Always tilting your head could signal brain problem

Do you find you can stay more focused and understand information better if you tilt your head to one side? Or perhaps you think you’re holding your head straight until a photographer asks you to straighten it.

A persistent head tilt can be a sign of a brain imbalances that needs addressing, even if you don’t have other symptoms. These brain imbalances may manifest as more serious problems down the road. By addressing what is causing your head tilt early, you can improve brain performance and prevent future problems.

What a head tilt says about your brain

Your brain, eyes, inner ear (vestibular) system, and body all work together to tell you where you are in relation to your environment.

Your eyes tell your brain where you are in the environment. Your vestibular system coordinates this information with any movements happening Information from the joints, nerves, and muscles provide feedback about what your body is doing.

Constantly tilting your head to one sign means there is a deviation within these pathways causing your brain to think your head is straight when it’s not. Or you may feel your brain simply works better if you keep your head constantly tilted to one side.

Common causes of head tilt

Perhaps this happened due to a head injury or whiplash earlier in life, two things notorious for causing lasting damage to the vestibular system and brain.

Or dysfunction can arise from brain developmental issues that started in childhood, such as the left hemisphere developing too quickly compared to the right — a common problem these days.

Factors that cause brain inflammation can also affect function of the brain and vestibular system. Sources of brain inflammation include infection, undiagnosed food intolerances (most common are gluten and dairy), leaky gut, and blood sugar and hormonal imbalances.

More severe causes of head tilt

Head tilts can also be caused by structural problems in the neck and spine.

They can also be related to more advanced conditions such as dystonia, a disorder that causes muscles to contract involuntarily.

Other symptom of dystonia may include dragging one leg, foot cramping, uncontrollable blinking, and difficulty talking.

Dystonias arise from problems in an area of the brain called the basal ganglia that helps regulate muscle contractions and movement. Basal ganglia disorders are not uncommon and include other conditions such as restless leg syndrome, tics, anxiety, tremors, cramping, muscle rigidity, and more.

Head tilt and imbalances in visual processing

A chronic head tilt can also arise due to how the eyes process visual information. If vision from one eye is being interpreted as coming in lower or higher than the other eye, the brain will compensate by tilting the head to make vision appear more equal.

How well your eyes can pursue a target moving both smoothly or in small jumps in various directions informs the functional neurologist as to how your brain is working. For instance, a poorly functioning cerebellum, the area of the brain that plays a role in balance and motor coordination, causes poor function with visual tracking that can lead to a head tilt.

Also, if certain eye muscles are weak, exercises to strengthen those can help correct head tilt. 

This is very general overview of a complex topic, but the bottom line is if you have a head tilt a functional neurology approach can help improve your brain function.

Why you should see a functional neurologist after a brain injury

If you sustain a brain injury, even a mild one, it’s important to be evaluated by a functional neurologist to prevent long term damage and symptoms. Functional neurology uses diagnostic testing that is more sensitive and thorough than normal and that customize rehabilitation based on specific areas of damage to prevent problems in the future.

Brain injury or concussion symptoms typically include fatigue, brain fog, and changes in mood and behavior. Physical symptoms include dizziness, problems with motor control or balance, or digestive issues.

When these symptoms persist, people tend to stay indoors more and avoid social environments or areas where light and sound overstimulate them. Although this becomes the new normal for many people who have had a concussion, it is not normal as a long term strategy.

Even if you don’t have symptoms after a head injury, a functional neurology exam can prevent future problems by identifying areas that may be damaged unbeknownst to you.

The functional neurology exam after a brain injury

A post-concussion functional neurology exam evaluates the brain in relation to possible nerve damage in other areas of the body, problems in the joints or spine, and damage to the inner ear, also called the vestibular system.

The vestibular system coordinates with the eyes and higher centers of the brain to help control where the body is in space. This system is commonly damaged with brain injuries, causing dizziness, nausea, disorientation, or the sense of being on a rocky boat.

Functional neurology uses brain evaluation tests that aren’t typically used in the standard health care model. For instance, videonystagmography uses infrared eye goggles to trace eye movements during visual stimulation or movement to test the inner ear and diagnose vertigo or balance problems.

Although that’s a common tool, it’s only one of many possible options. Functional neurology combines a variety of exam tools to create a broad, objective picture of brain function and health. We then repeat those tests to measure progress and modify treatment during the rehabilitation process.

How functional neurology differs from conventional neurology with brain injuries

When a person sustains a brain injury that warrants a trip to the emergency room, a CAT scan may be ordered to screen for fracture, hemorrhage, or swelling that needs to be surgically addressed. A follow up MRI can identify bleeds or tissue injuries.

However, the majority of brain injuries are too mild for damage to show up on CAT scans or MRIs. More sensitive imaging is available but typically not used as it doesn’t change the course of treatment in the standard model (unless it’s in a situation involving a third party, such as a car accident).

However, with more sensitive functional neurology testing we can find out if these problems come from a balance issue or a visual issue and develop treatment strategies that address problem areas one by one based on your unique situation.

For instance, if turning your head to the right makes you dizzy, functional neurology uses exercises to address the areas of the vestibular system and brain causing that before moving on to more conventional physical rehabilitation — an area where the standard health care approach typically begins.

Diet and lifestyle approaches to healing a brain injury

It’s also important to address your brain injury metabolically. This means following an anti-inflammatory diet  stabilizing blood sugar, healing gut problems, addressing chronic infections, balancing hormones, and dealing with other lingering health issues that will slow or prevent brain recovery.

Likewise, it's key to minimize brain inflammation by removing aspartame and glutamate from your diet and adding magnesium. 

Ask my office for more information about how functional neurology can help you recover from a brain injury.

Skyrocketing suicide rates: Brain-based prevention tips

While death rates from cancer, heart disease and even homicide have gone down in the last 20 years, the suicide rate in the United States has risen sharply  Suicide is one of the 10 leading causes of death in the country, having jumped 80 percent between 1999 and 2014.

Economic distress, social isolation, and social media are factors that take part of the blame for skyrocketing suicide rates. While it is important to address these factors, we must also look at addressing depression, anxiety, and brain injury by improving brain health.

What does a brain need for health?

To function optimally, your brain needs fuel, stimulation, and oxygen; appropriately timed and in proper amounts. Unfortunately, our standard American diets (SAD) and sedentary lifestyles deprive the brain of these critical elements, setting the stage for dysfunction.

Brain fuel

The brain consumes about one third of the body's energy and depends on a steady, reliable source of glucose to keep it fueled and functioning properly. Spikes and drops in blood sugar (glucose) levels sabotage brain function, often causing depression and anxiety.

Symptoms of high blood sugar levels include fatigue after meals, constant hunger and thirst, and cravings for sugary foods and drinks.

Some common low blood sugar symptoms are moodiness or lightheadedness if meals are delayed or missed, waking up at 3 or 4 a.m., and a dependence on caffeine or sugar to keep you going.

Both low and high blood sugar are commonly caused by eating too many processed carbohydrates and sugary foods. Therefore, one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy and protect against depression is to eat a healthy, whole foods diet devoid of processed carbohydrates and sweets.

Brain stimulation

A healthy brain also needs exercise. Physical activity, such as jogging or gardening, and mental activities, such as playing chess and reading, stimulate the brain to keep it active and healthy. Watching TV is not stimulating, and spending hours on social media can worsen brain function. A well stimulated brain is less likely to get depressed.

