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Link between inflammation and mental sluggishness shown in new study
- TurkishPoptart 7y agoWhat's the solution? I've felt brain fog for 15 years.
- mixmastamyk 7y agoLook into reducing inflammation. There are a number of foods that are supposed to be beneficial. I believe avoiding corporate grain products may also help.
- OneGuy123 7y agoI've had issues like that: Buy hydrolyzed collagen supplements (take 30g per day at start for 1 week) and increase fat intake, simplest is beef tallow (ideally grassfed), eat 2x 5 table spoons of it per day for 5 days at start. And cut all processed sugar and sweets. Replace table sugar and fructose with glucose.
- kyuudou 7y agoA whole (organic) chicken in a pot, cooked until the cartilage liquefies, is similar to this suggestion IMO
- loceng 7y agoKetogenic (including carnivore) diet will greatly reduce inflammation. You'll also want to do an Igg food sensitivity test to see what specific foods your body is creating inflammatory markers for, and a microbiome test can also let you know if bacterial/yeast infections that could be adding to brain fog. Fasting is useful for seeing how your mental state is while limiting external food resources (you're using internal fat reserves otherwise), otherwise intermittent fasting is the best option.
- OneGuy123 7y agoIt seems that in practice the issue is not keto vs vegan vs omnivore but that all of those proponents of extreme diets like full vegan or full carnivore usually measure their food intake carefully to ensure they get enough of all macros (carbs, fat, protein). This measuring alone ensures that they get enough fats, which seem to be the main reason for brain fog in most people (combined with too much artifical sweets). Also because of this extreme diet they completely throw all all processed food & artifical sugar/sweets.
- loceng 7y agoYou're close to right. The "vegan honeymoon" - as an example - is an example of why many people will feel better cutting out bad foods, however carbohydrates and sugars are some of the largest inflammatory factors from my understanding, so cutting that out will help. Following vegan or omnivore doesn't mean eating a balanced (carbs, fat, protein) diet nor anti-inflammatory, doesn't mean eating a diet specifically that is healthy for your body either - doesn't remove foods you may individually be sensitive to.
- zadler 7y agoSeems like IGG doesn’t have the best reputation...
- virtuallynathan 7y agoCorrect, these tests are mostly useless.
- loceng 7y agoJust like fat didn't have a good reputation for awhile due to X, Y, Z - be weary of your sources. I use my own experience with Igg food sensitivity testing and removing those foods to see how I felt after. After allowing my system to calm from the foods then reintroducing just one of the foods that I was conditioned to the discomfort of, it let me see how much discomfort/pain different foods that showed up on the Igg test that make me feel horrible.
- 7y ago
- djohnston 7y agoObviously this is anecdotal, but I've been fasting for about a month, and I've noticed a significant difference between the days I fast and the days I don't (FRIDAYS!!!). After about 16-18 hours of not eating I feel quite sharp. There seems to be preliminary clinical evidence to support this, but I'll leave the googling to you.
- alpaca128 7y agoI've experienced similar effects with intermittent fasting. I started cutting out the breakfast and after a while my mind was super clear in the morning. Eating lunch caused that to flip around drastically, though.
- matwood 7y agoI'm glad you mentioned IF. It's one of the easier ways to get many of the keto benefits without having to do keto.
- jfrbfbreudh 7y agoI’ve had the same experience, but feeling sharper doesn’t mean actually being sharper. If you look at traffic accident rates in Muslim majority countries, there’s a sharp rise in incidents during the fasting months of Ramadan.
- handedness 7y agoRamadan involves a number of societal changes beyond just not eating during daylight hours, from fasting to abstinence to busier public squares and restaurants. I'd want to see something control for the differences in movement patterns, passenger miles driven, meals eaten outside the home vs. at home, and so on. Public squares and restaurants are typically packed during Ramadan at night. Here's one (theoretically) similar example: https://www.datagraver.com/case/relation-terrorism-attacks-and-ramadan https://www.datagraver.com/case/relation-terrorism-attacks-a...
- kranner 7y agoFasting during Ramadan is not the same as IF at all. During Ramadan you can't have even a sip of water, whereas in IF you are encouraged to drink water and even add a bit of salt if needed. That alone makes them too different to compare effects.
