losing significant amounts of muscle (in your picture it appears that you maintain a nice amount of muscles)
Joe Submitted May 13, 2014 07:21PM
People have different effects to cutting calories. I mention UP TO 40%, but you can cut your calories by 10%.
Mike
Submitted May 12, 2014 03:24PM Hi Joe
I suffer from brain fog and this is the first time I see it explained in way that I relate to
Commonly, my brain fog triggers after the 1 PM lunch. After approx 4-5 hours the fog levels decrease.
When it happens, I also feel pressure on the right hand side of my head. More or less 15 cm above the right ear
I want to get to the bottom of this:
– I have started an elimination diet 4 days ago
– Tomorrow, I am gonna get blood tests to test the thyroid function
If I don’t see any improvement after the elimination diet, I would not mind at all to have a skype consultation Joe. I think it would be very useful
I am writing down any daily symptoms and food i am eating, but it there is any other data you think it is important to record for a future consultation let me know.
Also, is feeling pressure on the head in a localized area a common braig fog symptom ?
Thanks
Joe Submitted May 13, 2014 12:45AM
The more data the better.
It can occur sometimes.
See if you can get an MRI
Mike Submitted May 14, 2014 09:53AM
Thanks Joe, I will check if I can get an MRI
6 days into the elimination diet, I still get foggy after the 1PM lunch.
Could the food consumed before the diet still have an impact on my post-eating brain fog?
Thank
Joe Submitted May 14, 2014 10:12AM
What are you eating EXACTLY?
Mike Submitted May 14, 2014 10:20AM
basically, i got rid of sugar, diary, eggs, gluten and alcohol for the last 6 days
my 1PM lunches, which are the ones that are causing more brain fog, have been mainly protein + veg
I have just checked my notes and I have used a different protein every single day: hake,salmon, haddock, pork, chicken and beef
Kenny
Submitted May 7, 2014 11:01AM Great site and articles! I have experienced varying levels of brain fog consistently for the last several years. I am intrigued by your theories and have two questions for you…
1) Yesterday I had a really bad bout of BF that persisted all day, I decided to take 400mg of Ibuprofen to test if it it would help with possible inflammation, but ended up with much worse fatigue and fog about an hour afterwards. Should this have helped if my brain fog was due to inflammation?
2) I can never find a correlation with the foods I eat and the resulting brain fog or lack thereof; ie: a plate of fresh veggies can make me feel much worse or have no effect at all depending on the day. Does this still sound like food sensitivities?
Thank you for such an informative site.
Joe Submitted May 7, 2014 11:22AM
Thanks.
1) Ibuprofen – suppresses different kind of inflammation
2) Maybe – more info needed.
Kenny Submitted May 7, 2014 12:26PM
Thanks for the response! Is there anything specifically you would recommend as a test to see if inflammation is causing your brain fog? Sorry if this makes it sound too elementary; there are just so many angles and directions to choose from when addressing something like this.
Arnon
Submitted May 6, 2014 02:29PM What was the longest period of time you restricted your calories by 40 percent? How did you know when to stop?
Also – you write “eating before bed” as the most important meal together with breakfast. But I feel bloated if I eat before bed. I prefer to eat my last meal around 6:00PM and then just have some honey before sleep. Is that recommended?
Joe Submitted May 6, 2014 04:21PM
Yes, that it recommended. I meant to say in the night time or honey before bed. I DON’T advocate eating less than 3 hours before bed, unless it’s honey.
I’ve only done short stints bec I’m testing other stuff and I’m already thin. SOmething I want to do more of in the future..
MattSade
Submitted May 6, 2014 02:25PM You recommend drinking glucose everytime you need to focus intensely when CR? How do you take it?
‘
Is honey fine alternative to glucose ?
Joe Submitted May 6, 2014 10:50PM
Only recommended for some. No.
Mixy
Submitted May 5, 2014 08:23AM Hi Joe,
Your site is quite spectacular on describing such a difficult thing to describe as brain fog. What a great job!
Thanks for sharing all this info and, I am sure, helping lots of people as a result of it
I have a couple of quick questions:
– You mentioned that Hypoglycemia and Thyroiditis can be a cause of brain fog. In that is the case, should the treatment of a brain fog sufferer start by getting specific blood tests determine the levels of thyroid function and blood glucose?
– When a person gets sudden brain fog, does it go after a few hours or can it stay for days? Does it gradually go?
Thanks!!!
Mixy Submitted May 5, 2014 10:43AM
Apart from testing the thyroid function, is there any other specific blood test that you would recommend doing to check for conditions that can be potentially contributing to brain fog?
Thanks
Joshua Brown
Submitted May 4, 2014 04:37PM Hi, I have dealt with varying degrees of brain fog for around 4 years now ( im 21 now) and I have found this article very interesting, although I am inexperienced with this sort of dietary regulation. Recently I tried removing gluten and felt only marginal improvements, how long does it take? Upon waking I feel farely clear headed but after breakfast lethargy and brain fog quickly set in whether I eat cereal, rice, egg etc. I also exercise daily (cycling), interestingly I don’t put on weight easily at all. I’m just wondering if you have any suggestions?
Great article
Joshua
Joe Submitted May 4, 2014 09:13PM
You’re clearly getting inflammation from food. The eggs and cereal can do it, and white rice too. Rice is a high GI food and if you’re getting inflammation in your hypothalamus, you’ll get tired from high glycemic index carbs.
You will notice marginal differences because you still have food that gives you inflammation. Only when you get EVERYTHING out will you notice big improvements. This is why I have an elimination diet.
See the Lectin Avoidance Diet
Joshua Brown Submitted May 7, 2014 03:45PM
Thank you for the quick reply, If i was successful in clearing up my diet would that reduce my lethargy as well as the cognitive issues?
turnstile
Submitted May 4, 2014 11:05AM first off, this site is awesome and refreshing, thank you for taking the time to put it together. i have been battling brain fog and the usual laundry list of vague symptoms (flu-like symptoms, fatigue, weakness, moodiness) for 6 years. my most pertinent symptom is very specific cravings and thirst which i have zeroed in on through years of trial and error. the brain fog and other symptoms seem to be very closely related to my gut; the better my peristalsis, the better i feel.
i have seen lots of doctors and had lots of tests done with little useful results. the only things of note were very high cholesterol (290) and low pregnenolone and vitamin d. i have tried different diets; elimination diet for 4 months under the direction of a physician; gluten free for 6 months. i may have noticed some minor improvements from the 4-month elimination diet, but not substantial enough for me to continue. i never reached a baseline state where i could even tell if a food caused a reaction when reintroduced.
the cravings remain constant and sharp. the nutrients i have nailed down include: calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, glycine, and glutamine. they also come in cycles. for instance, a common pattern is: calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium repeated. another pattern that happens is calcium, glycine, glutamine, magnesium. i take the citrate versions of the electrolytes other than sodium. i usually go through 6 or 7 cycles per day, each time i will have gains and start to feel the fog lifting and the energy returning. sometimes the potassium or the sodium will drop out of the pattern. if i take the wrong thing at the wrong time, it either has no noticeable effect or things get worse (energy levels drop, stomach gnawing grows). i have to take the right things at the right time in order to get through a day on the clearer side and with adequate energy.
i have searched high and low for clues as to what is going on. most specifically, what system of my body could be causing such sharp and continuous cravings so that i know where to focus my energy. any thoughts would be much appreciated!
other than the electrolytes and amino acids i mentioned above, i am taking several other supplements regularly. the only one that is clearly helping some issues is 50mg of pregnenolone every morning.
i’m sorry for the long post, i tried to keep it short, but it doesn’t lend itself to a quick explanation ?
Joe Submitted May 4, 2014 12:19PM
Thanks for your support. Your experience, my experience, my research, along with many of my clients, validates my theories.
https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/the-cause-of-brain-fog/#Common_Side_Effects_of_Brain_Fog
Have you tried my lectin avoidance diet?
turnstile Submitted May 4, 2014 03:10PM
I haven’t tried it yet. I will most likely give it a shot after I see through the current treatments I am trying. If you feel that you may have any additional insight for me, specifically regarding the nature of the cravings and nutrients involved, I would be willing to pay for a consult. I am always wracking my brain and scouring the internet for clues.
Joe Submitted May 4, 2014 03:40PM
I do have additional insights,
Best,
Joe
doro
Submitted May 4, 2014 10:48AM hello, i am dealing with anxiety since 3 years. just before it started i had a yeast infection and got antibiotica. after i started googling yeast and went to a naturopath. she did a lifeblood analyse and i had full off candida and other parasites in my blood, also leaky gut. she said my adrenals where low, missed magnesium and B12. thats know 2 years ago, since then i take vitamins and minerals every day, also went on a candida diet and had no more candida in my blood. my anxiety is under control, i did hypnotherapy and that helped me a lot. my problem is now the brainfog. i had that since maybe 2-3 years, but know it got worse. i would say since beginning of the year. but also i pay way more attention to it know, so i am not sure if i kind of make it worse with that and my anxiety gets worse know too….because of the constant brainfog, feeling of detachement, light dizziness. i also experience sometimes a extra heartbeat or palpitations and have since maybe 2 months a spasm in my left hand….my indexfinger starts moving and i have a stiff feeling in my finger. i went to 2 doctors. waiting to get a holtermonitor for my heart. for the spasm in my finger, they dont know as also for the brainfog. have another appointment with my family doc end of may and will try to get more test done. i have days where my brainfog is better, yesterday i had a bed day. as long as i sit or lay on the couch i am better. but walking makes it worse. i went to a shoppingmall the other day and felt totaly detached and weird, it scares me and botthers. over a week ago i went to another naturopath. she said my thyroid is a little low, low iron. i am taking supplements for that now. also i am to acid and have high cortisol levels…..for sure when you stressed. i am 44 female, live in canada. i am really tired of dealing with that. i dont enjoy seeing my friends, because of the way i feel and its so hard to explain how you feel. i really appriciate if i could get some tips.