Oxygen

The fact that you are breathing is no guarantee that your brain is receiving sufficient oxygen. Oxygen enters through our lungs and is carried, attached to iron, through the bloodstream into the brain where it can be used by the brain's cells. If you have poor circulation (symptoms can include cold hands and feet, or fungal nail infections), compromised lungs, or you are anemic, your brain may not be getting the oxygen it needs for optimal health, and depression could result.

History of brain trauma also important

Just one concussion triples the risk of suicide according to a Canadian study  This is likely due to unchecked brain inflammation, which damages brain cells, or neurons, leading to depression later on. If you have had a brain injury in your past and suffer from depression or anxiety, it’s vital to seek functional neurology help to help improve your brain health.

Functional medicine and neurology strategies can help to minimize damage from concussions, thereby reducing the risk of future depression and suicide.

To learn more about how to support brain health, contact my office.

Why your brain may be the cause of sleep apnea

It’s commonly thought that sleep apnea is simply a problem of obesity or structural issues that interfere with breathing. However, a commonly overlooked cause of sleep apnea in men and women is the brain. When the brain is not functioning properly, this can interfere with the body’s ability to maintain proper breathing function while asleep.

Sleep apnea and the brain in women

The brain’s influence on sleep apnea can be seen in women during perimenopause and menopause if their estrogen drops too low.

Insufficient estrogen causes the brain to fail in signaling the palate and tongue to maintain tone during sleep. The resulting lack of tone blocks the airway.

The brain-related cause of sleep apnea is different in men. In a rat study  young male rats responded to normal episodes of oxygen deprivation during sleep by automatically increasing brain activity to take deeper and more frequent breaths. However, the older male rats did not respond in the same way due, it’s theorized, to more aged brains.

Researchers observed a much different response to these normal episodes of sleep-induced oxygen deprivation in female rats. For one thing, older female rats responded much more positively to these hypoxic events than the older males.

Younger female rats had an even better response, especially during specific times in the menstrual cycle. This led scientists to believe female hormones play a role in how they respond to normal episodes of oxygen deprivation during sleep.

This theory is what leads researchers to believe estrogen deficiency contributes to sleep apnea in women during perimenopause and menopause. Estrogen influences serotonin, a brain neurotransmitter chemical that plays a role in giving the tongue and palate tone, including during sleep.

Estrogen tells the brain to breathe in women

To test the theory that the interplay between estrogen and serotonin plays a role in sleep apnea, researchers induced menopause in female rats by removing their ovaries. Sure enough, post-mortem brain biopsies showed less serotonin in the area of the brain that controls the tongue. This had made it harder for the female rats to respond to episodes of oxygen deprivation during sleep. This helps explain why sleep apnea affects more women in midlife.

Sleep apnea and the brain in men

Middle-aged men also experience higher rates of sleep apnea due to the effect of declining testosterone on the brain.

In midlife, men snore more and have more episodes where they stop breathing.

Middle-aged women, however, more commonly complain of insomnia  as well as headaches, fatigue, and irritability caused by sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality. That estrogen deficiency promotes weight gain and restless leg syndrome only worsens the problem of sleep apnea.

Hormone status that plummets too low in midlife can be the result of chronic stress, poor diets, lack of exercise, and other standard bad habits of modern living. These are areas we can address through functional medicine.

Functional neurology and sleep apnea

Sleep apnea can also arise in relation to traumatic brain injuries  childhood brain development disorders such as autism  or other brain-related issues. In functional neurology we can identify identify areas of dysfunction related to sleep apnea, such as with nerves traveling from the tongue to the brain through the brainstem. Based on findings, customized rehabilitation exercises may help address problems with sleep apnea.

Functional medicine and neurology strategies can profoundly improve both brain and hormone function so you not only sleep better, but also feel and function better. Ask my office for more advice.

Use functional neurology to reverse memory loss and prevent dementia and Alzheimer's

Although genetics play a role in memory loss, that doesn’t mean you have to be a helpless victim to the ravages of brain degeneration. By taking action right away if you notice memory loss, you can reverse your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s before it’s too late.

One study showed that nine out of 10 patients were able to reverse their memory loss. The study subjects also showed significant long-term improvement in memory function.

So what was the magic bullet? No magic, just implementation of functional neurology basics.

The subjects underwent a dietary and lifestyle overhaul that included changes in what they ate, regular exercise, supplementation, better sleep, and exercising their brain.

The improvements were so profound that some of the subjects were able to work again, having quit before due to advancing memory loss.

Of the 10 study subjects, the only one not to improve suffered from late-stage Alzheimer’s — showing how important it is to take action to reverse memory loss before it’s too late.

Although plenty of functional neurology clinical cases show memory loss can be reversed, this was the first study of its kind.

Functional neurology to reverse memory loss

In the study, subjects reversed their memory loss through the following approaches also commonly used in functional neurology:

• Removing all simple carbohydrates (white rice, pasta, bread, sugar, etc.) from the diet
• Eliminating processed foods
• Gluten-free diet
• Eating more produce and wild fish
• Doing yoga and activities that reduce stress
• Increasing sleep from 4-5 hours a night to 7-8
• Supplementing with methyl B12, vitamin D3, fish oil, CoQ10, curcumin, resveratrol, ashwagandha, and coconut oil
• Exercising a minimum of 30 minutes four to six times a week
• No snacking
• Use of hormone therapy in cases where it was necessary

Researchers found the biggest challenge in the study was complaining from the subjects about all the changes. Nevertheless, all but one enjoyed significant benefits.

How functional neurology can reverse memory loss

One of the more important factors in reversing memory loss is reducing consumption of simple and processed carbohydrates. These foods spike the blood sugar, inflame the brain, and trigger a cascade of chronic health problems.

In fact, some researchers call Alzheimer’s type 3 diabetes because excess sugar and carbohydrates are so destructive to the brain.

Exercise is another vital strategy to reverse memory loss because it has so many beneficial effects on the brain.

It’s also important to get enough sleep every night to reverse memory loss. This is because one purpose of the brain waves produced during sleep is to transfer memories from short-term storage to long-term storage areas of the brain (hippocampus to neocortex). Too little sleep disrupts this process.

A gluten-free diet can be a profound tool to reverse memory loss — in some people gluten triggers inflammation or autoimmune destruction of brain tissue, sabotaging memory function. Other foods such as dairy, eggs, soy, and grains can do the same.

Although most people think a gluten sensitivity causes gut problems, the truth it more commonly causes neurological damage. For some people, simply going gluten free profoundly improves their brain health and reverses memory loss.

Rehabilitating brain deficits to reverse memory loss

In addition to dietary and lifestyle approaches, functional neurology rehabilitation techniques can help reverse memory loss. If an area of your brain is under active or over active, functional neurology exercises to restore balance and function to the brain will help improve overall brain function, including reversing memory loss.

