Poison and the Blood Brain Barrier

The Blood-Brain Barrier, or BBB, is a single-layered lattice of cells joined together by tight junctions that keep most substances out and allow few substances into the brain.Toxic substances typically kept out include heavy metals, pesticides, germs, plastics as well as damaging proteins while substances allowed in are oxygen, hormones, and nutrients.  Your bbb has tight junctions that become loose or broken with a protein called zonulin. Zonulin also breaks down the protective layer of your intestinal wall creating leaky gut.  Zonulin is increased in the body due to glyphosate (an herbicide found in our food from Roundup made by Monsanto).  To find out what foods contain glyphosate go to Detox Project website. Zonulin is also made in response to eating wheat.  With too much zonulin the bbb leaks letting toxins come into the brain causing damage and inflammation on the brain.  In other words, a Leaky Brain is an Inflamed Brain.

What are the Signs and Symptoms of a Leaky Brain?

Leaky Brain manifests as multiple signs and symptoms, so pay attention to these as opposed to ignoring them:

ADD/ADHD/Autism spectrum disorders

Brain fog or difficulty concentrating

Chronic fatigue that does not improve with rest or sleep

Headaches or migraines that come on suddenly, become worse with standing, and grow more severe as the day progresses

Memory loss or another cognitive decline which may lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

Mood disorders, particularly anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia

Peripheral neuropathy 

Seizures

It is important not to ignore these signs and symptoms because those living with Leaky Brain are at an increased risk of developing neurological or psychiatric conditions. 

What Causes Leaky Brain?

The profound connection between the brain and the gut cannot be underestimated as research repeatedly confirms that microbes living in the gut affect the brain both positively and negatively.

In fact, the stomach and small intestine contain a lining similar to the blood-brain barrier which also keeps harmful substances from entering the gut.

Therefore, many of the same factors that cause a leaky gut—poor gut health, unhealthy diet, food intolerances, food sensitivities, toxins and infections—can also create a leaky brain. For more information on Leaky gut listen to my podcast #13 Digestion Leaky Gut and Lectins.

Studies from Harvard show that wheat creates leaky gut because it contains  a protein called gliadin, which increases the zonulin.  Again it’s this Zonulin that weakens the tight junctions of the gut lining and BBB thereby contributing to leaky gut and leaky brain.

Five causes of Leaky Brain:

1.Gut Dysbiosis (infections)

2.Leaky Gut

3.Autoimmune Disease

4.Mental Health Conditions

5.Stress & Vagus Nerve Dysfunction

All five of these categories have inflammation as a basis for the problem, yet they become even more problematic in the following disease states:

Bacterial infections deteriorate the BBB allowing bacteria into the brain where they do not belong.

Mold toxins trigger inflammation, promote oxidative damage in the brain, and disrupt the BBB.

Excess glutamate overstimulates nerves causing the BBB to breakdown increasing permeability to potentially harmful agents.

High blood sugar and diabetes represent dramatic changes in blood sugar which produce oxidative stress and inflammation

Elevated homocysteine, seen in individuals living with heart disease, autoimmune disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease or those who survive a stroke, changes tight junction function and prevents the BBB from functioning properly.

Obesity increase oxidative damage and deprive the brain of oxygen.

Low quality sleep interrupts the sleep-wake cycle interrupting the uptake of nutrients and offload of toxins while increasing inflammation.

While it is more obvious that leaky brain causes inflammation which then drives mental health conditions, it is less known that mental health conditions can also drive inflammation and leaky brain.  The contributing factors could be:

The Brain-Gut Axis: The Vagus Nerve Connection

The brainstem connects to the vagus nerve, which in turn connects to all the digestive organs. The brain sends signals through the vagus nerve to the organs. The organs also send signals through the vagus nerve to the brain.

The vagus nerve initiates many important digestive functions such as stomach acid secretion, enzyme production, gallbladder function and intestinal motility.

If there is poor brain communication to the vagus nerve there can be many negative effects including:

Chronic inflammation

Poor digestion

Leaky gut

Inflamed brain

How to Reverse and Heal a Leaky Brain – Stop, Start, and Seek

Treating a leaky brain starts by healing a leaky gut. This involves eliminating all the causative factors of leaky gut and leaky brain and then adding dietary and lifestyle factors that support brain health.

Following these steps will lower inflammation in the body and brain, maximize the transport of oxygen, glucose, and other nutrients into the brain, facilitate better removal of toxins out of the brain, reduce oxidative stress, and help rebuild tight junctions to restore the integrity of the BBB.

STOP:

Consuming gluten and foods that you cannot tolerate including sugar and processed foods in meals

Ignoring stress

Allowing bacterial and viral infections to fester before getting treatment

Drinking alcohol in excess

Exposure to environmental toxins in air, water and food

Eating nonorganic food that contains glyphosate

START:

Detoxifying the body of pesticides,  and heavy metals

Taking in probiotic foods to keep the gut balanced

Eating essential fatty acids, which are vital for the brain, including avocado, coconut oil, flaxseed, hemp seed, oily fish, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts

Reducing inflammation through the diet  - Listen to our podcast on Chronic Inflammation

Making quality sleep a priority

Reducing psychological and emotional stress through exercise, meditation, journaling

SEEK:

Figure out what supplements you need to take to help repair the BBB including:

Acetyl L-Carnitine, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Alpha-GPC, Angelica (Dong Quai) Extracts, Astragalus, Astaxanthin, Apigenin, B12-B6-Folate Mix, Berberine, Bitter Melon, Butyrate, Catechins, Chlorogenic-Acid, Citicoline, Collagen, Curcumin, Vitamin D3, Fish Oil, Ginseng, Licorice, Luteolin, Lycopene, Myoinositol, Magnesium, Melatonin, Methylene Blue, Olive Leaf Extract, Oxaloacetate, Parthenolide (Feverfew), Progesterone, Pterostilbene, Resveratrol, Rosmarinic Acid, Shilajit, Selenium, Sulforaphane, Ursolic Acid

There's lots of different supplements for support so it's best to get muscle tested for your exact nutritional support. 