Daniel Padonowitz
Submitted May 2, 2014 12:46AM Is GT a caffeine free kombucha? if not, what kind is?
Joe Submitted May 2, 2014 10:23AM
Low caffeine, if we are to believe what they say. It’s good enough…..
Claude
Submitted April 17, 2014 07:10PM Hi!
You write “short bouts of exercise as a method to improve BF problems.
I found that if I exercise twice a week (4×30 sec sprints),I get really good improvement. If i exercise more than twice a week everything gets worse.
From your experience, what is the best way to exercise to get the full improvement but at the same time not suffer from the accompanying inflammation. How frequently do you exercise?
Joe Submitted April 17, 2014 08:25PM
5-10 min interval 4-5X a week
Claude Submitted April 17, 2014 09:42PM
So you basically run for 5 minutes almost everyday?
Joe Submitted April 17, 2014 10:29PM
or pull up bar or push-ups
Claude Submitted April 18, 2014 01:44AM
Isn’t it too much? you wrote before that too much exercise is inflammatory. You used to exercise less.Is it not better to make two longer workouts per week? What about weight lifting?
Joe Submitted April 18, 2014 10:59AM
No, I always exercised like this. If anything, I view this as a minimum. Too much means like 2 hours a day, which a lot of people do…..You can do it that way, as long as you also moderately exercise the other days (like walking)…
Weight lifting=good
Claude Submitted April 18, 2014 02:23AM
Here is the study that raised my concerns: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088375
Joe Submitted April 18, 2014 12:16PM
1) I don’t see what concerns you.
“Both HF and MF training of high-intensity aerobic exercise improves VO2max. The cardiovascular adaptation following a HF programme of high-intensity exercise is however delayed compared to MF training.”
2) This protocol has little resemblance to what I do. As general advice, I’m more in line with the MF group, but I exercise less for myself bec I’m lazy.
HF group= 8 sessions a week 40min at a time.
MF group= 3 sessions a week 40min at a time.
“Each training session consisted of 10 minutes warm-up followed by 4×4-minute intervals at 90–95% of HRmax, alternating with 3-minute of active recovery at 70% of HRmax, ending with a 5-minute cool-down, giving a total exercise time of 40 minutes per session.”
Claude Submitted April 18, 2014 05:24PM
Joe, how would you compare your WO to the study’s MF WO? Are you exercising to failure or just a preset rep/time?
do you include resting in your 5-10 minutes workout?
Nice redesign to the site by the way, looks good.
Joe Submitted April 18, 2014 06:06PM
Thanks.
Mine is at random times I do a set of pull-ups or push-ups throughout the day for 1 minute a piece.
I support the MF WO, however, even if I don’t do it myself.
Elle Submitted May 3, 2014 07:45AM
Hi joe I’ve been getting brain fog for 5 years now it all started with anxiety disorder caused by stress it never really affected me that much I all ways exercise and eat healthy till now I’ve had a baby she has been un we’ll causing me a lot of worry and stress and no sleep and not taking care of my self .the last week I’ve felt like I’m in a bubble and can’t function probably and don’t no what I’m doing. I’ve been to a private doctor he thinks that it’s not brain fog just anxiety and depression he’s giveing me 50g of lyrica and 5g of cipralex I took the lyrica it made me feel worse I’ve been and got some antioxidant supplement and p5p extra and a fish oil by cytoplan they seem to work a bit I live in the uk can u tell me what other supplements that can help that I can get here.ive been doing 20mins of exercise a day and healthy eating.do u have an email address to get in contacted with you Elle .
Joe Submitted May 3, 2014 10:15AM
Hi Elle,
Depression and anxiety can contribute to brain fog as I describe above, but those are physiological abnormalities that can be fixed. I’ve fixed my own panic attacks. But even when I fixed anxiety and mood issues, I didn’t completely get rid of brain fog. Could be other contributory factors.
I seem to have developed brain fog after using the hair loss drug finasteride (propecia), which reduces the level of the hormone DHT. I quit the drug about two weeks ago after two months of use after noticing some symptoms of exhaustion and very clear symptoms of sexual dysfunction. Now the worst symptom of all is the brain fog, which peaks early morning and seemingly recedes slightly throughout the day. Some things that seem to help are sunshine and moderate exercise, although anything else is too early to say.
Before all of this, I would never have complained about my mental or physical health, let alone chronic fatigue and brain fog. Whatever happened came quickly and seems to have been onset by the drug. I also have low temperature (97.3 tonight, measured orally). Any thoughts on this are appreciated~
James
Selfhacked Submitted April 15, 2014 11:13PM
DHT is a neurosteroid that interacts with the hypothalamus. Try 50mg pregnenolone.
Paul
Submitted April 7, 2014 06:15AM No longer intolerant to gluten?
I went on a period of 4-5 weeks with strictly no gluten and casein. I didn’t really feel any improvement at all with brain fog or with energy. I decided to test out gluten to see its effects on me, and well, nothing happened. I didn’t even bloat like i usually did. Even with milk I didn’t get any GI problems like I usually would. I started licorice one week ago, and I have noticed no more hypoglycemia, severely reduced appetite but brain fog has not changed. Is it that the increase in cortisol can deal with the inflammation caused by gluten and dairy?
I also feel as if the supplements I am taking are starting to have more of an effect on me. I.e. fish oil never usually had an effect but now it makes me feel calmer and less depressed.
Dave F Submitted April 13, 2014 11:36PM
This is quite common. When you eliminate gluten and other foods that you are intolerant to, your gut heals i.e. permeability is improved and the built up gunk in the villi on the stomach lining clear and repair so they can start properly absorbing nutrients etc. With these things improved all of a sudden your gut can deal with this stuff better. Careful that it doesn’t go down hill again though.
Joseph can probably provide a better explanation…
Fredoz
Submitted April 2, 2014 10:27PM I just received my order of Hi-Maize – how do you use it? what is the size of serving that you use?
Adrian
Submitted March 30, 2014 12:46AM Hi there! Great post! When implementing the diet, how long did it take for the fog to lift? Thanks!
Selfhacked Submitted March 30, 2014 12:45PM
Depends on the type of BF
Adrian Submitted March 30, 2014 03:53PM
Hi, thanks for replying, are you able to elaborate a bit in that? Thanks.
Paul Submitted March 31, 2014 09:38PM
depends whether BF is caused by hypothalamus inflammation, heavy metal toxicity, sleep problems etc.
Chris
Submitted February 24, 2014 08:15PM Hi Joe,
Thank you very much for all the information you have provided. It is obvious you have worked very hard on it through vast amounts of research and experimentation. I am considering a consultation but I am a student and just spent an obscene amount of money on a neuropsychologist to rule out any linkage between my brain fog and past concussions. So I need to take some time before doling out more $.
I will not go into my personal journey of brain fog but like many people on this board, I have suffered from it for a number of years with zero help from a wide array of doctors and specialists. I have also tried different diets and regimens (GF, full Candida diet, exercise etc.).
While I have had difficulty linking it to specific foods (sometimes I feel very fatigued, foggy and lethargic after meals, other times I do not after eating the same thing), the one consistency I have noticed is a reaction to alcohol. The day after drinking alcohol (perhaps 5 pints at a pub), the brain fog is UNBEARABLE, not to mention anxiety and mild depression. I can’t hold a conversation about anything more than, lets say my favourite sports team the day after drinking as the brain fog is so bad.
I was just wondering, with your understanding of the mechanisms that cause brain fog, does this make sense or tell you about the cause of the brain fog? For the record, it is the same with wine or other types of alcohol. I do realize that drinking more than a glass of beer/wine per day is not ideal for health but why is it so bad for brain fog and what does that mean?
Thank you,
Chris
Selfhacked Submitted February 24, 2014 08:35PM
Alcohol increases OS in everybody and to a lesser extent inflammation in susceptible people. Both of these are essential to causing brain fog, so it fits perfectly.
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-4/277-284.htm
Chris Submitted February 24, 2014 10:16PM
Thanks for your response, Joe. I will give this a read.
Hi, I resonate with much of this blog (in particular Sara & Shawn’s post). I have suffered psychotic symptoms & debilitating depression since being a teenager (now 27). After an emotionally traumatic experience in 2012, I suffered such a severe bout of brain fog / disassociation, I could barely remember my way to the toilet from my bedroom, or my way home from work, or what my name was! I could barely even coordinate my legs underneath me! I was living interstate from my family so was pretty much all alone (bar the assistance of my psychiatrist). Initially I had no idea what was wrong with me, I just felt like I was surrounded by a huge cloud of fog & I felt nauseous as if I was about to throw up. I felt like I was in a bad dream & I was the most terrified I had ever been in my life. I was embarrassed to tell anyone & didn’t know how to act around the people at work or my friends. I felt like a dementia patient & I felt dumb/stupid. As I was reluctant to go on anti-depressants, my psychiatrist put me on a small dose of epilim (depakote) which made my mind sharp & clear in an instant (making my memory the best it had been in years). I felt like I had put on a pair of glasses & could think clearly again. I instantly felt happy & back to my old self. After a month or so however, it returned again, so we increased my dose from 100mg to 200mg. This helped for another month until we had to further increase it to 300mg. Soon the cloud returned & we tried adding Seroquel 25mg to the medley (to help clear the psychotic symptoms & ease my distress). Whilst these medications have improved other symptoms, I believe they were largely a ‘placebo’ effect on the brain fog. I remember feeling so overwhelmed by the fogginess that I spiralled into a suicidal depression & gave up all hope.
I spent over a year experimenting with different lifestyle changes; i.e. diet, fitness & relaxation techniques; i.e. yoga. Nothing, absolutely nothing seemed to even make a dent. At times, the fogginess would come on during a yoga class, or when I would increase my intake of vegetable juices & vitamins. I had also a very limited alcohol intake & at the time, was rarely drinking coffee. Naturally, I am a healthy & fairly well balanced person, so I didn’t feel that my diet was contributing to my brain fog. The fog in fact just seemed to be getting heavier & heavier. It would get so bad, I would feel burning sensations in my skin & aching in my bones…. it was excruciating. On one occasion I drove myself to the emergency department in a hospital because I felt so disorientated & in so much pain for some reason…. I just wanted someone to ‘put me out’.