Ask my office about ways functional medicine and functional neurology can help you reverse memory loss and prevent dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Girls with autism show different symptoms than boys

We commonly think of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affecting mostly boys. While it’s true ASD affects more boys than girls, it turns out that many girls go undiagnosed because their symptoms are much different than that of boys. Girls with autism may behave socially more like neurotypical males than boys with autism. Female autism may also be misdiagnosed as anorexia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The diagnostic criteria for autism — difficulties with socialization and communication and repetitive, inflexible behavior patterns — come from studies on boys. A 2012 study of 15,000 twins found that girls needed to exhibit more extreme behavioral problems and intellectually disability to receive a diagnosis. This means that many girls on the milder side of the ASD spectrum go undiagnosed.

Girls with autism closer to typical boys

Brain scans, genetic testing, and other measures show that girls with autism disorders not only present differently than boys, but also that the understanding of autism has been overly narrow by primarily studying boys.

For one thing, brain scans show a girl with autism process social information much differently than neurotypical girls, but also differently than boys with autism. Instead, their brain operates very much like that of a neurotypical boy. Furthermore, research assessing friendship quality and empathy showed autistic girls score about the same as neurotypical boys.

Girls are better able to hide autism

Girls often go undiagnosed also because they can excel and suppressing their symptoms and studying and mimicking neurotypical girls. However, it’s an exhausting and stressful process for autistic girls, who show a much greater desire to connect than boys.

Girls also exhibit less repetitive behavior and more typical types of play as children, although researchers can pick out subtle differences — obsessively lining up their Barbies, for instance, or being more engaged in staging a scene than the story line.

Female autism can present as anorexia or OCD

Autistic girls also differ from their neurotypical peers by being extreme in their traits, such as “too sensitive” or “too intense.” Their single-minded intensity is believed to underlie anorexia in some who channel those traits into dieting and body obsession. The extreme aversion to certain tastes and textures common with autism also lends itself to anorexia. It’s estimated about 20 percent of women with anorexia also have autism.

The same can be said for autism and OCD, as obsessive-compulsive behavior, fear of change, and being overly rigid are hallmark traits of both OCD and autism.

Autism can make girls vulnerable to predators

Sadly, the autistic girl’s traits of taking things literally combined with social isolation makes her more vulnerable to sexual predators and abusive relationships.

Autistic girls are more apt to suffer from anxiety, low self-esteem, social isolation, and depression. Although people with mild autism are ten times more likely to be suicidal than the general population, the rate is highest in women — 71 percent of women with Asperger’s report suicidal thoughts.

The role of maternal testosterone in autism risk

Autism risk is linked with higher levels of fetal testosterone. A mother with polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal disorder that causes high testosterone, has an almost 60 percent higher risk of giving birth to a child with autism. This is why having a female brain offers protective barriers to this tendency.

However, researchers have found girls with autism have a higher number of genetic mutations than autistic boys. In other words, a girl’s brain may need more genetic and environmental “hits” in order to develop autism.

Whiplash can cause dizziness by damaging inner ear

Although awareness around brain injury is growing, few people realize whiplash has been shown in neurological exams to be capable of causing damage to the brain and inner ear in the same way a concussion can.

Whiplash takes its name from the neck moving in a forceful, back-and-forth manner like the crack of a whip. Whiplash is most commonly associated with car accidents, particularly being hit from behind. However, it can also occur during sports, falls, blows to the head, or other accidents.

Whiplash can cause concussion-like injury

Studies show the force of the brain shaking back and forth in a whiplash incident can injure the brain and the vestibular system, or inner ear, in the same way a concussion can.

This is a less common occurrence than the more usual cervical strain/sprain of most cases of whiplash, caused by the stretching and tearing of the neck’s muscles and ligaments.

When whiplash damages the vestibular system, it’s common for people to experience dizziness; loss of balance; nausea in response to motion; tingling, prickling, and numbness in the limbs; low back pain; headache; and sleep disturbances.

This occurs because of damage caused directly to the semicircular canals that make up the inner ear, or because of a shearing force affecting the nerves in the brainstem that travel to the inner ear.

When damage occurs to the inner ear itself, it’s classified as a peripheral vestibular order. If the nerves connecting the vestibular system to the brainstem are affected, then it’s a central vestibular disorder.

Using functional neurology to address damage to the vestibular system, or inner ear, from whiplash

The issue of whether damage occurs to the peripheral vestibular system or the central vestibular system is often ignored because it doesn’t change treatment in the conventional health care model.

However, in functional neurology this distinction is very important and profoundly affects the course of treatment.

When the central vestibular system is injured, functional neurology rehabilitation exercises reprogram the pathways between the inner ear and the rest of the brain. They accomplish this by working on involuntary movements associated with the inner ear and the eyes. This improves communication between the inner ear and the rest of the brain, thus restoring or improving function.

The vestibular system works with our vision and our brain’s regulation of where the body is in space in order to maintain equilibrium. Gently exercising a compromised equilibrium system can help it regain normal function. A rehabilitation exercise may include activating the visual center in combination with motion, such as spinning slowly in a chair while watching stripes move in a particular direction.

For the patient, exercising this system back to health this means relief from nauseating dizzy spells and other symptoms that have been happening since the whiplash injury occurred.

This is a broad and simple overview of why you may feel dizzy after whiplash and how functional neurology can help identify why and strategize a plan to help you feel and function better.

What your feet can say about your brain

If you wonder why you have brain fog, depression, worsening memory, or slow thinking, the clues may lie in your feet — your foot health can tell you whether your brain is receiving enough oxygen. Poor circulation to the feet creates myriad symptoms that signal circulation in the brain may also be poor, depriving your brain of oxygen, nutrients, and function.

Troublesome symptoms aren’t the only bad part of poor brain circulation. Insufficient oxygen to the brain speeds up brain aging and raises your risk of vascular dementia  It is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s.

Got cold feet? Your brain could be oxygen-deprived

Got cold toes and feet? If you have chronically cold feet, you may want to investigate whether your brain is getting enough oxygen and nutrients from sufficient circulation.

Have someone check if your feet and toes are colder than your ankles or calves. If so, your feet are not getting enough circulation, and your brain may not be either. Cold fingers and a cold nose are other symptoms.

Chronic fungal growth in toenails

If you have chronic fungal nail infections or chronic athlete’s foot, this can mean poor circulation is depriving your feet of enough oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells to ward off infection. This makes the feet and toenails more prone to fungal infections and fighting them a losing battle.

Poor capillary refill time and white toenail beds

Are the nail beds of your toes a healthy pink or a pale white? If circulation is poor, the nail beds are more white than pink.

Another test is to press down on a nail bed and observe how quickly the color returns. The pink color should return instantly. If it takes a few seconds this indicates poor blood flow to the feet and most likely the brain as well.

Cramping in the feet

When circulation to the feet is poor, it’s common to experience foot cramps that are difficult to relieve. The feet cramp due to lack of blood and oxygen to power the muscles. You may also experience cramps in your hands, such as when writing or typing. Both are signs circulation to the brain may be poor.

Is brain circulation poor? Here are some ideas

If you think poor brain circulation may be a culprit in your brain fog, memory loss, depression, or slow thinking, it’s important to figure out why your circulation is low.

Investigate health condition that cause poor blood flow and lack of oxygenation, such as hypothyroidism  anemia, a heart condition, diabetes, low blood pressure, smoking, or an overly sedentary lifestyle.

Normal blood pressure is 120/80. If the top or bottom number is 10 or more points below, that means the pressure is not high enough to push blood into the furthest ends of the body. Low blood pressure is typically accompanied by low blood sugar and adrenal fatigue.

