What Foods to Eat to Prevent Brain Fog

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

7 Foods You Eat That Cause Brain Fog & What to Eat Instead

Brain fog is a murky symptom that can cause trouble with focusing, remembering, learning, and even really feeling connected to daily life.

It can be a short-term feeling or one that seems to constantly stick around.

While brain fog can have a number of different causes, like being stressed, having unbalanced blood sugar, or being low in iron, there are also dietary causes of brain fog.

If you remove these offending trigger foods, you might just swap a fuzzy brain for a mentally alert one that is on top of its game.

1. Gluten

Even if you don’t have celiac disease, gluten can still be problematic. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity can cause an inflammatory response in the body when gluten is ingested. Over time, regular consumption of gluten can lead to low or high levels of inflammation, which can impact the way that the brain functions.

Since part of the nervous system lives in the gut, when a food you’re eating aggravates your intestinal lining or some other aspect of digestion, it won’t be long before symptoms start trickling out to different parts of the body – the brain included.

Eat this instead: Swap gluten with Paleo-friendly flours like cassava or almond flour. They replace one-for-one in traditional baking, and come with a higher level of nutrient benefits. Cassava flour is a great option for people who are allergic to nuts, since it comes from a root plant that is neither nut, legume, or grain.

2. Refined Carbs and Sugar

While people may initially fall into eating sugar because it helps to stimulate and wake up the brain, long-term and chronic intakes of refined carbs, “white” flours, refined sugars, and corn syrup can lead to glucose problems as well as systemic issues with yeast overgrowth, also known as candida albicans.

Two of the main issues associated with yeast problems can be fatigue and brain fog, and whether they’re specifically caused by yeast or not, the brain typically responds better to diets with balanced levels of protein and healthy fats, and not those that are dependent on huge amounts of refined and empty carbs.

Eat this instead: Instead of refined sugars, choose sweets that use natural sweeteners instead, like raw honey or coconut sugar, which have less of a glycemic impact than cane sugar.

Limiting sugar is also essential, but sugar cravings will diminish or lessen when protein is eaten with every meal. If you must have carbs, choose vegetable, fruit, and nut-based carbs so that you’re balancing them with fiber and plenty of other nutrients.

3. Histamines

Histamines are often associated with seasonal allergens, but several foods contain histamines. In sensitive individuals, high histamine foods can have a similar hazy reaction that one might feel at the height of pollen season.

High histamine foods include alcohol, fermented foods, dairy products, shellfish, legumes, nuts, and chocolate.

While many foods contain some levels of histamines, high-histamine foods can induce symptoms quickly or produce low-level brain fog over a long period of time. If other histamine-related allergies are present, food histamine sensitivity could play a role, and brain fog may improve after some time spent on a low histamine diet.

Eat this instead: Meat, poultry, eggs, and salmon are all low in histamines, especially when they’re cooked fresh. Histamines can build in leftover foods, so prepare your foods fresh and don’t reheat. Most fruits and vegetables (with the exception of tomatoes, spinach, avocado, and eggplant) are low in histamines.

4. Caffeine

While coffee is the pick-me-up that many people like to start their day with, it can also cause a vicious cycle of dependence that can lead to increasing levels of brain fog as caffeine wears off.

The kicker is that the more caffeine you drink, the more likely you’ll be to experience brain fog, which could lead you to drink even more caffeine to clear your head. So the cycle of caffeine addiction goes, and eventually, the cycle might need to be broken.

If brain fog is a perpetual problem for you and you regularly consume more than 100 mg of caffeine daily, it might be time to switch to decaf.

Eat this instead: If you’re a coffee drinker, you have the option of decaf, and going with a darker roast will make the brew taste as strong as a typical cup of caffeinated coffee. You can also opt for energizing herbs and roots to help wean you off coffee.

If you’re a soda drinker or you get your caffeine from other sources, try sparkling water or kombucha, which can give a fizzy taste that is reminiscent of soda without the caffeine or sugar.

Coconut water is also a great way to keep energized throughout the day, as it includes replenishing electrolytes, potassium and vitamins.

Also, keep in mind that having a full night’s rest (about 7-8 hours of sleep) will reduce the need for using coffee (and caffeine in general) as a crutch to stay alert throughout the day.

5. Alcohol

Alcohol can contribute to brain fog, and not just if you happen to be hungover. Many forms of alcohol, especially beer, contain gluten, which, as already mentioned, can be a big brain fog trigger. Even without celiac disease or known non-celiac gluten sensitivity, certain genetics will make alcohol or gluten sensitivity more likely.