It has been one of my greatest sources of pain over the past few years & probably the most destructive on my life. it has effected me at work, my communication with my family & my willingness to open up to a relationship. I can confidently say it is present more than it is not (as in Im lucky to have a good day without fog). The only times it has ever completely disappeared, is when being spending time with someone I am intimate with, or spending time with family / old friends. This contributes to the theory it is anxiety related; in that whilst the fog comes on regardless, but the anxiety that comes with it magnifies it.
Anyway I have now been experiencing debilitating brain fog for the most part of 2 years. It has been hard, as I am such a driven person, a deep thinker & I find it hard to sit still. I have a university degree & am trying to run my own business in freelance graphic design (& blog about my experiences with mental illness). I am also into modelling, & this brain fog seems to rob me of anything I can achieve & turn me into a blubbering mess. I take care of my body & feel I have always done the right things. I feel like Im being punished. This fogginess overpowers me & makes me lose hope. I feel like I am losing my spirit & soul. My new psychiatrist seems to write me a new script every week (which I fail to get filled as I don’t want to turn into a guinea pig / vegetable), but I feel like I am living life behind bars also. I just feel like I am just existing for no reason. There has to be a way……
Selfhacked Submitted February 24, 2014 09:39AM
Hi Tamara,
Thanks for writing your experience and sorry to hear.
-your brain fog isn’t likely an autoimmune disease, but likely is rather caused by oxidative stress, among other factors. Depression and OS go to together, but science doesn’t understand exactly what causes what. I think both states can increase the other. The fact that you have brain fog indicate increased OS levels.
-Depression is a multifactoral disease that can be massively improved with the right treatments.
DON’T GIVE UP. This is an area where I did heavy experimentation and I’m telling you there are effective solutions. I plan on writing about depression in the future.
Best,
Joe
Ken Submitted March 26, 2017 07:34PM
What happened to Tamara happened to me. I was running a successful business active, walked a lot, worked outside in the sun, fit, fairly healthy.
For two years out of nowhere tramuatic events drop outside were in my face, with two new kids, back to back disrupted sleep. It eventually cracked me and took me by surprise.
After words…. fogggg. It actually FEELS like FOG.
Lack of alertness. Don’t feel fully awake. Hardness of my head/tension/head pressure. Muscles feel unusually weak and sort of limpish, cysts are popping up. Can’t handle any stress or bright lights. This isn’t an ‘episode’ This is all day.
Then a month later…
Noticed I couldn’t handle a spec of sugar, fruit, coffee, chemicals would make the fog even worse. Tried B12 it made me wired.
I feel my issues are somehow related to sleep, orexin, acetylcholine def, liver, maybe autoimmune triggered from the emotional shock.
I will try the lectin diet.
Hopefully by now Tamara you’ve gotten some help. I certainly know how helpless this can make you feel when you were once functional. Emotions are a different animal.
But it can be remedied once you better understand what happened.
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated guys.
John Turbo
Submitted February 23, 2014 02:22PM Been on a roughly followed RS diet, completely removed all dairy and gluten from diet, and been taking the following supplements: NAC, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Vitamin B12, Fish Oil. Also been drinking 16 oz Kombucha daily. Been on the entirety of preceding diet for a month or two now.
Yet, Brain Fog is still there, though perhaps to a lesser extent. It’s hard to quantify it for me, but I would surely know when I’m back to normal I think.
Though I am really skinny yet fit, I noticed I practically have a beer belly going on, and I don’t even drink alcohol. I’m guessing it’s bloating, though I don’t really feel ‘bloated’.
Joe, I’m ready to add another supplement/addition to my diet to further help my recovery. What would you recommend in my case, given my current bloating, supplements taken, diet.?
Daskal
Submitted February 17, 2014 03:31PM I noticed that whenever I do not eat eggs for more than 1-2 weeks my head starts to fail me.
When I eat eggs -at least once or twice a week- my brain returns tor remains in its optimal state.
The problem is that I have sensitivity to eggs which expresses itself as a fatigue following the hours after their consumption.
Now, so far what I did was to “sacrifice” two days or few hours every few days and be fatigued in order to get the benefits of the eggs.
After reading one of your posts, I tried to “replace’ eggs with their brain-building nutrients – mainly, choline and cholesterol which I took as citicoline (250mg daily) and pregnenolone (10mg daily).
Unlike your experience, I found that these semi-nutrients are not standing out as a good replacement as I was still getting the same decline in cognition that I would get from not eating eggs.
Is there any missing nutrient in eggs? What else would you recommend to use for a proper replacement?
Selfhacked Submitted February 17, 2014 06:20PM
Have you tried to eat chicken or beef?
Daskal Submitted February 17, 2014 08:40PM
I am eating meat several times a week and I also supplement with creatine and nucleotides if that is where you are going. Still – these supplements do not compete with eggs.
I also have a completely unrelated question: how to you integrate 5 of cinnamon to your diet? Do you sip it with water before meals?
Selfhacked Submitted February 17, 2014 11:07PM
Try SAMe.
Oretz
Submitted February 15, 2014 01:14AM The brain fog I am dealing with is mostly post meals but can last for a very long time. I also get brain fog after a meal that doesn’t contain glucose.
Selfhacked Submitted February 19, 2014 12:31AM
You’re dealing with food sensitivities then
Oretz
Submitted February 15, 2014 12:51AM The of the things I tried with various dosages.
The supplements that worked the best (in decreasing order): Curcumin, PQQ, Jasmine tea, Pregnenolone, ACV, Berberine, Creatine, Selenium, iodine, zinc, Inositol.
Additional great changes: CR (most important), many small meals throughout the day,honey before bed.
Mixed results: Kombucha (If take too much too early in the day get brain fog – probably because of histamine intolerance), Astragulus (great supplements but if too much – acne. probably because of IGF-1 (+)), Green bananas (more than 1.5 bananas or if really green made me more not less brain fogged). push ups before meal sometimes made me sleepier afterwards.Chyawanprash.
No or little effect: Fish oil, Citicoline, Garlic, Licorice, calcium, mag, chromium.
Made things worse: NAC (had high hopes for this one but got disappointed – most likely made brain fog worse) Melatonin + K2 (caused anhedonia in the morning), Gynostemma (made brain fog a bit worse or had little effect otherwise), Licorice (?). Cinnamon (?)
I would appreciate any help (especially in regards to NAC) as I STILL experience brain fog.
Selfhacked Submitted February 15, 2014 01:58AM
Thanks for your review. You seem to suffer from food sensitivities.
Selfhacked Submitted February 15, 2014 10:42AM
How much has your brain fog declined by implementing these measures?
Are you following the RS diet? Gluten and casein free?
Oretz Submitted February 15, 2014 02:42PM
Well, today, for example, I ate the following breakfast as soon as I woke up:
1/2c buckwheat +1/2c green lentils+ chia, sesame, flax (40g total)+chicken (3.5oz).
Upon waking I felt a relatively good energy (although not great and was a bit brain foggish). Took NAC + 200ml kombucha + 2 ACV pills.
Jasmine tea immediately upon finishing the meal.
Now, 40 minutes upon completing the meal, I have a brain fog.
What could I be sensitive to? I did feel a bit brain fogged even before the meal but now it is much stronger.
Most of the ingredients in my meals – buckwheat, lentils, chicken and seeds- are hypoallergenic. Flax seeds and buckwheat in particular are known to reduce histamine levels.
Why then do I still fell sluggish?
Selfhacked Submitted February 15, 2014 04:26PM
Could be environmental or 20 other things. Hard to say without a comprehensive Q&A. Knowing your history and a bunch of other things matter. This is why I offer consults.
Shawn
Submitted February 12, 2014 08:55PM Hi. I feel much like the post made above by Brian except I have a good idea of the trigger. I am now 31 and my onset of Brain fog came about almost 9 years ago. Everything was good in my life. I was active, I had a great summer with friends and family and was ready to start some fall college classes. About a week before classes were to start, I started getting a weird feeling in my chest. It almost felt good, like adrenaline just isolating itself mainly in the chest but also down my legs and arms sometimes. I could even push on my chest and my body would react more and release and nice wave of something. At this point I had a clear head and wasn’t feeling anxious or panicked until it didn’t go away after a day or two. The good feeling was still there but I was starting to have major anxiety and panic attack symptoms. I had never experienced anything like that. I really did not like going to the doctor’s but I decided I couldn’t really function without getting this taken care of. After talking with me, the doctor decided to do an ekg, and do a 48 hour urine test to check for any adrenal tumor or something like that.(or that’s what he told me) In the mean time he told me that I sounded like I was experiencing panic attacks, to which I replied that I have no reason to be panicked or have anxiety at all. I told him life was great but he convinced me to try xanax. He ended up prescribing me .25mg xanax, which was the lowest prescription they had. At the time I didn’t want to take any pills so at the doctors advice I broke the .25 tablet into half and took it. This was the last time my head was “clear”. I did however get relief from the weird feeling in my chest as well as a relaxed sense of well being. After about half a month I decided to quit taking xanax and after seeing my doctor, in which I told him that I had this weird head fog ,he thought it was possibly a depression issue. He then prescribed me paxil and what do you know, this stuff brought that weird feeling back in my chest. I tried to use it, hoping my head would clear of the fog but it didn’t work and I quit taking it after a few weeks. I can’t remember if I used the xanax to get rid of the paxil feeling but I don’t remember having any anxiety/panic issues much after that. When I followed up with the doctor, he told me it couldn’t have been the xanax that caused the brain fog(he thought depression) because it didn’t stay in your system very long. At that point I was done with the doctor and decided to try to wait it out and see if it would go away. Fast forward to now, and I’m more foggier than ever. It’s kind of funny because I couldn’t describe what I was feeling years ago and just decided to call it brain fog and low and behold that’s what others have been calling it as well. I know 8 years ago I couldn’t find any information about what I was experiencing but I also didn’t really dig deep. I honestly don’t know how I’ve stayed in good spirits for all this time. I have dug a little bit into my symptoms and thought it might be adrenal burnout out one time as well as leaky gut. I have tried a few different supplements and eating habits, but no great results in clearing the fog. If I’m trying to explain the fogginess feeling to people I always mention that my body reacts in the way it should, based off certain actions, but I don’t feel deeply. For example, If I go running or play tennis I feel relatively energized but it doesn’t seem to give me an endorphin/reward response in my head. Or someone will say a joke and I find it funny but it doesn’t translate into a reward/endorphin type response in my head. I stay foggy pretty much no matter what. My memory is definitely getting worse and I zone out a bunch. I recently found some information on magnesium and iodine and just ordered some from amazon. I have read a few reports of iodine really helping those with brain fog and I’m hoping for the best. I am really hoping I get a positive response out of the iodine. I really don’t even remember what it feels like to live without the fog, and for the first time in a long time, I have a little hope.
