Video summarized in article below
Dr. Jeremy: Brain fog is one of the biggest complaints we hear from our clients. They describe brain fog as, kind of really being unable to remember things, an inability to concentrate. You can’t really collect your words or think straight. You kind of just feel a cloud or a fog over your mind and you can’t really think clearly.
Dr. Carrie: The brain fog or the inability to concentrate is often associated with adrenal fatigue, hormone imbalances like estrogen dominance, or abnormal thyroid function. Or they could have congestion in their extracellular matrix or their liver, like due to heavy metals or some type of genetic issue.
Dr. Jeremy: Brain fog usually goes away as the body’s detoxification circuit kicks in, but if this detoxification circuit has not been performing optimally, then you might have your brain fog for a while.
Dr. Michael: So, out of the six circuits and twelve systems in the body that are regulating the stress response, any one of those circuits or systems going wrong can result in brain fog. So conversely, when your body’s being rebuilt and repaired, the brain fog goes away actually very fast. This is quite amazing and is such a wonderful gift that people experience: the moment we’re able to take the opportunity slowly to go through the brain fog to really trace it to which of the circuits is wrong, and give the body the tools to help it repair itself.
Dr. Carrie: So, one thing that you really want to try to help with is the Detox circuit specifically. You definitely want to keep a picture in mind of the whole NEM, but when you work on the Detox circuit and the Inflammation circuit, that could also definitely really help your brain fog.
In the short term, try to eliminate the top five foods that are very inflammatory in our system. This would be sugar, dairy, corn, gluten, and soy.
In the long-term, these detox circuits and adrenals need to be strengthened. In order to help with the detox, you can eliminate the foods that are causing issues, and you can also help by doing very gentle types of detox.
Dr. Michael: You have to be very careful with the word "detox," because it has become such a popular thing to do. But most people don’t really know how to do it, and the step-by-step approach necessary. If you detox too fast, you can go into what we call a Herxheimer reaction. If you detox too aggressively, you can get into what we call a retoxification reaction, and you can feel worse. Fevers, joint pains, and brain fog can even be exaggerated.
So, there are things that you need to do, but it has to be done properly, and it has to be done slowly to match the body’s ability to recover. It’s not just throwing detoxification modalities around, whether it’s enemas, flushes, or castor oil packs. Those things can actually be problematic. Even acupuncture can open up the meridian so quickly that the body is flushed with toxins, and you can crash.
Dr. Jeremy: Right. So, like Dr. Lam said, that’s the vital key to recovery: you need to tailor the velocity of your body’s recovery. Going too fast can lead to a crash. Go too slow, and your body will not recover.
© Copyright 2021 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