In addition to addressing root causes, one way to boost blood flow to the brain is through bursts of high intensity exercise, even if it’s just for a few minutes. You may experience better brain function throughout the day if you do this first thing in the morning, such as with a few minutes of jumping jacks, pushups, running in place, or other exercise that gets you breathless and your heart pumping. It may sound like torture first thing in the morning for the person with adrenal fatigued, but it will make you feel better in the long run.

A variety of natural compounds also boost brain blood flow.

Other foot problems that signify brain problems

Another foot issue that signals poor brain health is peripheral neuropathy — when the nerves in the feet degenerate. This causes symptoms of numbness, tingling, burning, or stabbing pain in the feet.

Although toxins, injury, and some medications can cause peripheral neuropathy, the most common cause is diabetes. It’s not just your feet that suffer with diabetes. High blood sugar is extremely damaging to the brain and a proven risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s. If you have diabetes or high blood sugar, tightly controlling your blood sugar through diet and lifestyle is imperative to protecting your brain (and your feet).

Ask my office for more ways functional neurology can improve circulation to the brain and thus brain function.

Are you spaced out all the time? Five reasons for brain fog

Do you feel spaced out all the time? Like you’re moving in slow motion through a fog and can’t snap out of it?

Though it’s not considered a disorder worth a doctor’s visit, brain fog is nevertheless distressing, disorienting, and difficult to cope with.

It’s also a red flag your brain is aging too quickly and that you should take action right away.

When your neurons, or brain cells, don’t communicate well with another, this causes brain fog. This poor communication causes overall brain function to slow down and diminish, giving you symptoms of brain fog. The trick is to find out why those neurons aren’t communicating well with one another.

A number of reasons, both metabolic (having to do with diet and lifestyle) and neurological contribute to brain fog. In a nutshell, neurons need sufficient fuel, oxygen, and stimulation to function and prevent brain fog.

1. Blood sugar that is always too low or too high

Chronically unstable blood sugar is a common cause of brain fog because it means neurons are not receiving enough energy to function. As a result, they communicate poorly, causing brain fog.

The most common reasons for unstable blood sugar include a diet high in processed carbohydrates and sugars, skipping meals, and chronic overeating.

Low blood sugar symptoms: Nausea or no appetite in the morning, wake up at 3 or 4 a.m., lightheaded, irritable, spacey and/or low energy between meals, feel energized after meals (there should be no change in energy).

High blood sugar symptoms: Fatigue after meals, constant hunger, intense craving for sweets after meals, constant thirst, frequent urination, insomnia, and excess abdominal fat.

For some people, banishing brain fog is as easy as stabilizing blood sugar through a whole foods diet of ample vegetables along with healthy proteins and fats. Moderate your carbohydrate intake to avoid low or high blood sugar.

2. An unhealthy gut environment

Because of the strong communication between the gut and the brain, poor gut health has a profound influence on brain health. Symptoms can include not only brain fog, but also depression, anxiety, irritability, and worsened memory and learning.

Some people notice their brain fog kicks in after they eat foods that trigger an immune reaction, such as gluten or dairy. Bloating, gas, constipation, or diarrhea can also play a role in brain fog.

Additionally, when the lining of the small intestine becomes inflamed and damaged, it allows undigested foods and pathogens to escape into the bloodstream where they trigger inflammation and brain fog. This is known as leaky gut, or intestinal permeability.

3. Poor circulation

If your fingers and toes are always freezing and your nose is cold to the touch, poor circulation may play a role in your brain fog. These are signs of poor circulation in the brain as well. Other symptoms of poor circulation include weak nails, chronic fungal nail infections, low brain endurance, and cramping in the hands and feet.

Poor circulation deprives the brain of oxygen and nutrients, thus causing brain fog. Factors that contribute to low circulation include anemia, chronic stress, Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, low blood pressure, smoking, and blood sugar imbalances.

5. Functional neurology mechanisms of brain fog

A head injury can inhibit function anywhere in the brain. Because all the parts of the brain work together, this can affect overall function causing myriad symptoms, including brain fog.

Unrelated to an injury, degeneration or dysfunction in one or more areas of the brain cause poor firing of neurons.

Or, perhaps one side of the brain is more dominant than the other. This imbalance can skew brain function and performance, causing a wide range of symptoms that may include brain fog.

In functional neurology we look at not only the metabolic factors of the brain but also at how different areas of your brain function. Strategies that dampen or activate different areas as needed can be a useful tool in alleviating brain fog.

Got brain fog? Ask my office for more advice about how to manage it so you can feel and function your best.

Functional neurology, PANDAS, and PANS

Functional neurology, PANDAS, and PANS

If a child suddenly develops behavioral and neurological symptoms after a strep infection, PANDAS should be suspected. PANDAS is a neuro-immune disorder in which a strep infection triggers brain inflammation and the immune system starts to attack and destroy brain tissue, causing a sudden onset of neurological symptoms.

PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections.

PANS, or Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, is similar, except environmental factors or other infections trigger symptoms.

PANDAS diagnosis criteria

• Significant obsessions, compulsions, tics
• Abrupt onset of symptoms or relapsing and remitting symptom severity
• Onset prior to puberty
• Association with strep infection
• Association with neuropsychiatric symptoms, including PANS symptoms
• PANS diagnosis criteria:
• Abrupt, dramatic onset of OCD or severely limited food intake and the addition of at least two of the following:
• Anxiety
• Emotional swings and/or depression
• Irritability, anger, oppositional behavior
• Regression
• School performance deteriorates
• Sensory or motor abnormalities
• Sleep disturbances, urinary frequency, bed wetting

Functional neurology help for PANDAS/PANS

Because PANDAS and PANS involve the immune system, management involves testing markers for inflammation, infections, immune function, and brain autoimmunity (when the immune system attacks and destroys brain tissue).

It’s also helpful to conduct a functional neurology exam to identify compromised areas of the brain, as well as to establish a baseline of brain function.

Repeat testing can show you how well PANDAS/PANS protocols are working. Functional neurology rehabilitation may also help with recovery. For instance, therapies targeting different areas of the brain can calm an over active immune system and over activation of pathways.

Functional medicine help for PANDAS/PANS

Additionally, functional medicine strategies may include removing inflammatory triggers from the diet and the environment; nutritional therapies to lower inflammation and support brain health; addressing blood sugar, gut health, and toxicity; supporting neurotransmitters; and repairing mitochondrial function and the blood-brain barrier.

Conventional medical help for PANDAS/PANS

Therapies from the conventional model that have been shown to help include steroids and NSAIDs for inflammation; plasmapharesis (plasma exchange) to reduce antibodies; intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) to support immune modulation; and immune modulating medications when necessary.

Understanding the PANDAS/PANS brain

When PANDAS/PANS strikes a child — an estimated 1 in 200 children are affected — parents become both frightened and devastated. Understanding what is happening in the brain can help alleviate anxiety.

The functional neurology exam can help identify which pathways in the brain are affected. PANDAS/PANS typically affects communication loops between the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and frontal lobe.

Act quickly to address PANDAS/PANS

PANDAS/PANS is a significant and scary disorder, but taking action quickly improves the chances of an optimal outcome. For more information, contact my office.