Amir Golan
Submitted February 11, 2014 05:08AM Why did you change Citicoline from after meal to before bed?
Selfhacked Submitted February 19, 2014 12:32AM
Uridine
Jake
Submitted February 11, 2014 04:09AM You write 1-2g of Licorice root. Does it translate to 3-4 caps of the Nature’s Way recommended supplement?
Selfhacked Submitted February 19, 2014 12:31AM
yea
Craig Kent
Submitted February 11, 2014 04:00AM Hi!
I see that you added Melatonin to the regimen as your research on Circadian Rhythms progressed – How do you recommend to cycle melatonin to reduce physical dependency and reduced effectiveness? How do you/did you cycle it? every two days? once a week?
Selfhacked Submitted February 12, 2014 08:07PM
Doesn’t cause dependency, no need to cycle
Vivek
Submitted February 9, 2014 08:08PM Hi! How critical would you say NAC is for people with post-meal BF? The reason I am asking is that I have heard that it could be dangerous for people with some heavy metal problems.
What difference did you feel upon adding NAC to your regimen?
Selfhacked Submitted February 12, 2014 08:10PM
It could be helpful
Stuart Lynn
Submitted February 8, 2014 04:25AM Hi! I have been following your protocol for 3 weeks and have achieved really good results. I track (via quantified-mind.com) my working memory, reaction time, executive function twice every day. Throughout my experiment with your protocol I saw ~50 percent improvement on all parameters.
I know that my brain fog was caused by my diet but I am not sure whether IR or some specific sensitivity solved by your diet; after many meals and at different times I would feel a very distinctive feeling of mixture of fatigue, demotivation, heaviness, inability to hold a thought in my head, forgetfulness and really really strong irritation from everything. All of these symptoms went completely away. My relationship with my friends and wife improved from one end to another. I lost weight.
I believe that CR, Curcumin , tea and kombucha had the strongest effect.
Two days ago I “cheated” on my protocol when I visited my parents; I mostly ate tons of hot potatoes with ghee + bowel of fried rice with vegetables and chicken. I ate around 4000 calories probably that day.
About 30 minutes after the meal my brain fog returned in full strength. Now, two days later and my test scores are as low as they were three weeks ago. I can not remember where I put stuff a second after I touched them. I am irritated and fatigued.
Can one cheat really cause so much “brain” damage ? Did I really return to square 1?
In the future, if despite my best efforts I cheat again, any recommended supplements I should take after to reduce the damage?
Selfhacked Submitted February 8, 2014 09:10AM
Thank you for that review! Yes, it can esp if you haven’t been following the recs for long.
I’ve broken new ground with an even more cutting edge brain fog protocol based on much research and a better understanding. There will be a lag time to get it out – maybe 3 months, but my breakthrough’s are exciting. More to learn, but great things lie ahead.
FYI, the longer and more thoroughly you keep the protocol the better.
Aaron Berlov
Submitted February 7, 2014 01:20AM Hi! I wanted to report on my experiences from your proposed diet so you could get more data about how to help your clients.
I started the diet about two months ago with the prime goal of getting rid of my brain fog. This is what I did every day:
WU-9:00AM
Set of push ups
supplements:
20mg PQQ + 250 mg Curcumin +5g glutamine + 1g creatine every other day
ACV pills (two)
Breakfast (consumed around 10:00):
60 grams of sesame, hemp and flax (fat)
3 large boiled carrots (starch)
Beef/cod – 4 oz (the only proteins that I feel good after eating)
one cucumber
Supplements after meal:
Jasmine/Matcha or Oolong tea.
Chromium
Zinc
A set of pulls ups
Next meal at 3:00PM
Before meal 1/2 GT’s original kombucha
1.5 serving lentils
1 serving brown rice (cold)
Cod/ beef – 4oz
Occasionally olives + yellow squash
Drinking another 1/2 of Kombucha + 200mg Berberine every three days
Selenium +vit E
2 Kelp for iodine
Citicoline + pregnenolone every 3 days or if no cholesterol
Fish oil (when no cod)
Mag+ Cal
NO vitamin d3 (seems to worsen my Brain fog)
6:30PM – two green bananas
around 7:00PM – three sprints uphill 50 sec each
8:00PM – eating 2oz broccoli sprouts + drinking 5 large spoons of chammomile + tulsi/peppermint/Roobios
If no sprouts or banana in the evening than Orange or two + lettuce and 2 tbls ghee + beef gelatin
Before bed: 2g Inositol + 3g Astragulus + 4g Eleuthero + 5g Glycine
Before bed at 1:00PM one to two tbls of raw honey
overall calories: 1500-1750
Great Results:
Fantastic sleep
No brain fog for most day (only for about 30 minutes between breakfast and lunch)
Great mood
STRONG increase in motivation
Feeling the healthiest I have been in the past 2 years.
Ok Results :
Weight (not the best diet for weight loss)
Negative Results:
INCREASE ACNE – especially nose area and lower cheeks (no forehead acne)
INCREASE DANDRUFF (or some kind of fungi that I have for months on my scalp and face) – large chunks of skin come down from around the ears area, some times even bloody.
DRY SKIN
COLD HANDS
DECREASED LIBIDO
SOMETIMES BAD BREATH IN THE MORNING.
INCREASE GAS
PREFERRING TO GO TO BED LATE (?)/WORKING BETTER BEFORE SLEEP (?)
Now, I do not know what in the diet is responsible for the change but I know that something had an amazingly strong effect that might have accounted for the whole thing.
SUPER EFFECTIVE:
1. CR
2. Sprints in THE EVENING
3. Standing all day/ walking – at least 8 hours
4 Push ups AFTER meal
5. Jasmine tea
6. Kombucha
7. Not eating protein in the evening (and generally eating less in the evening)
8. Cholesterol
9. eating starch COLD
Other than these 6 things I can not really say that I know for a fact that the rest helped.
In the past month I decreased all supplements that are not basic nutrients -curcumin , pqq, etc0 to almost once or twice a week and effect still strong.
SPECIAL FINDINGS:
1. Kombucha in the morning – more brain fog. In the afternoon – clears it up and does only good.
2. Beef gelatin – Significantly lowered blood sugar if consumed in the MORNING.
3. to avoid post breakfast fog – Drink Jasmine tea the following way: 1/2 a cup WITH breakfast and half a cup IMMEDIATELY AFTER. Then, wait 1 hour and drink another cup or less of jasmine tea.
4. Matcha too strong and makes me fatigued if more than 1g.
5. REALLY BAD effect: exercising before breakfast; made me more fatigued.
GREAT EFFECT : exercising 20 minutes after breakfast + sipping jasmine tea all throughout the 2 pull up sets.
5. Most important + weird discovery: When waking up I tried to not move at all for 75 minutes. really not moving anything (not even opening your eyes or moving your cheeks or your finger tips). I found that if you do not move for such a long time after 45 minutes you find yourself in a stage of half lucid dream half thinking and you feel a burning energy and you intuitively start making really long breaths as this is the only way to “express” this energy. After the 75 minutes you wake up with TONS of energy and focus.
6. intense focus 20 minutes before bed makes you wake up more focused.
BAD EFFECT: vitamin d3 (2500IU) + Gynostemma + chicken + ginger . NO EFFECT – amla
I would greatly appreciate if you could give me suggestion how to deal with the “negative effects” of the diet, especially the fungii or whatever I have on my scalp and skin,
Selfhacked Submitted February 7, 2014 10:31AM
What was the brain fog like before and after?
Aaron Berlov Submitted February 8, 2014 06:38PM
Before I used to get a brain fog 30-40 minutes after breakfast. I would become fatigued and lose all my motivation and all I would want to do be to sit down and waste time on the computer.
I would not be able to concentrate and forget what I was thinking about or working on every 5 minutes.
This was a very distinctive state that was characterized by all of these parameter. Usually there was not a “degree” of brain fog – I would either have it or not.
After following the above protocol for awhile I managed to reduce my brain fog to only around 30 minutes to 1.5 hours daily (after breakfast). After this time I usually work with full concentration and motivation.
I tried to reduce these 30 minutes of brain fog by exercising more or doing a more intense exercises or alternatively having a strong tea but nothing really helped. I do not really care about it as it is really not that long but I am simply afraid that even these 30 minutes may create some sustain stress on the brain that is not really healthy.
Selfhacked Submitted February 8, 2014 07:16PM
Are you taking all the recommended supps?
Aaron Berlov Submitted February 8, 2014 09:16PM
There are two categories of supplements that I do not take – 1) supplements that I tried and did not work. 2) supplements that I tried and got negative results 3) Supplements that I did not have a chance to take yet and might be beneficial.
Also in the third category are supplements that you did not recommend in the first few versions of the protocol and that you added just in the past few weeks.
All of the following are supplements, changes or devices that I am NOT using:
In the first category – Vitamin D3 (bad reaction for some reason), Garlic, Cinnamon, Eggs, Gotu Kola.
