Brain Fog in Your Patients Is a Red Flag Symptom

Brain Fog in Your Patients Is a Red Flag Symptom
Food allergies and sensitivies don't always manifest as a runny nose or upset stomach. Sometimes they are experienced as brain fog, depression, or insomnia. Shutterstock
Datis Kharrazian
By Datis Kharrazian, Ph.D., DHSc, DC, MS, MMSc, FACN
Updated:

Do you or your patients ever suffer from brain fog, that feeling like you’re disconnected from the world, moving in a daze, and slow to process information? If so, take this symptom very seriously as it’s one of the earliest signs of neurodegeneration, or accelerated brain aging. This means you are at increased risk of Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Brain fog is a symptom of an inflamed brain. The brain’s immune cells are called glial cells and they function and behave differently than immune cells in the rest of the body. When glial cells become activated, or primed, they become inflammatory. As they don’t have an automatic off switch, they can be inflammatory on an ongoing basis, damaging brain tissue in the process.

Datis Kharrazian
Datis Kharrazian
Ph.D., DHSc, DC, MS, MMSc, FACN
Datis Kharrazian, Ph.D., DHSc, DC, MS, MMSc, FACN, is a Harvard Medical School trained, award-winning clinical research scientist, academic professor, and world-renowned functional medicine health care provider. He develops patient and practitioner education and resources in the areas of autoimmune, neurological, and unidentified chronic diseases using non-pharmaceutical applications.
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