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoWithout going to a "name brand" diet (keto, vegan, or whatever), just pay attention to what you eat and what your brain feels like a few hours afterword. I found some foods (certain chocolates, unfortunately) where, somewhat less than an hour after I ate it, it felt like someone had kicked my brain. When you notice something like that, stop eating it. You may be able to add it back in small quantities later, but for now, just stop. When you've identified the major ones and stopped eating them, then take stock of where you are. Is it enough? Or do you want to go further? We started being very careful what we eat because one of my daughters had extreme food sensitivities. I said "Nah, not me, I'm good". But I felt a lot better/less mentally foggy as well.
- lambdaba 7y agoHigh (10g+) doses of omega-3 (mostly as EPA) are extremely effective and clinically proven. Standard doses are way too small to be effective, and most of the science and anecdotes refer to small (1-3g) doses.
- Broken_Hippo 7y agotalk to a doctor and, if you are lucky, they find something they can cure. If you are unlucky, they find nothing. If you are really unlucky, you find something like an autoimmune disorder - lots of autoimmune disorders get both some inflammation and 'brain fog' or other cognitive issues. All the diets folks recommend are not really proven to help with things like autoimmune disorders (even though some folks swear by them). If it were that simple, it would be standard treatment and no one would go through the side effects that some of the medicines for autoimmune disorders have. I don't know how effective the diets and supplements are for other things, but I'd not trust it unless it came from the mouth of a medical doctor I trusted.
- MrBuddyCasino 7y agoNo. Docs have no clue about these sort of things. They are good for "leg broken, must fix leg". They suck at chronic and ambiguous illnesses. In the US, you can try the Mayo Clinic, they have specialists. Otherwise, help yourself.
- Bizarro 7y agoUnfortunately, that's really true. I have a doctor friend that looked at me like a deer in headlights when I asked about fatigue, brain fog, inflammation, food sensitivities, etc..
- Broken_Hippo 7y agoBecause.. internists don't exist as primary care doctors? Because the start of getting diagnosed with chronic illnesses doesn't start with a primary care doctor? OR because insurances and governments aren't interested in not spending thousands of dollars per month per patient on autoimmune medicines when a simple diet change could do the same thing? There are more players than doctors. Folks go to specialists all the freaking time for their disorders, but not all disorders need that. You'll probably be just fine going to the normal doctor for type II diabetes. You'll probably go to a neurologist for your MS. Not all disorders need something like the Mayo Clinic. When we suck, we simply suck and that includes the Mayo Clinic and similar clinics. None of this changes the fact that there isn't evidence that diet helps in the long run for a lot of disorders. Staying generally healthy helps, sure, but saying anything else dupes folks into trying a bunch of weird, non-approved things and buying into snake oils.
- goodname 7y agoHave you been tested for celiac disease?
- ScoobleDoodle 7y agoUnrelated to diet but still could be helpful with brain fog: Have you ever been tested for sleep apnea? I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea over a decade ago and was prescribed a CPAP machine. Although it took some getting used to. Getting effective sleep has helped me.
- MrBuddyCasino 7y agoKeto worked for me. The difference is remarkable.
- Asooka 7y agoI had vitamin D deficiency that was the cause of my brain fog. I'm not yet back to full power, but the last 3 months of taking it have definitely been better than before.
- m463 7y agonobody has mentioned exercise. I remember the study with the "rats in a sterile environment" vs "rats in a rich environment" where the latter group formed many more brain connections. In the end, they found it wasn't the rich environment that caused the brain growth, it was the exercise wheel in it.
- Bizarro 7y agoBe careful with the exercise remedy. It's easy to overdue it and cause more inflammation and stress via elevated cortisols, etc..
- DenisM 7y agoBefore trying various changes which takes a long time to se through consider measuring things you can actually test: 1. Sleep study. 2. Vitamin D blood test. 3. Generally a conversation with your doctor who might suggest other tests.
- nimvlaj30 7y agoI would try intermittent fasting for a while. If you feel better, it means it could be exacerbated by something you're eating. Then it's a just a process of elimination.
- flybrand 7y agoIt was another set of symptoms - skin rash like chicken pox - that helped me find my celiac / gluten free diagnosis. However, the brain fog went away. Brain fog is a common reason people try gluten free or low carb (keto, Meng, etc). Good luck.
- bitL 7y agoI use sauna; 10-15 minutes in hot, followed by a short break (1-2 minutes), then up to 2 minutes immersed in cold water. Repeat 5-6x. I feel like a new person afterwards, total mental clarity and many ideas immediately. Also removes stress. It might take you a few months to get adapted to that cycle though (2-minute cold immersion is not trivial at first). If you start feeling bad, abort, you can try next time.