In the second category – Fish oil, Melatonin, Colostrum, Fenugreek
In the third category – NAC, R-lipoic acid, Calcium Carbonate, Lithium, Nucleotides, Luteolin, Bitter melon, Licorice, Reversatrol, Milk thistle
Also, I did not have a chance yet to use the LLLT device.
Also, I notice that you increased the dosage for iodine (I am taking 225mg daily)
Which of the above are the most detrimental from your experience and may explain my ~hour BG gap?
Aaron Berlov Submitted February 8, 2014 09:39PM
Also, do you think this device is as good as the one you recommend?
Aaron Berlov Submitted February 8, 2014 10:11PM
I just realized that the reason for my short brain fog is probably due to uncontrolled oxidative stress as my protocol is filled up with mitachondrial enhancers but does not have any anti oxidative stress as I did not take any garlic, NAC or ALA…
Selfhacked Submitted February 19, 2014 12:28AM
I have a bright light device in my toolkit that I use. I can only recommend what I’ve tried and tested.
Kasra Mohammadi
Submitted February 6, 2014 02:33PM Amazing post. You really seem to have done well with the research, as others have reported. I will thank you in a BIG way if your advise, which I am currently on a strict regiment to follow, cures my brain fog finally, but at this point, I still want to thank you for making many of us think proactively and on our feet about our healths. You’ve personally inspired me to replace Googling medical information with reading through exhaustive yet jam-packed-with-information research articles. Thanks.
Now I do have a question pertaining to my current regiment of supplements, namely of having added Magnesium to my diet. You recommend a rather large dosage, 3g at night. Most vitamin shops seem to sell a maximum pill dosage of 300 mg, thus that would mean 10 pills of magnesium at night???? Why such a large dose. I know you mentioned that gut permeability might make absorption less effective, but nearly 10X recommended dose??? Any risks associated with that?
Selfhacked Submitted February 6, 2014 02:47PM
Not 3g of magnesium!!!! 3g of a specific brand of magnesium citrate, which is equivalent to ~250mg of elemental magnesium.
Kasra Mohammadi Submitted February 6, 2014 10:29PM
Oh ok I see. That makes much sense now.
Pavel listomov
Submitted February 2, 2014 03:37AM There are many studies (such as the ones that you posted today) that indicate that altered gut microbiome may be the root cause for many brain diseases (OCD, brain-fog, etc).
Yet, in your recommendations above you do not recommend any strains of probiotic as a substance to combat brain fog (besides kombucha). Why?
Joe Submitted February 2, 2014 09:50AM
Good question.
I agree. I included them.
Dave F
Submitted January 31, 2014 10:03PM I discovered this post when I was searching for information on brain fog. After working closely with Joseph for the last few months I can strongly vouch for everything covered in this blog. I’ve been battling morning brain fog for as long as I can remember and have tried everything under the sun, seen various doctors, specialists, naturopaths, taken a myriad of expensive tests, etc and spent many many hours researching but nothing has worked. Brain fog is difficult to diagnose and treat as there are so many potential causes and these are very poorly understood by conventional medicine practice and most naturopaths. This post captures the underlying essence of brain fog and his story of curing his own brain fog condition really resonates given it is nearly identical to my own. I ended up paying Joe for consulting services to dig deeper into this and boy what an incredible and valuable investment. After following his advice, my brain fog is practically cured now. The rate was cheap for the level of service and expertise and the value and time that Joe has invested in my condition has been disproportional (in my favor) to the money paid.
I was also diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (a cancer of the bone marrow) last year at only 34 and Joe has been instrumental in putting together an effective and well-researched strategy and protocol that deals with the MM, Brain Fog, and IBS symptoms I also suffer (it’s highly probable these are all connected). I’ve been able to treat and reduce the level of MM without chemo or conventional treatments. I have had the latter however my cancer markers have been dropping while I’ve been taking nothing but natural alternative treatments.
I can email Joe with questions any time and he is constantly sending me useful information relevant to my conditions. I’m forever indebted to him for giving me a new lease of life. I feel confident that I can deal with any health challenges that are thrown my way through Joe’s expert guidance and diligence in determining what is best for those that seek his help.
Dubz
Submitted January 29, 2014 10:31PM When I was 22 I was experimenting with MDMA and Cannabis one night and woke up the next morning in a completely cloudy consciousness and brain fog that has never left me. I am now 37. My symptoms are memory loss, loss of concentration, social anxiety, clumsiness, feeling of being off balanced, fatigue, lack of awareness and slow cognitive functioning. I also have IBS. This is a great article however, it’s so much to choose from. I’m looking for a simple diet to be put on. Can you recommend something simple that I can go by for the next 6 months?
Kira
Submitted January 27, 2014 08:54AM A number of years ago I had severe brain fog. It came to the point that I was forgetting words and had problems thinking. A couple years ago I had endometrial cancer, possibly as a result of estrogen overload. I read that high estrogen levels can cause memory problems and brain fog. I suspect that my liver function wasn’t good and I wasn’t able excrete estrogen properly. I was drinking a lot of black tea at the time, trying to deal with the fatigue. I am sure that didn’t help. I am still not where I would like to be. I have hypoglycemic tendencies and likely leaky gut. I am already doing a number of things in your protocol. I look forward to experimenting with the rest!
You might consider adding a section on hormonal causes of brain fog for your female readers. Of course, the roots of those problems might simply be high gut permeability affecting the liver’s ability to detoxify.
Is there a reason you chose R-lipoic acid and not ALA?
Selfhacked Submitted January 27, 2014 09:05AM
R lipoic acid is more potent.
I agree with you. The role hormones play is SUPER critical, even if they are just downstream of other issues. I think I will make another post speaking about how hormones play a role in brain fog.
Also, anything that causes your blood sugar and insulin levels to be abnormal can also give brain fog. See this post https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/cause-of-fatigue-after-meals-with-carbs/
Nate
Submitted January 24, 2014 02:16PM I have some depression and brain fog issues, although mine seem to come more from chronic stress, sleep problems, and major lifestyle changes. Eating just low glycemic index foods didn’t seem to help me much over a period of about two months. If anything it just caused an unhealthy amount of weight loss contributing to more depression. (6 ft. gone from 143 lbs to 130 lbs).and MAYBE helped with my mild acne problem.
Bob
Submitted January 20, 2014 11:04AM Hello Joe,
I did a little research on NAC and this is an article I stumbled across. I was hoping you could reflect on this and determine what it means to you and if you still feel it is safe to supplement with this substance.
“N-acetylcysteine (NAC): This Common Antioxidant Supplement Could Cause You Loads of Trouble”- “NAC can form a red blood cell-derived molecule called nitrosothiol that fools your body into thinking there’s an oxygen shortage, which can lead to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).”
“PAH is a serious condition, where the arteries in the lungs narrow, increasing the blood pressure in your lungs, causing the right side of your heart to swell.”
Source:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/09/25/this-common-antioxidant-supplement-could-cause-you-loads-of-trouble.aspx
Selfhacked Submitted January 20, 2014 04:24PM
That’s only a risk with MUCH HIGHER dosages than what I recommend-500-600mg. Based on my recollection the “risk’ only starts when you go above 1800mg. 500mg is completely safe.
Bob Submitted January 20, 2014 09:24PM
Alright man, that’s nice to know. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and the timely response. Keep it up brother!
Nastiavandongen
Submitted January 19, 2014 02:27AM Hi! I have three questions:
1. Honey – I started taking honey before bed and am feeling much more refreshed in the morning. Two days ago I started taking honey also in the morning upon waking (you recommend chaya in the morning which has some honey in it) but for some reason it makes me more fatigue in the morning. Why do you think?
2. I started taking curcumin + pqq + gynostemma on an empty stomach every 2 or three days to combat neauro-inflammation. It helped alot! I also started eating more starch and seeds. For some reason I am having some involuntary muscular twitching my eyelids/cheeks – could it be somehow related to the supplementation/diet?
Selfhacked Submitted January 19, 2014 09:43AM
Thank you for sharing your experience.
If you look at my toolkit I had already changed the recommendation to have chaya before bed.
Not enough potassium…
Vivek
Submitted January 14, 2014 05:20PM Hi! I noticed that you recommend white teas (as opposed to black+ green with high caffeine) + really limited amount of mathca (2.5g).
Is it because caffeine is depleting acetylcholine levels???
Vivek Submitted January 14, 2014 05:22PM
Please answer because when I stopped eating eggs several months ago and started drinking 6 cups of green tea many bad + good things happened and I wonder if it has anything to do with the caffeine and acetylcholine.
Selfhacked Submitted January 16, 2014 04:01PM
No. If you’re getting reactions it’s from the caffeine. If you’re having cognitive problems from not eating eggs take pregnenolone.
Selfhacked Submitted January 16, 2014 04:00PM
No and where did you read it depletes acetylcholine. If anything it increases acetylcholine.
White tea has the same level of caffeine as others. It has less fluoride.
Brian
Submitted January 14, 2014 02:02PM Brain-fog: The week of March 17th, 2013 changed my life to this day…I’m including some information leading up to the onset of “brain-fog” to see if there is anything that stands out as a potential marker or trigger that may have helped contribute to the problem (and hopefully therefore remedy it)…Let me start out by saying I am a male, 28 (just shy of 29) years of age.
*March 4-8th: Started a 14-day total body cleanse (using an herbal 3-part system, including: detoxification blend, fiber blend and colon cleanse). I did not finish the cleanse – it was stopped on Day 6 in part due to laziness and forgetfulness to take the 9 pills per day.
*March 11th – 17th – vacation to Tucson
*March 17th AM – landed on a flight from Tucson to Buffalo (my home town)
*March 17th PM – Ate homemade hummus with carrots and some chips.
*March 18th – Constipated (did not go to the bathroom entire day)
*March 19th – Finally went to the bathroom
*March 20th – Felt fine. On March 20th and every day prior I’ve never had a single occurrence of brain fog and my health was in generally good shape.