Functional neurology and childhood brain development disorders

More than one in seven children suffer from developmental disorders today. But this doesn’t mean change isn’t possible. The brain is enormously malleable, or plastic, and with the right input on a consistent basis using functional neurology, we often can improve brain function.

Common brain development disorders today include:

• Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
• Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Asperger’s syndrome
• Autism
• Developmental coordination disorder (DCD)
• Nonverbal learning disability (NLD)
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
• Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD)
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Chronic allergies, asthma, eczema, digestive disorders

How brain development disorders arise

These disorders can arise for a variety of reasons, such as:

• Environmental toxins interfere with normal brain development.
• A viral or bacterial infection interferes with brain development.
• The child has an autoimmune reaction against neurological tissue that prevents normal brain development and function. This can be passed on in utero from the mother or develop in early life due to an environmental, viral, bacterial, or even dietary trigger.

Poor brain development unfolds in a variety of ways. For instance, important milestones in brain development, such as crawling, may be skipped. The brain is a highly complex network of multiple pathways. Proper formation of this network of pathways depends in part on the child going through each milestone of development.

When the brain fails to develop correctly, one hemisphere grows more slowly than the other, giving rise to various disorders that are either left-brain dominant or right-brain dominant. This is why we see kids who are intellectually advanced (left brain) yet socially and emotionally delayed (right brain). As this imbalance progresses, the brain finds it increasingly difficult to network between the hemispheres, causing loss of function.

Also, infections and autoimmune attacks against areas of the brain sabotage proper development and hinder function in those pathways. For instance, the basal ganglia, which helps regulate involuntary motor movements, is a common site of viral and autoimmune attack. This can cause disorders such as OCD, Tourette syndrome, and tics.

Start with metabolic health of the brain

Functional neurology also includes addressing the metabolic health of the brain. If the brain is struggling with inflammation, blood sugar imbalances, or chronic poor health from a bad diet, it will not respond as well to rehabilitation. Additionally, children’s brains require ample healthy fatty acids — EPA and DHA.

Metabolic issues to look out for with brain development disorders include:

• Inflammatory foods (sugars and junk foods) and food intolerances
• Chemical sensitivities
• Chronic infections — bacterial, fungal, or viral
• Digestive issues and leaky gut
• Autoimmune disease (when the immune system attacks and destroys tissue in the body, which can include the brain)

Functional neurology brain exercises for brain development disorders

Fortunately, functional neurology can help address brain development disorders.

The types of brain rehabilitation a child needs depends on patient history and a functional neurology examination, which assesses brain function, areas of under and over development, and areas that are over stimulated or under stimulated. The functional neurologist can then tailor exercises to the brain environment and adjust them over time as function improves.

Many families report swift and significant shifts in behavior, mood, sociability, learning, and other brain-based signs.

Ask my office how functional neurology can help if your child has a brain based developmental disorder.

Do this test to find out if your anxiety is genetic

Many different factors can cause anxiety. One little-known cause is a genetic variation that prevents your brain from making enough GABA, a calming brain chemical that prevents anxiety. You can do a simple test with a supplement to find out if this genetic variation affects you.

GABA: The brain chemicals that prevents anxiety

When GABA is low, anxiety goes up, it’s difficult to sleep, and you always feel like you’re in a hurry or living under the threat of imminent doom.

GABA is made from another brain chemical called glutamate. Glutamate is the opposite of GABA in that it is excitatory and stimulating to the nervous system. Both are necessary for healthy brain function. Ideally, they operate in concert with one another, keeping the brain both sufficiently stimulated and calmed as necessary.

However, many disorders today, including anxiety, involved excess glutamate and insufficient GABA. Excess glutamate not only over stimulates the nervous system, it is also toxic to the brain and can age, or degenerate, it too quickly.

The alpha-ketoglutaric acid challenge to screen for genetic cause of anxiety

A variety of factors can cause excess glutamate, however, for some it is faulty conversion of glutamate to GABA that is genetic. Consider this possibility if you have a family history of anxiety.

You can test whether you have this genetic conversion variation with a supplement called alpha-ketoglutaric acid (AKG). The body makes AKG into glutamate, some of which will be made into GABA, unless you have this genetic issue.

How to do the AKG challenge

To perform the challenge, take 3,000 to 4,000 mg of alpha-ketoglutaric acid. Some people have a response after taking it once; others have to take it for several days to respond. Use trial and error to test it.

If you do not have this genetic conversion issue, the AKG will cause either no symptoms or perhaps a little extra energy from the increased glutamate production, but not anxiety.

For the person with the genetic variation, however, the surge of glutamate production combined with the genetic inability to convert it to GABA will cause excitability, nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, and other GABA-deficiency symptoms.

If you have a positive result with the AKG challenge

If the AKG gave you anxiety or insomnia, then you know a perpetual GABA shortage may be an issue for you. Taking GABA support on a regular, lifelong basis may help alleviate symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, nervousness, and catastrophic thinking.

Compounds that work well to support GABA pathways include l-theanine, l-taurine, vitamin B6, valerian, passion flower, and lithium orotate. These can be taken regularly.

Be careful with drugs that increase GABA, such as benzodiazepenes (Valium, Xanax, etc.) They cause many people to build a tolerance to them and withdrawal can be extremely difficult.

Some supplements such as phenibut act like benzodiazepenes and can also cause tolerance if taken regularly, so be mindful of those. Straight GABA is too large to cross the blood-brain barrier, so if it works, then this may indicate you have a leaky blood-brain barrier, which is commonly associated with leaky gut. Also, taking straight GABA regularly can cause you to build a tolerance as well.

Regular exercise, stress-reducing techniques, blocking blue light at night  avoiding foods or supplements that raise glutamate (such as MSG or artificial sweeteners), stabilizing blood sugar, and avoiding foods that cause an immune reaction are some other ways to manage your anxiety naturally.

Is poor balance the cause of your anxiety and insomnia?

The cerebellum (the area at the back of the brain) is best known for its role in balance and coordination. However, the cerebellum does more than that — when it starts to malfunction, the results can be not only worsened balance, but also anxiety, insomnia, and hyper sensitivity.

The cerebellum is a primary integrator of information for the brain. Our body has hundreds of thousands of receptors that detect motion, vision, and where and how our body and joints are positioned at all times. These receptors constantly relay information to the brain so that we can move and function properly in our environment.

This information requires organizing before heading to the rest of the brain. The cerebellum condenses the information and “gates” it, meaning it releases it in manageable amounts to the brain’s cortex, the outer covering with its characteristic folds.

The cortex, which is responsible for higher-order functions of thought and action, decides if you need to carry out a specific action or thought in response to the information, such as turn left, answer a question, run from danger, make a decision, etc. The cortex then sends its information back to the cerebellum to help carry out actions.

When things go wrong with the cerebellum

The cerebellum is a common site of dysfunction. It can degenerate, meaning neurons die. The cerebellum is very susceptible to sensitivity to gluten and other foods, environmental toxins, and oxidative stress. It also can degenerate with age — why older people notoriously have bad balance. Children born with brain developmental disorders often have poor cerebellar function.

Poor cerebellar function is observed in various ways, such as poor balance, lack of coordination, or a tremor as you go to pick something up or bring a glass to your mouth (known as termination tremors).

Stand with your feet together, your arms at your side, and then close your eyes. If you sway more frequently to one side, that may indicate the side with more cerebellar dysfunction — it takes it longer to respond to falling on that side of your body.