Is Your LIver Toxic?

When working with people in getting rid of toxins I help the body pull the toxins out of the cells and into the bloodstream to then be detoxed by the liver and kidneys and then out through the bowels or urine. Sometimes the liver is already burdened and cannot do this job well so to help jump start the liver and allow the person to detox without problems I suggest a liver flush. I also suggest one when the patient has a history of or I suspect, gallstones.

There are quite a few varieties of liver flushes out there. The one I like the most is from Standard Process with my own slight variations. Here are the steps:

1. From Monday morning to noon on Saturday, in addition to your normal diet, add 4 malic acid a day, 2 at breakfast and 2 at dinner. Dosage may vary person to person so it is best to get the malic acid muscle tested for correct, personal dosage.

2. At noon on Saturday, eat a normal lunch, including salad.

3. Three hours after lunch, take 8 capsules of Disodium Phosphate by Standard Process.

4. Two hours later, take 8 more capsules of Disodium Phosphate. This should be done at least one hour before dinner.

5. Saturday dinner should be only organic citrus or organic citrus juice.

6. At bedtime, drink 4 ounces (1/2 a cup) of unrefined, extra virgin, first-pressed olive oil with the juice of half a lemon. Follow this with a small glass of grapefruit juice.

7. Go to bed. Lie on your right side with your right knee up for 30 minutes.

8. Go to sleep.

9. Upon rising and at least one hour before breakfast, take 8 capsules of Disodium Phosphate again.

10. Sunday will be your cleansing. Continue your regular diet, and you will usually have a loose bowel movement within an hour of step 9. In some individuals this may happen the night before.

11. After this bowel movement do not flush toilet. Instead check for any stones of gelatinous balls. Evaluate their approximate size and number. Report this to your practitioner. Here is an example of what they may look like. Variations of green and greenish brown colors are common.



12. This procedure will leave some people weak. Be prepared to rest after this procedure.

13. If stones or balls are present, this procedure can be repeated in 2 weeks. Talk with your practitioner to make a plan.

14. The number and size of balls will generally diminish when subsequent procedures are done as suggested by practitioner.

15. Some people experience nausea after taking the olive oil. This usually diminishes by the time you go to bed. If olive oil induces vomiting, do not repeat the procedure at this time and discuss with your practitioner.

When a patient vomits or I feel that the liver flush may be too extreme for some patients who I suspect have gallstones or that a sluggish liver is holding back their progress in my office, I then suggest taking malic acid or Chanca Piedra on a regular basis (whichever one the patient muscle tests better for) to help break down gallstones and move sluggish toxins through liver. Slowly but surely this can also get the job done over time!

Formaldehyde Toxicity

A common chemical that I help patients detox in my office is formaldehyde. Now you may be asking yourself, "isn't that what they use to preserve dead bodies?" and the answer is yes! Formaldehyde has been classified as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Even with formaldehyde labeled as such it is used in new clothes, new cars, new carpets, new mattresses, new etc. It is that new clothes smell. Industries use formaldehyde as a fire deterrent. So if the warehouse catches on fire products are less likely to burn if they are sprayed with formaldehyde. Solution: wash all your new clothes once and when getting a new carpet or new couch air ventilation is key because it will eventually gas off.

Formaldehyde is also found in nail polish, wood pressed furniture, hair dye and straightener treatments, other treated lumber, and cigarette smoke. People who consume diet food will also need to detox formaldehyde for better health for aspartame (the artificial sweetener that is used instead of sugar) is a chemical that the body doesn't know how to breakdown so it turns it into formaldehyde where if enough aspartame is digested formaldehyde builds up in the body. Formaldehyde is also in vaccines as a preservative including flu vaccines. A great alternative to the flu vaccine is flu nosode which is a tincture we sell in the office that provides homeopathic aid in relief of flu symptoms. Formulated specifically for this year's flu strain it can also be taken as prevention against the flu or as an alternative to getting the flu shot.  If you already received the flu shot and are having symptoms of any sort let me know and we can help the body detox from it. 

Formaldehyde toxicity can cause headaches, migraines, skin rashes, allergies, asthma, and any type of ears, nose, throat symptoms. Best way to avoid it is to wash new clothes once and notice if you get symptoms while shopping too long in a store and make note if it's after 15 minutes of being in the store or 60 minutes, etc. and cut the time you shop so you are within your range to not get symptoms until you are healthier to handle exposure to formaldehyde at a later date. Also use natural hair dyes and nail polish and don't eat or drink anything with aspartame in it. Formaldehyde levels in homes can also be reduced by ensuring adequate ventilation, moderate temperatures, and reduced humidity levels through the use of dehumidifiers.