*March 21st – Begin brain-fog…
The morning of March 21st I woke up with a hazy/cloudy feeling, an inability to effectively concentrate, difficulty recalling thoughts, mental confusion, short-term memory issues, accompanied by what felt like a slight pressure covering my head and eyes. Over the days and weeks I developed anxieties and have gone through spurts of depression. These symptoms are generally remain static and constant, from the time i close my eyes to the time i wake up.
The onset of what I consider to be brain-fog was immediate (no “ramp-up”) and has persisted 24-hours per day and 7 days per week since that date and still to this day. I have not been able to pin-point an exact food, situation, etc.. that triggers brain-fog due to the fact that it has been constant. I have recently noticed a slight improvement with a few days of strict dieting – eggs and lettuce.
NOTE #1: Since the onset date there were two days in August where the brain fog went away. These two days were filled with 12+ hours of physical exertion (building a 400 sq/ft deck). I have exercised since then thinking that I could rid myself of what I consider brain-fog by excessive sweating and working out, with no effect. (if Bikram Yoga does not make you sweat enough i’m not sure what would!)
NOTE #2: My entire life I’ve been a health conscious outdoor enthusiast, hiker, biker, runner and weightlifting workout nut (I never used extreme supplements or steroids). “Damages” to my body definitely stayed in the alcohol category.
NOTE #3: I’ve taken Inositol powder – 1.5tsp 3x a day coupled with two pills of RNA 3x’s daily. There was a positive effect on all my symptoms using this combination but it did not resolve my issue and over time started having a less and less effect. I am currently taking no supplements of any kind at this time.
Its comforting to know there are other people out there with these symptoms that have been able to, through natural remedies, eliminate the problem from the root of the issue. Any suggestions or recommended courses of action are greatly appreciated – please help!.
Thank you,
Brian
Selfhacked Submitted January 16, 2014 04:03PM
Your issue seems to be due to oxidative stress and/or an autoimmune issue.
Brian Submitted January 16, 2014 04:09PM
Thank you for your feedback! Also, this site is a fantastic resource. It gives me hope.
Is that your feeling due to the sudden/acute onset and the 24/7 brain fog?
Selfhacked Submitted January 16, 2014 04:13PM
Yes. An infection may be what’s causing the oxidative stress and/or autoimmune issues.
Glenn Matii
Submitted January 5, 2014 07:16PM I have one more completely theoretical question:
There are some people who mega-dose on some nutrients and semi nutrients in order to increase restoration of one or other deteriorated system.
for example, to heal gut permeability some take amazing doses of glutamine + glycine (~80 grams of each a day) for a short period of time.
This is also the same way people supplement when they have a certain deficiency in some nutrient.
Do you think that other issues – like restoration of cell membranes in the brain – could be solved similarly (for example, taking mega doses of choline, cholesterol, omega 3, inositol for a short period of time)?
Selfhacked Submitted January 11, 2014 05:24PM
I don’t support any instance of mega dosing, including the instances you’ve mentioned. I’d rather attack issues from more than one angle than mega dose.
Glenn Matii
Submitted January 5, 2014 06:45PM You write:” Citicoline, Inositol, Fish oil and Pregnenolone are critical for restoring the cell membranes… ”
Other than inositol, if I eat fish and eggs several times a week, can I avoid supplementation of all of the other nutrients?
Also- could you please fill a hole in my education; when you write pregnenolone do you mean cholesterol?
I get stupider when I do not eat eggs (checked it out with quantified-mind.com) Initially I thought that this was because of the choline but when I started supplementing instead of eating eggs I stayed stupid.
When I started eating ground beef together with taking choline I felt fine again. Is it really the cholesterol? Do eggs have better/different cholesterol than beef?
Selfhacked Submitted January 11, 2014 05:22PM
It’s because of cholesterol, not choline. Cholesterol converts to pregnenolone. You might still need pregnenolone.
Selfhacked Submitted January 11, 2014 05:19PM
Thank you
Jader
Submitted January 4, 2014 12:20AM And also, how did you personally decrease the amount and dosage volume of the above supplements ? how did you know when to decrease the amount and how much? I assume that you do not take 500mg curcumin a day, right?
Selfhacked Submitted January 4, 2014 01:18AM
Dosing really depends on what else you’re taking and a bunch of other factors
Jader
Submitted January 3, 2014 11:44PM I tried taking be berberine last week, 400mg a day, and became quite constipated + anxious. Is it really the amount you recommend taking daily? If not, will you write how to cycle each of the recommended supplements (what is the point of writing the amount in g or mg if no time frame is indicated? ? ).Other that that, I really like and enjoy your blog! keep up the good work!
Selfhacked Submitted January 4, 2014 01:20AM
I don’t recommend berberine to many clients with BF as a first line approach. If they have BF and blood sugar issues then I consider it.
Sara
Submitted December 22, 2013 07:25PM This is my life now lay in bed practically 24 hours a day.i have to prepare myself mentally just to get up for a few seconds . This is how a walking dead feels it effects your entire being and your soul .When I’m not I’m in the bathroom then I lay back in bed. I just cannot believe how my Life has hit the brakes. I remember before all of this I was under a huge amount of stress. I couldn’t handle it .perhaps that made my body malfunction. Whatever this is I’m only 28 years young female with all my life ahead of me and and to live like a 90 year old on there death bed is not a way to live. I just keep telling myself you will make it . It seems like whatever is the cause it effects every cell and process if the body to go haywire. I believe I had my thyroid tested. I just literally felt exhausted and spaced out 2 1/2 months ago and it has manifested into being bed ridden and so bad mental fog I can barley think. I do notice whenever I eat anything my brain gets ‘lit on fire’ have lost the ability to drive and im practicality living like a ‘lizard ‘ with sloth movements. My quality of life has been reduced to 10 percent of what it was. I lay in bed starring out the window most of the day and reading online or getting non refreshing sleep.
Every test so far has comes back normal .who can help ? just taking a shower is traumatizing the water seems to hurt and i feel faint when standing up but I wonder what’s going on in my system .
Why was I a healthy normal person a little while ago and now this practically overnight? It’s so frustrating. I want my health back. How can anyone be alive and feel so unhuman at the same time? I’m afraid I will die my sleep so I keep the light on. Everyday I feel so weak and its a constant struggle to stay alive. As depressing as it may sound i told everyone if i dont find a cure goodbye . I even stayed in the hospital for a week ran every test imaginable. With no avail. They just sent me home with a prescription to an anti anxiety med . The dr said its all in my head. And to get up and start running around .that was the biggest joke of my life. I told him if I could would I be here ? wonder where these drs. Get there education. ??? I also notice how reality is distorted now and everything looks as though I’m on something even though I never did acid I can imagine it would look like this. Nothing seems real. It’s so bizarre .light is so bright and sounds. The brain fog is the absolute worst. I cannot comprehend as much as I use to. For an example when I open up a cabinet to get food out of it I know there is a cabinet there but I cannot tell what I am looking at. It’s the most scary thing in the world to have my cognitive impairment get this severely affected for unknown reasons that wont show up on labs .my memory is horrible. I won’t be able to remember what happens 2 seconds ago. And I use to be able to comprehend the television and I just stare blankly at it. Nothing goes in. I wish I would watch movies still but if I watch them and you ask me what’s going on. . I have no clue. And even worse Not being able to connect to people places or animals .it feels like all my “feel good” brain chemicals shorted out. I use to love nature and people and pets now I feel nothing or flat when someone hugs me or I see my dog . I want to care but it seems I am unable for some reason. I don’t even sleep anymore I pass out in pain and wake up in pain 24/7 not being able to use my mind. I feel like I am in prison in my own mind and body. This is not a poor mans disease . I am disabled and I cannot afford a holistic treatment center that I know could probably cure this or provide some sort of relieve . I just want some hope. My body keeps going on and wants to live its taking me for a ride and its such a mind game waking up everyday being bed ridden . I had to temporally move back home to live with my parents for help but I don’t think they know how much pain I am in mentally and physically toture every second of the day . Since coming here I’ve seem to have gotten worse . i am out of options and not sure what to do. I’ve been to so many drs. My mom takes me . i am thankful for her .Just getting in a car almost does me in like I feel I am going to pass out in pain when sitting up in the car ride. All I can think about is getting back home to lay down in the bed . I don’t want to be bed bound but too weak to function anymore. I don’t want to give up. I want to fight this every second of the day I feel like such a zombie and half way in a coma. How did this happen from being normal? And no one can find an answer or cure ? Am I supposed to live like this for the rest of my life ? I get so low and wonder . It’s a nightmare reality .my vision is blurry and my body screams for help. I haven’t found anything to help. I tried magnesium ,vitamins,b12 ,vitamin d ,iron tabs.tylenol These things seem to make me feel worse .i am EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to everything. It’s odd I cannot even use little things like deodorant .
I’ve spent hours looking up drs. To go do. . You would be surprise how much mental energy goes into just googling dr.s and making an appointment . It’s like the life is sucked out of me and when I finally do get an appointment it’s about 2 months from now. And I know I will have to have a painful car ride there blood drawn for them to say everything is alright. But just laying in bed is accepting defeat. I’ve seen a neurologist , rhemotologist , regular dr.s natural dr.s .
If I am alive now there must be a cure right?
Selfhacked Submitted December 23, 2013 12:00AM
I’m sorry to hear about your misfortune. I hope you get better. Never stop looking, because a cure is out there.
One more point. A doctor telling you your test results are fine isn’t worth anything. All that USUALLY means is that you won’t die in the next couple months, as in nothing is so bad it will kill you soon. There’s also many more tests that can determine if something is wrong in the body that they don’t test for. You need to be proactive and analyze the results yourself or find someone that can analyze them.
April Submitted December 25, 2013 07:23AM
Have you considered that you might have, P.O.T.S? Which stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. The only reason i considered this might be the problem. Due to the fainting and you mentioned you have brain fog. And pain. Exhaustion. Light and sound sensitive. POTS is a nervous system problem, that most doctors know nothing about, and yet it is a very common disorder. Tilt tests are the diagnosis methods. Look it up, there are medications that can help pots but not cure. I hope you find the answer to your illness.