Other tests your doctor may use to observe cerebellum function are coordination tests such as: finger to nose, walking heel to toe in a straight line, performing complex alternating movements, and ocular tracking (the eyes give insight into function).

Poor cerebellar function can also cause dizziness, disorientation, and nausea in cars, on boats, or when seeing things move swiftly, such as in a movie. Basically, the cerebellum is not able to respond appropriately to input from the environment.

Cerebellum function and anxiety and insomnia

As the cerebellum loses function it begins to falter at its job of gating information delivered to the cortex. As a result, excess information slips through.

This means the cortex and areas in the brainstem receive more information than they can adequately manage. Much of the role of the frontal cortex is to act as a brake pedal on the brainstem, preventing the brainstem from spinning out of control. Our brainstem governs myriad functions, such as emotions, heart function, blood pressure, and digestion.

This poorly gated sensory overload can cause many symptoms:

• Anxiety
• Sensitivity to light and sound
• Startle easily
• Insomnia due to racing mind
• Irritable
• Trouble staying asleep
• Highly emotionally sensitive
• Fearful
• Heart racing/palpitations
• Blood Pressure changes
• Digestive Issues

Many factors work against us when it comes to healthy brain function that prevents an overactive brain and anxiety. They include a culture that cherishes overworking, inflammatory diets, unstable blood sugar, too much screen time, stressful lives, and not enough sleep.

Ask my office for information on how to dampen brain activity and help relieve anxiety and insomnia.

Functional neurology versus conventional neurology

How does functional neurology differ from conventional neurology? Conventional neurology diagnoses neurological disorders that can be treated with pharmaceutical or surgery. Functional neurology, on the other hand, identifies a broader range of brain disorders and restores function through rehabilitation that either dampens or activates specific regions of the brain.

A good example is migraines. Many people see neurologists for debilitating migraines. However, virtually every person who suffers with chronic migraines has a normal brain scan. As a result, conventional neurology has little too offer beyond pharmaceuticals. In other words, the neurons are there, they just aren’t firing correctly.

The same can be said for other brain disorders. Autism, depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, hyper sensitivity to light and pain, emotional instability, loss of memory, gut problems, childhood developmental disorders, autism, brain injury, memory loss, vertigo, tremors, dystonia, are examples of brain-based disorders functional neurology can help.

An analogy for brain function is a symphony orchestra. Before the performance, the musicians tuning their instruments sounds jarring. However, when the instruments are tuned and the musicians play at the appropriate time, the result is lovely.

Our brain works the same way. Firing and timing that are off in the brain causes symptoms while restoring function through rehabilitation improves neurological harmony.

Functional neurology and underlying causes

Neither drugs nor surgery are appropriate or effective for many brain-based disorders.

For one thing, medications are not selective for one area of the brain, but instead they bathe the entire brain. Depression may be related to dysfunction in just the frontal lobe, but an anti-depressant affects the entire brain and may cause negative side effects.

Another example is a patient with Meniere’s disease, which causes dizziness, ringing ears, and nausea. They may be told they need anti-nausea or anti-vertiginous medication and surgery to sever the nerve in the inner ear. However, Meniere’s is an autoimmune disease caused by the immune system attacking and destroying the inner ear.

Functional neurology looks at not only the underlying causes of an over zealous immune system, but also at the areas of the brain that are responsible for interpreting this information. The combination of these two can provide relief and slow or halt progression of the disease.

Functional neurology exams and protocols

Functional neurology uses a variety of techniques to assess which areas of the brain are breaking down. An important aspect of the functional neurology exam includes observing your eyes in response to various stimuli; eye function involves almost every part of the brain.

How your eyes respond when tracking fast movements, slow movements, and when you are rotating or balancing delivers specific insights into brain function and what kinds of rehabilitation will work best.

Other exam techniques involve observing your response to balance, coordination, gait, and rotation challenges. The discipline requires a strong understanding of neurological anatomy, physiology, function, and the various pathways and networks in the nervous system.

The functional neurologist uses the data from your exam to create brain rehabilitation exercises that activate sluggish areas of the brain or dampen over active areas.

For instance, a person with anxiety, insomnia, hyper sensitivity to light and sound, and who startles easily may suffer from degeneration of the cerebellum (at the back of the brain) that is causing the midbrain (in the lower center of the brain) to become over active, resulting in PTSD-like symptoms.

This is a broad overview of functional neurology basics. For more information, contact my office.

Tremors aren’t always Parkinson’s — types of tremors

One of the biggest mistakes many people make is assuming a tremor signifies Parkinson's disease. The truth is many different kinds of tremors exist for different reasons. You can distinguish between them by knowing some basic characteristics.

Understanding the expression of the tremor

Tremors can be grouped into three categories: action tremor, resting tremor, and physiological tremor.

Action tremor happens with movement. These tremors typically stem from a disorder of the cerebellum, the area at the back of the brain involved in movement and coordination. The more calibration the movement requires (such as touching your pinkie finger to your nose with your eyes closed), the easier it is to see this tremor. Drinking alcohol may make this tremor worse.

Resting tremor happens when the hands are totally at rest. These tremors are related to the basal ganglia, and area of the brain involved in regulating movement. Moving the hands will stop the tremor. This is the type of tremor associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Physiological tremor results from a metabolic issue affecting muscle contractions, such as too much coffee, low blood sugar, too much thyroid hormones, or certain medications. The key feature of this tremor is that it happens both at rest and in action.

Types of tremors

Those are the three primary ways tremors express themselves. Beyond that, we can identify different tremors based on what causes them.

Essential tremor is the most common tremor and is caused by a hereditary disorder of the cerebellum. You know you’re a candidate for this tremor if drinking alcohol makes it better and other family members have it. It may also occur in the head and the voice.

Orthostatic tremor occurs in the legs when a person stands up but goes away upon walking. It is related to misfiring in the autonomic nervous system, which governs unconscious bodily functions.

Dystonic tremors occur with dystonia, a disorder in which muscles contract involuntarily.

Parkinsonian tremor is a pill-rolling rest tremor and re-emergence tremor (i.e., it occurs after the arms have been held out a few moments).

Cerebellar tremors occur when the cerebellum cannot correctly calibrate muscle movements during movement, such as bringing a glass to your mouth. Vertigo and nausea may be other complaints.

A Holmes tremor is also known as wing-beating, midbrain, or rubral tremor. It is associated with strokes that impact the midbrain, as well as copper toxicity.

Palatal tremor is a rare disorder that causes rhythmic tremoring of the soft palate.

Neuropathic tremor stems from neuropathy, more often an acute autoimmune neuropathy.

Neurotoxic and drug-induced tremors, are, like they sound, induced by toxins and medications.

Psychogenic tremors are a psychiatric disorder in which the individual creates the tremor.

Functional neurology and tremors

In functional neurology, we can often lessen the severity of tremors by identifying the area of the brain causing them and then using brain rehabilitation techniques to address dysfunction in those areas. We also work with you to reduce inflammation, ensure proper brain nutrition, and improve overall metabolic health so that your brain has the best chance at improvement.

Parkinson’s vs. parkinsonism and nutritional therapies

Parkinson’s and parkinsonism — symptoms that mimic Parkinson’s — stem from the same areas of the brain. These disorders both cause tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement, however they have different causes and may be helped with different nutritional therapies.