Compounding alcohol’s brain impairing effects, it is also extremely high in histamines, which, for people who are prone to allergies or general food sensitivity, can result in either immediate or delayed brain fog results – and sometimes both.

Eat this instead: If you’re looking for a fermented brew that won’t give you a gluten-y buzz, try kombucha. It’s rich in natural probiotics thanks to the fermentation process.

But if histamines are your issues, kombucha will make you feel just as bad since fermented foods are high in histamines, too. In this case, skip fermented brews altogether and focus on sparkling water infused with fruits or vegetables of choice for a delicious drink that will feel fancy without making your brain pay the price.

6. Artificial Sweeteners

Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners can have a profound effect on the body, whether it’s causing gut imbalances or increasing headaches and brain fog. Not only can aspartame suppress neurotransmitter production, like dopamine, it can cause inflammation in the brain and can actually wear down the brain’s blood brain barrier.

When that happens, aspartame can enter the brain and lead to the destruction of brain cells and the release of free radicals.

While that’s an extreme situation (in which brain fog is literally being caused by damage to the brain), it’s important to understand that the brain is not impervious to damage, and that dietary sources of inflammation can have significant and long-term impacts on health.

Eat this instead: Skip artificial sweeteners altogether since they’ve also been linked with cancer and focus on eating whole foods. If you want a zero-calorie sweetener that won’t cause weird side effects, use pure stevia leaf. It’s only needed in small amounts to increase sweetness, and has none of the toxic side effects of aspartame or other “fake” sugars.

7. Dairy

While most people associate dairy or lactose issues with digestive symptoms, subtler signs of food sensitivity can include brain fog. In more severe cases, allergy or long-term sensitivity can actually lead to mood disorders and autoimmunity.

If you’re already following a Paleo diet, you’ve already eliminated dairy. But if that’s been a big stumbling block for you, keep in mind that eliminating a food for a short time doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to eat it again.

While there are benefits to being dairy-free, especially if allergy or sensitivity is present, there are also some easy swaps to lessen the struggle of living a cheese-less life.

Eat this instead: Thanks to some ingenious Paleo and dairy-free recipes, there is such a thing as cashew cheese. When thrown into classic cheese-filled recipes, the texture and the taste is so close to the real thing and so much better for you. There are also numerous dairy alternatives to things like ice cream, yogurt, and even drinking milk, so a dairy-free life doesn’t have to be boring.

Watch this video – How To Cure “Brain Fog” | 3 Tips for Mental Clarity

Bottom Line: Brain fog can be a life-altering symptom and while the causes can vary, sometimes the fix is as simple as making some dietary changes. Even when you’re altering your diet for health reasons, it doesn’t have to be boring or deprived.

Written by Aimee McNew

Author Bio:

Aimee McNew is a Certified Nutritionist who specializes in women’s health, thyroid problems, infertility, and digestive wellness. She ate her way back to health using a Paleo diet, lost 80 pounds, and had a healthy baby after numerous miscarriages. She focuses on simple nutrition practices that promote long-lasting results.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

Here’s how to Personalize Your Nutrition Based On Genetics?

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Nutrigenomics – Discovering What Your Genes Want to Eat

Nutrigenomics is an emerging field of study that shows how genes interact with lifestyle. Here’s how it can help you eat and live to maximize your health.

Your body isn’t just a static set of DNA and cells. Our bodies are biologically active, with genes that can be switched on or off based on environment, lifestyle, diet, and other factors.

So how do your genes really affect you, and how, in turn, can your diet, lifestyle, and behaviour influence what your genes are doing?

Nutrigenomics can help you discover the best nutritional plan for your unique body. Read on to see how it works.

What is Nutrigenomics?

Nutrigenomics is the study of the way food, diet, and nutrients impact genetic expression, and in turn, how specific genetic mutations dictate the way the body uses food.

It’s still an expanding field of research, but what has been discovered so far with nutrigenomics is life-changing. We have learned that diet plays a major role in risk factors for many diseases, and can even act on genes and change their expression.

Because everyone has a unique genetic makeup, one person might be more genetically prone to disease or sickness than another. However, simply having the gene for certain conditions doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get them.

This is where nutrigenomics and epigenetics step in. Epigenetics is the study of how the environment – which includes diet, exercise, and lifestyle – can influence gene activity and effectively turn them “off” or “on”.