Domi Submitted December 13, 2015 11:34AM
Have you been tested for Lyme disease?
Renae Submitted December 14, 2015 06:27AM
Thank you for your response. No, I haven’t been tested for Lyme disease. I have dived into more research and believe it is Myasthenia Gravis. It’s also an immune condition. It is linked to leaky gut as well. My acetlycholine receptors are damaged (brain fog). My blurred vision has turned into double vision and my eyelid has started to droop. This has led me to believe it is Myasthenia Gravis. I tested deficient on a previous test for choline. I don’t know if healing the leaky gut will help this. I appreciate any input. Thank you!!!
Kaiti
Submitted December 22, 2013 07:18PM I like your blog so far. I have pretty bad brain fog as well as anhedonia, and you mentioned mitochondrial dysfunction causing anhedonia and depression. I didn’t see treatments for specifically anhedonia (& I have both types to some degree, anticipatory and consummatory) and wondered if you could give me someplace to start.
Selfhacked Submitted December 22, 2013 11:46PM
Thanks.
Anhedonia and depression are more than mitochondrial function. They also have to do with neurotransmitters (especially acetylcholine), nerve growth factors and hormones. There are other causes but those are the most significant ones that come to mind off-hand.
Look around the blog for now and eventually I will get to a depression protocol.
Kaiti Submitted December 24, 2013 06:01PM
A depression protocol would be much appreciated. Your blog has given me hope that I might recover to my previous level of functioning. I might be interested in a consultation one day…
Selfhacked Submitted December 24, 2013 11:06PM
It’s on my list. I think depression should be a thing of the past given our technology and state of knowledge.
Gadi
Submitted December 16, 2013 11:13PM Would you recommend taking citicoline and Pregnenolone even if I eat 3 eggs a day?
Selfhacked Submitted December 19, 2013 01:45PM
Depends on your case. The short answer is if you need it…but if you are healthy then no.
Gill sasover
Submitted December 16, 2013 02:07AM Hi! I tried some of your top recommendations – started drinking 32oz kombucha + 2.5 matcha after meals with carb and limited carbs after daily work out. Tulsi+ Astragulus + raw honey before bed.
Every other day I started supplementing with 20mg PQQ + 250 mg Longvida Curcumin.
NO BRAIN FOG EVER SINCE. Thank you!
only one question – is it really safe to take 20mg PQQ every second time? should I take down the dose with time? I really feel like PQQ made the biggest difference.
Selfhacked Submitted December 19, 2013 01:53PM
Hi,
Thanks for your feedback. 20 mg is fine every other day.
Ashley
Submitted December 11, 2013 08:48AM I have been suffering from a heavy headed brain fog for six weeks now, it never goes away. It can be made worse by lack of sleep or stress but it never dissipates. It hit me suddenly ten minutes after a workout and hasn’t gone away since. My doctor thinks it is a virus, I don’t know if I agree. Other symptoms include tiredness, headache on left side when very tired, cold hand and foot on left side. Background information: starting jan 2013 I became vegetarian, I turned pale suddenly in march 2013 so I started taking iron. Summer of 2013 I started eating only raw fruits and vegetables. Mold was found in home recently. I have since moved out and am eating meat items again. I jut want this to go away as it makes work and life really difficult, even just socializing is difficult. Also, not sure if this is pertinent but I had a massage recently which made the condition so much worse ad turned my face bright red for an hour after. Also I seem to suffer from anxiety. Any thoughts would be so helpful! I am only 28 year old female, otherwise healthy and just want to live my life like before, thank you!
Selfhacked Submitted December 11, 2013 07:25PM
Hmmm, I’m honestly not sure. Your doc might be right about it being an infection, given the sudden onset. If it is a result of an infection this protocol would likely help, but you’d need to kill the infection first to have a serious impact on the BF.
If you’re eating normally now, I don’t see it being a nutritional cause.
Hope you feel better!
Eric
Submitted December 10, 2013 06:25PM Hi!
I see that you updates this post and included doses + recommended brands, thank you!
Should I assumed that each of the doses (e.g. 20mg of PQQ) are daily doses?
If not, could you please recommend how can I know how to cycle each of the supplements?
Thanks again
Selfhacked Submitted December 11, 2013 07:09PM
Hi!
Yes, keep in mind that I only take a fraction of these on any given day. Dosing would depend on what issues you have and other factors.
Diana
Submitted November 29, 2013 05:14PM Hi Joe!
What exactly does “time- restricted-eating” means?
Also, I have experimented with different types of Kombucha – some giving me acid reflux while others do not seem to make any difference. Which brand do you recommend?
Selfhacked Submitted December 7, 2013 11:03PM
It can mean many things, but I support not eating within two hours of bed and midnight snacks.
GT’s kombucha
Joe
Submitted November 20, 2013 10:07PM Yes
Denver
Submitted November 20, 2013 02:34PM Also – I am taking collagen 1&3 every day before bed for gut. I am planning to switch collagen with beef gelatin. I have heard that taking Glycine together with beef gelatin is not a good idea – why?
Joe Submitted November 20, 2013 10:09PM
Gelatin is ~20% glycine, so it’s more redundant than harmful. I prefer gelatin because it also has proline and hydroxyproline, though I take glycine sometimes. One or the other, though.
Gene
Submitted November 18, 2013 06:29PM I love all of the recommendations but I have one concern about flax and sesame; both are very estrogenic. I found a research by Dr. Anderson via pubmed that says that drop in testosterone becomes statistically significant only above 30g of flax/sesame consumed. You recommend 60 g total of both. Should I worry about T levels?
Joe Submitted November 19, 2013 03:17AM
30g is a good recommendation for flax and sesame in a day. That’s about what I get. I also use some chia and hemp. Are you referring to the drink? I mentioned that I didn’t find it optimal to only consume that. That drink is supposed to last 3 days or so, which equals 20g of both of them a day. Either way, the drink needs fixing and I am working on it. There’s some ingredients that are not working so well.
So in summary, 30g of both flax and sesame is a fair recommendation, but I also don’t think going over it will be harmful.
Gene Submitted November 19, 2013 05:57AM
Thank you for the clarification! one question – you refer to a “spreadsheet” in the below comments but I was not able to find it. Is it on the page?
Joe Submitted November 19, 2013 11:02AM
I decided to take it off and fill in the info directly. More filling in to come.
Randy
Submitted November 16, 2013 11:37PM I want to try each of these supplements but I have never taken anything outside of a packaged multi-vitamin. Can I walk into a whole foods and pick up each of the items you list in those specific amounts? Or do I need a chemistry set to carefully measure each supplement. Also, it is unclear when to take each, some say before bed, but the rest do you just sit there and take all of the supplements at once?
SELFHACKED Submitted November 17, 2013 12:19AM
I try to specify when to take each – look at the spreadsheet. Buy them online. Email for a consult if you need specific advice that isn’t listed.
Yoav
Submitted November 16, 2013 11:32PM I have serious case OCD and cyclic brain-fog. I am a university professor and my week usually looks like this:
On Monday I would come to work with a terrible brain fog, unable to do anything. The only thing I would do would be worrying about different small details and try to play with some random ideas for my research. I would be get panic attacks if something did not appear to be perfect.
Then, either on Thursday or Friday I would get something right and work non stop for 16 straight hours in a complete flow and usually get the entire weeks’s work done.
I would not worry about anything and I would get my most creative ideas written down. I would be in a complete euphoric flow and happiness.
Two weeks ago, following your recommendations and other recommendations for brain fog and OCD I started taking 4g/day of inositol (2g in the morning and 2g before bed). I did not take any other supplements and did not change my diet and lifestyle in anyway.
The effect was immediate. The morning after taking inositol I felt as calm as a sleeping baby. I never felt so calm. Everything seemed pleasant, I did not worry about anything and was not concerned at small details or imperfections.
Inositol kept very balanced the entire week; I did not have any shifts in mood. My anxiety was completely gone.
The problem is that inositol took my two important days of flow. Now on Friday or Thursday I am as calm as I am on Monday, I feel good and peaceful but I do not get this burst of crazy fire, enthusiasm and lucidity that I used to get. My ideas for the past two weeks have not been as creative as they used to be.
I am afraid that I needed my OCD for my work and am afraid that it is now gone.
On OCD forums many people share a similar experience from taking inositol – they get this peaceful mind which also, unfortunately sedates some of their passion; they no longer care about small things that used to bother them but they also no longer care from big things – they simply care and worry less.
any suggestions ?
SELFHACKED Submitted November 17, 2013 12:17AM
I went through a similar process and unfortunately the side effect of treating anxiety and OCD is that you care less. There are quite a few things to do, but overall an adjustment period will come about. At some point your OCD and brain fog will work its way around inositol’s effectiveness and come back to a degree. Read the “about” section regarding treatment resistance. The endgame is that there is enough solutions to tackle treatment resistance and relax you and put you in a state of happiness and bliss. This state will cause you to accomplish less in the beginning because you’re no longer relying on cortisol to get sh*t done. Over time you will get used to your new state and figure out ways to accomplish more without stress. I get more done than ever before and experience no stress at all. I can’t remember the last time I had a rush of cortisol. So some of the problem will iron itself out, some will be negated by treatment resistance if that’s the only thing you’re doing and some will require other nutritional and supplemental approaches. You have to understand your mitochondria has been wrecked by OCD, which is part of the reason why people have anhedonia. Self-treatment requires finesse because unfortunately I can’t convey everything in writing and different dosing applies for different people. See what you can get from the blog, otherwise email me for a consult. If you decide to go it alone, this blog will be the best resource available, but you will still need to self-experiment. This is because I can’t advise every step along the way. For me to figure out what I know now required so much self-experimentation and wasted days because of bad stacks. Be prepared.