- Buttons840 7y agoIf knowingly taking a placebo can affect a person, I have no doubt that the ritual you described can also have an effect.
- friendlybus 7y agoHeat shock forces some cells or proteins to rejuvenate themselves. Dr Rhonda Patrick and the anti-aging guy have talked about similar ideas for hours in depth on joe rogan's podcast but I never remember the details in full.
- sharedfrog 7y ago> the anti-aging guy Aubrey de Grey?
- friendlybus 7y agoDavid Sinclair
- bitL 7y agoThis came from trial and error from about 6 months of trying different things in sauna. Just heating myself multiple times in hot sauna didn't work that well, but once I started to rigorously follow >1 minute cold water immersions, after 3-4x cycles I almost always ended up in a stress-less state of mental clarity (not when I felt bad/sick or didn't sleep well though). After ~4 cold immersions I also look like my skin was full of veins, connected red patches over white patches everywhere. YMMV
- belltaco 7y agoCurcumin supplements and/or consuming a lot of turmeric with a little pepper can help.
- virtuallynathan 7y agoNo randomized clinical trials of curcumin have shown benefit. Fixing the source of the inflammation is a better idea than taking anti-inflammatory compounds of dubious benefit.
- belltaco 7y agoNot true. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25277322 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25277322 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1064748117305110?via%3Dihub#bib0015 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S106474811...
- viburnum 7y agoI stopped eating anything with added sugar and my brain fog lifted after about a week. Now I get headaches if I eat sugar (Berries are good, it’s just stuff with sugar added to it that messes me up).
- Cougher 7y agoOne thing would be to get rid of as many fragranced products as you can. It's amazing how many people live 24/7 without ever truly breathing fresh air. This would be especially had with fragranced dryer sheets, as the residual fragrance will last through many washings. New mattresses are also notoriously toxic.
- matheusmoreira 7y agoThe actual published study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053811919306895 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S10538... N = 20 healthy males.
- Vomzor 7y agoI've become convinced a lot of what we now consider mental illnesses are actually symptoms caused by unknown pathogens. Inflammation plays a big part in this.
- monological 7y agoThere’s a strong link between the common cold sore (Herpes simplex virus type 1) and amyloid beta buildup in the brain, which accumulates and severely impacts cognition. It’s estimated that around 67% of the entire world’s population has HSV-1. When your immune system weakens and the virus activates and comes out of dormancy, your body starts to pump out these amyloids to “protect” itself against the virus. The issue is that high levels of this peptide buildup leads to Alzheimers like symptoms. Over time, if you have poor sleep hygiene or under a lot of stress, the buildup reaches a point of significant aggregation causing “brain fog,” even without a confirmed diagnosis of Alzheimers. This is just my theory though. I’m not a doctor. It’s just my 2 cents. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2953363/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2953363/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1586/14787210.2014.887442 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1586/14787210.2014.8... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26836158/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26836158/
- Vomzor 7y agoTo add on this. I believe Alzheimer’s is a set of symptoms causes by different bacteria and viruses. Not a disease in itself. And not one single virus or bacteria. See also the recent found link between Alzheimer's and dental bacteria. Or the link between Alzheimer’s and Lyme disease. Like this misdiagnosis: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kris-kristofferson-misdiagnosed-alzheimers-has-lyme-disease/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kris-kristofferson-misdiagnosed... And this: >In Miklossy’s work, Borrelia burgdorferi—the species of spirochete that causes Lyme, was identified in 451 out of the 495 Alzheimer’s-riddled brains they examined. Yet, her work at the time was derived by other researchers and until recently, she had difficulty securing funding. https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/could-a-pathogen-be-the-cause-of-alzheimers-disease https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/could-a-pathogen-be-the-ca...
- ben_w 7y agoPossibly dumb question: could NSAID painkiller’s like ibuprofen counter this type of inflammation? Or is that unknown at this time?
- Vomzor 7y agoAn analysis of 30 studies involving 1,610 people has concluded that NSAIDS were 79 per cent more effective at fighting major depression than a placebo. https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2019/08/29/jnnp-2019-320912 https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2019/08/29/jnnp-2019-3209...
- dreamcompiler 7y agoNSAIDs are by definition anti-inflammatory, so yes. But there are potential downsides to their long-term use, e.g. ibuprofen is linked with increased risk of heart attack and aspirin is ototoxic. Both can cause gastric problems.