Parkinson’s versus parkinsonism

It’s helpful to know the difference between the two. Parkinson’s is a disease that slowly destroys brain cells (for some people it happens quickly) in an area of the brain that produces the brain chemical dopamine. Symptoms worsen over the years and include resting tremors, stiffness, slowness, not blinking enough, loss of smell, digestive problems, depression, and dementia.

Parkinsonism belongs to a class of disorders called “hypokinetic disorders,” which means diminished muscle function. Symptoms are slow or stiff movements.

Parkinson’s is due to degeneration of the brain’s dopamine area; parkinsonism is caused primarily by abnormal clumping of proteins called alpha-synuclein.

This clumping interferes with communication within the brain and also degenerates tissue.

Nutritional support for Parkinson’s

Because Parkinson’s disease degenerates the area of the brain that produces dopamine, nutritionally (and pharmaceutically) supporting dopamine can significantly help people Parkinson’s patients.

Dopamine is an important brain chemical that helps regulate not only feelings of reward and pleasure, but also mood, movements, learning, and motivation.

Nutritional compounds that support dopamine include L-dopa, pyridoxal-5-phoshate, DL-phenylalanine, beta-phenylalanine, and acetyl-tyrosine.

Nutritional support for parkinsonism

Parkinsonism also involves dopamine, but nutritional support should focus more on preventing or slowing the clumping of alpha-synuclein. In fact, research shows dopamine medications may worsen parkinsonism.

The key is to support the energy factories inside each brain cell, called mitochondria, and to support cell function.

Nutritional support for Parkinson’s and parkinsonism

These strategies have been shown in studies to help nutritionally support both Parkinson’s and parkinsonism:

Support healthy gut bacteria and function. Research shows an unhealthy balance of gut bacteria and gut inflammation can cause aggregation of alpha-synuclein, thus increasing the risk of Parkinson’s and parkinsonism.

Consider a ketogenic diet or intermittent fasting. Both these diets have been shown to slow down protein aggregation and promote healthy function of brain cells.

Take flavonoids to protect brain cell mitochondria. Flavonoids are anti-inflammatory plant compounds that have been shown to protect the brain. Turmeric and resveratrol are examples of powerful flavonoids.

Take nutrients to protect mitochondria. Nutritional compounds that have been shown to protect the mitochrondria include CoQ10, carnitine, riboflavin, niacin, alpha-lipoic acid, and magnesium.

Make sure you consume enough essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are anti-inflammatory and protective of brain health. Consume enough in the right ratio.

Support methylation. Methylation is a molecular process necessary for healthy brain function and helping prevent brain inflammation and degeneration. Nutritional compounds that support methylation include methyl B12, L-methylfolate (5-MTHF), trimethylgycine, choline, riboflavin, and pyridoxine.

Exercise! Increasing your heart rate through regular aerobic activity has been shown to help manage the progression and symptoms of Parkinson’s and parkinsonism. It’s best to get your heart rate up to higher levels for at least a few minutes every time you exercise.

What not to take. Acetycholine is a brain chemical and a supplement that can be great for the brain but it opposes dopamine. Therefore, in many cases it is recommended not to take acetylcholine supplements or precursors when you have parkinsonism or Parkinson’s disease.

This is a broad and simple overview of some nutritional strategies that can help you manage Parkinson’s or parkinsonism in addition to medical and functional neurological care. Ask my office for more advice.

Sleepy after meals? You’re raising your risk of dementia and Alzheimer's

Sleepy after meals? You’re raising your risk of dementia and Alzheimer's

If you pass out after meals or find yourself feeling desperate for something sweet, you are likely increasing your risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s in your later years.

Post-meal sleepiness and sugar cravings are signs of insulin resistance, a condition in which blood sugar is chronically too high and aging your brain too quickly.

Look for other common signs of insulin resistance to know if you’re at risk. For women this includes balding, growing more facial hair, and a deepening voice. PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is also commonly linked with insulin resistance.

Men with insulin resistance may find they are growing breasts and they cry more easily.

People take on characteristics of the opposite sex because insulin resistance promotes excess testosterone production in women and estrogen production in men.

What causes insulin resistance?

Whether you develop insulin resistance depends on your diet and physical activity. If you subsist on a high-carbohydrate diet, indulge regularly in sweets, and never or rarely exercise, your body must secrete high levels of insulin to lower your chronically high blood sugar.

The human body is designed to survive times of famine more so than times of excess calories. These chronic surges of insulin eventually exhaust the body’s cells, causing them to refuse entry to insulin. This is “insulin resistance.”

Starbucks pastries and syrupy coffees, soda, breads, pasta, rice, corn, potatoes, hours in front of the computer and television, overeating…it’s no wonder rates of insulin resistance, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s are soaring to shockingly high levels.

Alzheimer’s is type 3 diabetes

We have long known insulin resistance is linked to many chronic health disorders, including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, hormonal imbalances, and type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance is also called pre-diabetes).

In addition, the association between insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s is now so well established that many increasingly refer to Alzheimer’s as “type 3 diabetes.”

This is because a high-carbohydrate diet accelerates brain degeneration and atrophies the brain.

Insulin necessary for brain function

Insulin does more than usher glucose into cells to manage blood sugar. Healthy levels of insulin also sustain energy in the brain, regulate inflammation, and help produce brain chemicals that regulate mood.

Insulin resistance does the opposite—it inflames the brain and impairs the brain’s ability to perform even simple operations.

Unless it’s reversed through diet and exercise, insulin resistance often progresses to type 2 diabetes, even further increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Reversing insulin resistance to prevent Alzheimer’s

Some of the most powerful tools to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s are the same tools that can reverse insulin resistance. They include stabilizing blood sugar by eating a lower-carb diet (ratios vary based on the person), regular physical activity (it helps sensitize cells to insulin), and a diet that is primarily vegetables (they foster health-promoting gut bacteria).

This is a broad overview of how your blood sugar levels affect the health and longevity of your brain. For customized advice, contact my office.

Why do I get dizzy? Common reasons and solutions

The sudden lack of control is frightening when a dizzy spell, or vertigo, hits you. The world spins and rocks, the ground feels like it’s giving way, your ears ring, and nausea may grip your gut.

Vertigo feels terribly wrong and frightening and understandably has people worrying, “Why do I get dizzy?”

Several things can cause vertigo. it’s important to understand the underlying cause of your dizzy spells to improve your success in addressing them.

Before looking for underlying causes, first figure out what type of vertigo you have.

Peripheral vertigo and dizzy spells

The most common reason for dizziness is usually an inner ear, or vestibular, problem, which plays an important role in balance. Peripheral means on the outside, indicating this is not a brain-based vertigo, but instead peripheral vertigo.

Common causes of inner ear problems include:

BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo): A small crystal is floating loose in the wrong area of the inner ear, causing dizziness. This can be treated with the Epley maneuver.

Vestibular neuronitis and labryinthitis: Nerves in the inner ear associated with balance becomes inflamed, usually due to infection. Using functional medicine and functional neurology approaches to address the infection and inflammation often help.

Meniere’s disease: A chronic inner ear disorder that also causes hearing loss and tinnitus and tends to progressively worsen. Functional medicine autoimmune protocols have been known to help; conventional approaches include medications and surgery in severe cases.