Kelly Submitted August 8, 2016 03:30PM
Inositol can actually increase brain fog. Many reports online, plus this study backs it up:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24534010
“Working memory in control animals was negatively correlated with myo-inositol levels…”
Thank you for this extremely well explained article. I have been rummaging around the forums. Recently- as in a couple of days ago -I had a moment of pure lucidity ie less or no brain fog and I actually forgot just how different it is not to have the usual bf. I felt like a different person and my focus was laser sharp honestly! Then the next day the same old me. At first I put it down to things like, lack of neg ions in the air, low atmospheric pressure, and I even bought an ORP tester to find out which liquids had the highest level of ‘donor’ electrons. Discovering that vitamin c had the most compared to a bunch of other stuff, I started to take high doses of ascorbic acid mixed with bicarbonate to buffer the acidity. And I also have been taking high doses of 3% Lugols iodine as I read recently that most people are chronically deficient in iodine. One of these or both are having an positive effect on my brain fog. This morning was particularly bad so I took a high dose of ascorbic acid and an hour later there was a marked improvement. Was it psychological? won’t know for sure until I repeat the experiment. I found selfhacked by googling: “vitamin c and brain fog.” Ironically vitamin c is not one of the supplements recommended here.
After googling brain fog today, I had put the problem down to leaky gut, or histamine issues, but not hypoglycaemia. I am metaphorically and perhaps even physiologically thin skinned and therefore get stressed very easily. Could this be a pointer that the brain fog comes from gut permeability (thin skinned) or adrenal burnout from regular stress?
Happy to have found others like me it is truly a crippling condition. With brain fog I always felt I had an inferior brain because my thinking or word processing is usually limited. On a good day though which is once a year I can surprise myself. This is the first time in 4 decades that I have googled brain fog for serious answers, as I was convinced ( a decade ago) that it was due to a birth trauma (lack of oxygen at birth) and environmental toxins including excess emf exposure which affects all of us. I get instant brain fog when on the mobile phone. So many ideas I am bouncing around here I hope this gives an insight into what brain fog actually does to me. Thank you for your support.
David
SELFHACKED Submitted November 10, 2013 06:10PM
Thank you. Gut issues may play a large role in your case. It’s a shame that solutions to BF are nowhere to be found. Trying these solutions and letting others know how well they work is important, so pls do write your experiences if you can.
joe Submitted May 15, 2014 02:53AM
Bro your not alone I get brain fog being on my mobile phone as well but not wright away it takes a little while but it set’s in but anyway dont give up the fight off a cure for this sh****t. once
The government see how many more people are complaining about brain fog. and they have a moment of clarity and start seeing how much money they can get off of making a drug or whatever to clear it up then maybe they’ll take it serious and start doing something about it as well. Just to let you know your not alone in this. Beyond annoying may god be with us all who has this disorder.
Jake
Submitted November 2, 2013 12:16AM Doesn’t inositol really lower testosterone??
SELFHACKED Submitted November 2, 2013 04:47AM
I haven’t seen any studies that show that it reduces test in men, though it reduces it in women who have too much.
James Submitted November 2, 2013 09:32PM
Is there any difference between inositol supplement and myo-inositol?
SELFHACKED Submitted November 2, 2013 10:47PM
No
C.j
Submitted October 23, 2013 06:39AM I’ve had this since my teen years (I’m now 27). I am so frustrated. It affects your whole life, ability to study, ability to remember things, ability to have a conversation.. I’ve been diagnosed with depression in the past, and put on antidepressants, but that is NOT the problem. I’ve been for tests, only to be told there’s nothing wrong. I don’t know what causes it, but I am sick of it. :/
C.j Submitted November 2, 2013 05:43AM
Is there a possibility that it could be linked with loneliness, fatigue as well as sleep problems? I’m starting to think these are linked with it. And it’s usually worse in the mornings and midday, but gets better towards night. There doesn’t seem to be any doctor who takes this seriously anyway. But thanks for your reply.
SELFHACKED Submitted November 2, 2013 06:03AM
Sleep problems can certainly be a contributing factors
Sid Submitted January 1, 2014 07:30AM
Hi c.J I am facing exactly the same problems as you it seems. Insomnia, Fatigue/Lethargy, Brain fog, Depression, Anxiety, ADD (v. poor concentration), inability to digest stuff, weight loss, poor immunity, breathlessness etc. Spent 2200 hours of my life researching how to better my situation. I’ve found stuff that really reduce the symptoms but nothing that made them go away entirely. Really want to get in touch with someone on the same boat to exchange some tips. sid6554@gmail.com if you want to talk brah
Denis
Submitted October 13, 2013 06:52PM I love the idea of having a natural remedy instead of having to take drugs. How successful is this solution for brain fog treatment? I know for sure that Procera AVH works, but it’s nice to have natural alternatives available. Let me know. Thanks.
SELFHACKED Submitted October 16, 2013 03:14AM
Very effective.
Dave F Submitted January 28, 2014 06:40PM
After working closely with Joseph (SELFHACKED) for the last few months I can strongly vouch for everything covered in this blog. Similarly to Joe I have suffered from brain fog as long as I can remember and have tried everything under sun and spent many many hours researching and many dollars with specialists and got no where.
My morning brain fog is practically cured now and it’s by following everything described in this post.
Joseph really knows his stuff and I’m forever indebted to him for his help.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention he’s also helped me develop an _effective_ natural protocol for treating my Multiple Myeloma that I was diagnosed with last year. That’s right – say no to chemo!
Tomas
Submitted October 9, 2013 05:40PM Hello there,
Thanks for your article. I have a question though. You list low-carb diets as one of the causes for insulin resistance. Why is that? Doesn’t that run exactly counter to the usual belief/opinion, whether among low-carb diet followers or others?
Thanks,
Tomas
SELFHACKED Submitted October 9, 2013 08:26PM
It does and it doesn’t. There is some acknowledgement that insulin resistance is more common in low carb diets, but the the low carbers will argue that it’s not an issue because they’re not eating carbs anyway. The reason insulin resistance occurs is because low carbers will have to make up calories by eating more fat. A high fat diet causes insulin resistance if those fatty acids aren’t burnt for fuel efficiently. Some people can burn fatty acids efficiently while others can’t. Strictly kept low carb diets in my opinion are not optimally healthy in the long run and those kept not so strictly will feel the negative effects of insulin resistance. If you read the forums, you’ll see lots of cases of insulin resistance, high fasting glucose levels, adrenal insufficiency and lots of health problems from people who are on these diets long term. In the short term you’ll feel better, though, so it’s tricky. But it’s like plugging a leak in the ceiling with scotch tape. It might stop the dripping but it won’t fix the underlying issue of insulin resistance. It seems, based on my observations, that people who have northern European ancestry tend to do better on these low carb diets, maybe because their ancestor’s diets were less starch based and they ate more fat and protein(really cold climates aren’t conducive for agriculture). These people are also less adapted to grains. The vast majority of traditional cultures, though, had starches as a staple of their diet.
Chris
Submitted October 8, 2013 05:21PM I was given Levaquin (an antibiotic). Aside from ongoing pain, it has caused various degrees of brain fog. Would this diet be effective in helping with this type of induced reaction?
SELFHACKED Submitted October 8, 2013 05:33PM
Yup
ablad
Submitted October 4, 2013 02:13PM Hi everyone , I am also suffering from brain fog since so long ago , I dont know how to get rid of this discusting disease . Please guide me someone I dont know what to eventually do . Things ever
eryone has posted here are so far from my understanding . Please guide me with a concise practice experiment someone has gone through
SELFHACKED Submitted October 8, 2013 05:35PM
I’ve included an executive summary
SELFHACKED
Submitted August 18, 2013 03:18AM Reblogged this on Experimental Solutions For a Better Life..
Dave F
Submitted August 5, 2013 04:26AM Great, thanks. My brain fog is in the mornings and usually clears by midday. I’m taking a good portion of the things you mention for my cancer and actually my brain fog has been significantly better since (most mornings it’s now clear 30-45 mins after waking!). The problem is that it will reoccur unpredictably. Interestingly, I had a large amount of coconut oil yesterday and my brain fog was shocking this morning so discovering this post helped me explain that – very timely ?
I will email you about a paid consultation.
Dave F
Submitted August 5, 2013 04:13AM Oh, I had one other question about whether MCT Oil would be a problem? Thanks, Dave
SELFHACKED Submitted August 5, 2013 04:20AM
It depends on if it’s excess calories or not.
Be well,
Dave F Submitted August 8, 2013 01:06AM
Hi, I emailed you about consultation… did you get this?
Dave F
Submitted August 5, 2013 03:30AM Hi, great post about brain fog – it’s certainly in line with my research and personal experiences that inflammation of the gut is to blame.
I was recently diagnosed with Cancer and so are very diligently minimizing carbs in my diet, particularly those that have a high Glycemic Index as Glucose is the devil child when it comes to cancer. Now potatoes have an extremely high GI (90) and raise blood sugar greater than sugar itself. Rice is also a problem (to a lesser extent) as well as bananas. So I guess I’m a little lost now. I’ve recently been consuming a reasonable amount of fat through Olive & Coconut oils. Every thing I read eliminates a bunch more foods from my available repertoire – I’m running out of food I can eat.
Are there any other ways you know of to address Gut Permeability and insulin resistance (and thus brain fog) aside from the highly starchy foods? Or any other comments to my above predicament?
Thanks in advance – you have a great blog and I appreciate the guidance.
Aaron
Submitted July 4, 2013 04:24AM I’ve never seen such a clear post about brain fog….
Keep up the good work,
Aaron
Joe Submitted November 19, 2013 03:18AM
Thanks
Did you get a sleep study to be diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and had a doctor suggest CPAP? Just wondering if it could be a misdiagnosis in which case a CPAP might not be a great option. Alternatively, it could be a it gets worse before it gets better sort of thing. Another area to look would be what neurotransmitters/biological markers change in deep sleep. Now that you are getting more deep sleep, perhaps you might have some nutritional deficiencies or imbalances. Anyone know where to look there or have other ideas?