Nutrigenomics asserts that taking a personalized approach to diet and lifestyle based on genetics can prevent, treat, and even cure chronic disease.

Personalizing Diets to Decrease Risk of Disease

People mistakenly blame their genes when it comes to health and longevity, but only about 25 percent of longevity is based on cut and dried genetic factors. Most of it is determined by lifestyle, nutrition, mental health, stress levels, inflammation, and more – all factors that influence how genes work within the body.

The same is true for disease. For example, some people are more prone to autoimmunity than others, and the type and severity that develops is decided both by genes and external factors.

By understanding how your genes interact with the foods and nutrients that you take in, you’ll be able to shift your dietary and lifestyle choices away from those that negatively affect genetic expression and focus on the ones that have positive and protective results.

This is the ultimate in a personalized dietary program, the antithesis of “one size fits all” eating and the future of nutrition. As more advances in research are made, it will become easier for the everyday person to plug their genetic profile into an app of some sort and learn which foods and nutrients are protective and which should be avoided. Until that day comes, however, we’re limited to what research tells us at the moment.

Sifting through genetic results and determining which nutrients help or hurt expression is a time-consuming process. While there are hundreds of genetic mutations, only a few of them are well understood, both in how they impact health conditions and in the sorts of nutritional support they require.

This article will not prescriptively describe how to address specific mutations but will talk about the potential for diet customization that exists both currently and as the subject of ongoing research.

3 Ways Your Genes Determine What’s Good for You

Your body consists of a complex series of genes that exist as a unique switchboard. All individual switches must be turned on or off – there is no neutral state for genetic expression.

Your “master switchboard” is in a constant state of flux, and how you eat, live, sleep, move, and think all affect the current state of your switchboard.

While much in the field of nutrigenomics isn’t fully understood, we know that the following three areas are highly influenced by genetics.

1. The Way Your Body Uses Nutrients

Macronutrients and micronutrients are used differently by people based on many factors, including genetics. For example, some people can digest fat more easily than others, while others have a higher tolerance for carbs and sweets.

Not only do our genes need specific nutrients to function, but the foods that we digest are regulated in part by the genes that we have.

Take the mutation MTHFR C677T, perhaps the most well-known of all genetic building blocks. This genetic variant can reduce the body’s ability to use folate, which means the body needs extra folate to offset this genetic problem.

Whole foods like spinach and broccoli can provide more bioavailable forms of folate, which in turn can help the gene to better function. This same process is true for many genetic mutations, with many forms of macronutrients and micronutrients.

While tying specific nutritional support to everyone’s individual genetic set is an impossible task at the moment, most research indicates that the starting point to good genetic health and gene expression is eating a diet free from “fake” foods and nutrients.

Bottom line: Genes influence the way that the body uses macronutrients and micronutrients. Opting for real, unprocessed food is the starting point for good genetic health and gene expression.

2. Gut Health and Allergies

Allergies are another common way that genetics can have a huge say in what you can and can’t eat. People with immune-driven and anaphylactic allergies understand that, for whatever reason, they’re so sensitized to foods that they can’t eat them without endangering their lives. This is predominantly driven by underlying genetics.

While not all food allergies are genetic, those that involve the immune system typically are. Food sensitivity, on the other hand, can either be genetic or can be a result of gut health or other problems.

While not all allergies are passed from parent to child, all allergies are involved with gene expression.

Take lactose intolerance, for example. Although it’s not a true milk allergy, it’s a disorder caused by a genetic lack of the enzyme needed to break down lactose. Without a sufficient amount of this enzyme, the undigested lactose travels through the gut, wreaking havoc on your digestive system.

Still, this doesn’t mean that everyone who has a family history of lactose intolerance won’t be able to digest milk. Some will have the gene and it will be turned “on,” while others will have the gene and it will be turned “off,” aka not expressing.

It has long been thought that genetics largely shaped the type and amount of bacteria found in the microbiome, but recent research has shown that lifestyle and epigenetic factors, like diet, has a bigger role in determining what the gut landscape looks like.

The microbiome, in turn, has a large role in genetic expression, which is one major way that how we eat and live can directly influence how our genes work – either for us or against us.

Bottom line: Allergies are genetic, but just because a gene is present doesn’t mean a tangible allergy will exist.

3. Disease Development

Whether it’s looking to prevent obesity or to reduce a risk of developing cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, or more, nutrigenomics is being studied as a way to boost longevity by reducing the incidences of chronic and deadly diseases.