- rashkov 7y agoI’ve found that turmeric extract in capsules can help quite a bit with inflammation and even brain fog
- dvfjsdhgfv 7y agoThere exists a very safe alternative to NSAIDs, with quite a few other beneficial side-effects: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21443487 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21443487
- ceres 7y agoWhat does inflammation mean in this case (i.e., what part of the body is being inflamed)?
- kekebo 7y agoInflammation can occur all over the body, it's a central part of the immune response, triggered for example by pathogens, damaged cells or toxic compounds. The type of inflammation that correlates with more and more (mental) disease is usually in relation to chronic inflammation, meaning the normally healthy immune response doesn't return to baseline and starts harming the body. This can occur because of chronic stress, obesity, a dysfunctional gut microbiome, chronic infections or as side effect of medical treatments, amongst other, and probably a lot of unknown, causes.
- Dowwie 7y agoAsian cultures have known about this link for a long time and their diets reflect that. Hot and cold foods aren't just related to temperature.
- sslayer 7y agoCan you clarify and quantify that statement? I'm not sure what you mean by Hot and Cold foods and temperature? And how are each integrated into the overall diet? Is there any information you could point us too?
- wahern 7y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_food_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_food_therapy Of course, the notion that there's a correlation between what you consume and what your body exhibits is common to pretty much every culture, including modern culture. Likewise for classes of foods correlating with classes of ailments. The devil is in the details--what's the particular effect, if any, of a particular ingredient or mix or ingredients. Rarely do the claims and the reality line up in a rigorous, medically significant manner. But like with religion, the classes of foods and ailments are susceptible to very liberal interpretation, and lend themselves to equivocation with whatever correlation may actually exist. And because foods obviously can and do have significant health effects, opportunities for coincidental relationships abound. That said, modern food science isn't particularly rigorous either, relies on its own gross generalizations and fallacies, and even shares some with folk medicine--most infamously, the supposed relationship of salt and saturated fat consumption to hypertension and cholesterol, respectively, exhibit many of the same classic errors you see in folk medicine.
- csours 7y agoAs someone with sinus allergies, I wonder if this could be partially attributed to things like airflow.
- aitchnyu 7y agoI felt mildly feverish and had aches. I also slept poorly because of narrow passages causing brain fog. Then I had FESS which cleared the chronic infection. Now I sleep better and almost got rid of brain fog.
- xvilka 7y agoTo everyone who wants to do keto - keep an eye on your renal function and acidity. Keto in general is good, but may damage your kidneys in some (uncommon) cases.
- chiefalchemist 7y ago"For example, people living with a medical condition or being very overweight might complain of cognitive impairment, but it’s hard to tell if that’s due to the inflammation associated with these conditions or if there are other reasons.”" Is this study proof inflammation is the root cause, or that it correlates with other symptom. I can here it now, "Obesity isn't my problem, inflammation is." Or "It's not my lifestyle. I don't need to exercise and/or eat well. My problem is inflammation."
- rorykoehler 7y agoExercise and diet are proven to reduce inflammation.
- louis8799 7y agohttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/315255.php https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/315255.php Good news is, just 20 minutes of exercise is enough to reduce inflammation.
- Bizarro 7y agoExercise might help, but a change of diet will help a lot more.
- bob1029 7y agoBoth of these are equally important. Diet and exercise are 2 sides of the same coin. This is why they are usually mentioned together using a conjunction when one gives health advice. Exercise has direct impact on inflammation markers (initially increases them, but suppresses them over longer timescales), and also helps substantially with nutrient uptake + digestion. You may also find that you crave healthier food options immediately after having just completed an arduous workout. In my experience, the best approach for keeping inflammation under control and generally being in the best mental state possible is to exercise every morning while fasted, and then eat 1 big meal sometime in the afternoon. This approach ensures your body experiences a shift in metabolic modes on a daily basis, and makes it a much more seamless experience as you shift between them (assuming you stay consistent). I feel that being in a ketogenic state (i.e. right after you complete your fasted exercise session and before you eat your big meal) yields countless health benefits. And, if you can essentially guarantee that you experience this mode for 4+ hours every day, whatever benefits it may confer should be substantially realized.
- louis8799 7y agoCan you elaborate more on " You may also find that you crave healthier food options immediately after having just completed an arduous workout.". I actually found myself less attracted to junk food after working out but I am not aware that there is a connection behind.