In addition to dizziness, other common symptoms of peripheral vertigo include nausea, vomiting, sweating, pain or fullness in the ear, hearing loss, or tinnitus (ringing in the ear). The vertigo comes and goes and fixing your eyes on a point can help stop the spinning.

Central vertigo and dizzy spells

Central vertigo refers to dizziness caused by brain issues. These causes can be more serious and difficult to treat than most cases of peripheral vertigo.

One distinguishing factor of central vertigo is that fixing your eyes on one spot does not help relieve dizziness. Also, central vertigo episodes are more intense and last longer. Although hearing is not as affected as it is in peripheral vertigo, people often experience headaches, trouble swallowing, and weakness.

Factors known to cause central vertigo include head injury, illness, infection, multiple sclerosis, migraines, brain tumors, stroke, transient ischemic attacks (mini strokes), and neurological autoimmunity.

How functional medicine and functional neurology can help address dizziness and vertigo

The first step is to identify what type of vertigo you have and what is causing it. This may involve lab testing to identify chronic inflammation, a blood sugar imbalance, an autoimmune reaction, or other health disorders.

For instance, multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys nerve sheaths, can cause vertigo. An autoimmune protocol and functional neurology rehabilitation exercises can help.

Another example is when a head injury causes vertigo—a nutritional and dietary protocol to support brain healing along with functional neurology may help profoundly.

Vertigo is the symptom, not the disease

Your dizzy spells are a symptom of something else. Through functional lab testing, examination, and clinical history, we can help you address your problems with vertigo.

Better balance is the key to lasting brain function

While phone apps and online programs that exercise the brain are popular to improve memory, most people overlook a key component to lasting brain function: your balance.

Your brain requires good balance to stay sharp and lower the risk of dementia. In addition to doing brain exercises, make sure you regularly challenge and improve your balance.

How good balance improves brain function

What does good balance have to do with preserving memory and brain function?

The cerebellum, the area at the base of the brain, governs balance, as well as precision, coordination, and timing.

It makes sure you can walk upright, put a spoon to your mouth, or hit a tennis ball. The movements of daily life keep the cerebellum in a constant state of activity.

It’s this constant activity that keeps the rest of the brain on its toes. A healthy cerebellum feeds the brain a steady stream of information to keep it actively firing and healthy. (This is also one reason regular physical activity is so vital to brain health and function.)

Bad balance leads to bad brain function

This explains why symptoms of cerebellum degeneration, such as bad balance, often tie into loss of memory, poor ability to learn, and weakened brain endurance. The brain isn’t getting enough “juice" from the cerebellum to keep it charged and running well.

Brain overwhelm from bad balance

At the same time, if a certain area of the cerebellum degenerates, this can overwhelm the brain with information.

The outer area of the cerebellum serves as a gatekeeper, regulating information that travels from the body to the brain. When this area of the cerebellum degenerates, the gates are left unguarded, and too much sensory input floods the brain.

Symptoms may include restless leg syndrome, tinnitus, hypersensitivity to stress, depression, fatigue, anxiety, and others that you wouldn’t think could be related to balance.

Can you pass this balance test?

• Do you wobble if you stand on one foot? How about with your eyes closed?
• If you walk in a straight heel-to-toe line do you stumble? How about with your eyes closed?
• If you stand with your feet together and close your eyes do you sway to one side?
• Do you walk with a wide gait, or feel like you’re going to fall if you don’t hold the handrail going down the stairs?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your balance issues could be a sign of compromised brain health and increased risk of dementia later in life.

How to improve your balance and hence your brain health

Since we know regular exercise is a must to preserve brain function, look for forms that emphasize balance. Ideas include specific balance exercises, yoga, tai chi, stand-up paddle boarding  dancing, and the use of a wobble board or Bosu ball. Just be safe and work within your limits!

Good balance is only part of a bigger brain puzzle

Good cerebellum health is important, but it’s not the end all. The inner ear, or vestibular system, also plays a vital role in balance and may need attention if your balance is off.

Also, screening for gluten sensitivity is important, as a gluten intolerance degenerates the cerebellum in many people.

Follow an anti-inflammatory diet and reduce stressors if you have balance issues. The brain and cerebellum are very sensitive to inflammation from junk foods, sleep deprivation, chronic stress, and more.

And make sure you keep your blood sugar stable — blood sugar that is constantly too low or too high (or both) rapidly ages the brain and contributes to poor balance.

Contact my office if you’d like more information on how your balance is related to your brain function.

Follow a healthy brain protocol after a concussion

Medical advice following a concussion is straightforward: Get plenty of rest, avoid stimulating the brain, and don’t return to regular activities until your brain can handle it.

But a concussion is a much bigger deal than people realize, and there is plenty more you can do to improve brain recovery after a concussion.

Lower inflammation after a concussion

Your diet following a concussion is more important than ever before. You want to focus your efforts on reducing inflammation in the brain.

The immune system in the brain is different than the body’s. The body’s immune system has mechanisms to shut off an immune attack when it’s no longer needed.

The brain’s immune system, however, has no off switch. A concussion can result in unchecked inflammation that slows recovery and continues to destroy healthy brain cells long after the concussion.

This is why concussions can increase the risk of gut problems, depression, suicide  brain issues, and other health disorders.

A healthy post-concussion eating plan

Studies have firmly established the link between diet, gut health, and brain health. What you eat after a concussion matters greatly. Here is an overview of brain healing strategies:

Stabilize blood sugar. Blood sugar that is too low or too high inflames the brain. Cut out sugars and starchy carbs and eat frequently enough to keep energy stable (but don’t overeat).

Remove inflammatory foods. Gluten and dairy are inflammatory to the brain in many people. Undiagnosed food intolerances, such as to corn, eggs, soy, or other foods can inflame the brain. MSG and artificial sweeteners are toxic to the brain and should be avoided, too.

Improve gut bacteria diversity. A slew of studies recently established a link between brain health and the bacteria in your gut. Now is the time to build a healthy gut microbiome.

Eat good fats. The brain is made primarily of fat, so it’s important to eat healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado, cold water fish, and nuts and seeds.

Follow an anti-inflammatory autoimmune diet. It’s best to follow the autoimmune diet as it focuses on lowering inflammation and healing the gut, two things that will help heal the brain. Just make sure you eat enough to sustain energy and blood sugar.

This is a general overview of post-concussion nutrition. For more detailed advice, contact my office.

A healthy post-concussion protocol

Fortunately, certain herbal compounds are effective in reducing brain inflammation. They include apigenin, luteolin, baicalein, resveratrol, rutin, catechin, and curcumin.

Nutrients that improve oxygen flow to the brain also aid recovery. They include feverfew, butcher’s broom, ginkgo biloba, huperzine, and vinpocetine.

Additionally, supporting the omega-3 fatty acid DHA and the body’s master oxidant, glutathione, is helpful.

Lifestyle factors that can aid brain recovery include identifying and addressing autoimmune diseases and chronic infections, and stabilizing hormones (especially in perimenopausal or postmenopausal women).

These are some foundations that can make the difference between a downward spiral after a concussion or the beginning to a more brain-healthy way of living.

If your life hasn’t been the same since your concussion, ask my office how we can help.