Many diseases are complicated by obesity, leading researchers to seek new ways to treat weight loss problems. Unsurprisingly, customized nutrition programs that take a person’s genes into account have proven to be more successful than one size fits all approaches.

Genetically personalized diets are also superior when it comes to maintaining a healthy glucose level, which can also be instrumental in optimizing body weight.

Cardiovascular and metabolic disorders are also well-researched in nutrigenomics, placing direct focus on how environmental and lifestyle factors interact with a few key genes, including the aforementioned gene variant C677T.

Heart disease risk is still going to dramatically increase when basic risk factors are present, like smoking, heavy alcohol intake and lack of exercise.

Inflammation is also strongly influenced by genetic expression, as shown by examples of people who live the same risky lifestyle, where one develops heart disease and the other outlives even healthier people. This shows that even people who don’t live pristine lifestyles can still have inactivated dangerous genes and activated protective genes.

Research will focus on epigenetics and nutrigenomics for a long time to come, but it will never be able to fully account for every aspect of a person’s lifestyle.

Bottom line: The way our lifestyle, nutrition, and overall environment interacts with our genes plays a huge role in our risk of getting diseases.

Should You Get Personalized Genetic Testing?

While there are definite upsides to understanding your genetics and being able to customize your lifestyle and diet to your exact needs, some people find the information overwhelming and even scary.

Knowing that you have a genetic potential for certain types of cancer or other chronic diseases, can feel like a doom-and-gloom experience. While the presence of a gene doesn’t mean it will express, it can be a lot of information to process at once. There are also concerns about the risk of this data being used someday to determine health or eligibility for insurance.

Still, some feel that the empowerment achieved through understanding their genetic risks and being able to take a proactive approach to their lifestyle makes them feel more in charge. This is especially true for people who already have a family history of disease and assume they’re at greater risk, too.

Options exist for personalized genetic testing that typically involve collecting a saliva sample and sending it off to a lab where it may take 2-8 weeks to get results. You may choose to share results with your healthcare providers.

Companies like Livewello and Promethease will analyze your genetic raw data for you and provide information to help distill the overwhelming amount of data. Certain practitioners also specialize in creating lifestyle programs according to your genetic health, many of which can be found by searching the practitioner database on Livewello.

The pros of testing are that it’s relatively inexpensive (less than $150 for most labs) and available for anyone to order. The cons are that you could find out that you have genetic tendencies toward chronic diseases which might be scary although working with a practitioner will help to hedge this fear.

Remember, you’re not just the sum total of your genes, and possessing a gene doesn’t mean you’ll automatically develop those disorders.

Watch this video – How to Personalize Your Nutrition Based On Genetics

Written by Aimee McNew

Author Bio:

Aimee McNew is a Certified Nutritionist who specializes in women’s health, thyroid problems, infertility, and digestive wellness. She ate her way back to health using a Paleo diet, lost 80 pounds, and had a healthy baby after numerous miscarriages. She focuses on simple nutrition practices that promote long-lasting results.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

What to Do If You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

When It’s More Than “Just Tired” – 8 Signs You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

If you’re sleeping all day and still not feeling rested, it might be chronic fatigue syndrome. Here are a few tell-tale signs of CFS and how to naturally ease symptoms.

If you feel just as tired when you wake up after sleeping a whole night, you could be dealing with chronic fatigue syndrome. Most people with CFS appear to be healthy, and because there is no single lab test to check for the disease, chronic fatigue syndrome took a long time to be recognized as a legitimate disorder.

This relatively new diagnosis involves a weakened immune system, brain fog and worsened symptoms while standing upright. Here’s what it means to have chronic fatigue syndrome, and what you need to know to get the right care from yourself and your health practitioners.

What Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as CFS, is a condition where fatigue is experienced so relentlessly that it doesn’t go away with rest and has no other medical explanation.

Fatigue can come on gradually over time or it can suddenly get worse. Either way, the intense level of tiredness is often alarming, and warrants a trip to the doctor. This leads to a battery of tests from doctors that will most often come back as “normal,” leaving the fatigue problem unanswered.

It is estimated that between 836,000 and 2.5 million Americans have chronic fatigue syndrome, but that as many as 91 percent haven’t been diagnosed yet. It can affect anyone of any age, but is commonly seen in women in their 40s and 50s.

8 Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Symptoms of CFS can differ among people with the condition, but there are eight recognized core symptoms.

Fatigue

In order for fatigue to be considered strong enough for a CFS diagnosis, it has to be present for a minimum of six months and severe enough that rest doesn’t improve it. Doctors also look for at least three or four other symptoms on this list.

Tiredness After Physical Activity

Post-exertional malaise, or PEM, happens when physical activity or mental stressors that one used to tolerate now worsen fatigue to a level of being unable to function.

Unrefreshing Sleep

With all of the fatigue and PEM, many people with CFS often sleep and sleep for many hours. Unfortunately, a key symptom of CFS is unrefreshing sleep, where even eight or more hours do not improve the physical and mental feelings of fatigue.

Cognitive Impairment

People with CFS are both physically and mentally tired. CFS slows the brain’s ability to process information and can result in memory problems, attention disorders, and brain fog.

Worsened Symptoms While Standing

Also known as orthostatic intolerance, symptoms of CFS worsen when someone is standing or sitting upright, versus reclining or lying down.

Headaches and Body Pain

While pain associated with CFS is less specific than fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis, people with CFS tend to experience headaches or general body aches that can come and go frequently.

Frequent Illnesses

Those with CFS have weak immune systems, which result in more frequent, and sometimes more severe, illnesses.

Infection

Epstein-Barr is a virus frequently seen in people who have thyroid disease or disorders, and it’s been noted that it can also appear in people with CFS.

Other symptoms not necessary for diagnosis, but which might be found in people with CFS, are:

Insomnia

Sore throat

Swollen lymph nodes

Gastrointestinal problems

Sensitivity to food, drugs or chemicals

Causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome isn’t caused by one single thing, but a collection of many factors that result in impaired energy levels. Main theories on CFS triggers include:

• Certain bacterial infections or viruses
• Psychological stressors or PTSD
• Weakened immunity from another condition
• Hormone imbalances
• Genetics
• Thyroid disorders

Is Your Thyroid to Blame?

Most doctors assess thyroid health with a single thyroid stimulating hormone (or TSH) lab test for patients complaining of fatigue. If this test comes back in the normal range, you’ll likely be told that your thyroid is healthy and sent on your way.

However, research shows that a thyroid issue referred to as “low T3 syndrome” is often tied to CFS. It is also associated with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and chronic kidney disease. In low T3 syndrome, TSH appears normal and can cause doctors to ignore other thyroid lab tests.

How to Get a Proper Diagnosis?

How do you know if you have true CFS or just an underlying thyroid condition – or both?

If you meet all the diagnostic criteria for CFS, then you are dealing with a real case of chronic fatigue. But for most people, they want to know what caused it to start in the first place. This is when you should seek out a thyroid trigger.

Since low levels of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4 can be a contributing factor to debilitating fatigue, getting the right thyroid labs tests is a crucial first step.

Test Free T3 and Free T4 to assess how much thyroid hormone your body has available for use.

TSH is a meaningless test when it comes to ruling out thyroid-related issues with CFS because in most cases, TSH will appear normal, which is how a thyroid condition gets overlooked in the first place.

Ways to Live with CFS

Chronic fatigue syndrome can’t be cured, but it can go into remission. There are some natural ways to help alleviate the life-altering fatigue of CFS.

Limit Inflammatory Stimulants

Coffee and other stimulants won’t offset your fatigue with CFS and can instead increase inflammation within the body. Eliminate or strictly limit caffeine, sugar, and alcohol as much as possible.

Limit Sleep Time

Even though you may only want to sleep, sleeping 12 or more hours per day can worsen inflammation and contribute to other hormone imbalances. Skip naps and limit your sleep to 10 hours max per night.

Avoid Overexertion

Knowing your limits is vital for CFS, because pushing yourself will only intensify your fatigue. Don’t overdo any form of physical or mental exertion.

Try Acupuncture and Yoga

These holistic practices can be helpful in alleviating the pain associated with CFS. Work these into your regular routine for natural relief from pain, fatigue and other symptoms.

Watch this video – What to Do If You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Bottom Line

Chronic fatigue syndrome is still a relatively “new” medical condition and is not yet fully understood. While there is no current cure, CFS can go into remission, and symptoms can be alleviated naturally.

If you have CFS, make sure you’re working with a physician who understands the latest research on this chronic disorder.

Written by Aimee McNew

Author Bio:

Aimee McNew is a Certified Nutritionist who specializes in women’s health, thyroid problems, infertility, and digestive wellness. She ate her way back to health using a Paleo diet, lost 80 pounds, and had a healthy baby after numerous miscarriages. She focuses on simple nutrition practices that promote long-lasting results.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook