brain

Can your brain breathe?

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Even though you can breathe normally your brain may not be getting enough oxygen. Lack of oxygen in the brain is not something the average person can recognize. However it can cause poor brain function and increase the risk of vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s. The brain can be hungry for oxygen years or decades before dementia sets in. Risk factors include high or low blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, smoking, alcoholism, and high cholesterol.

By learning to recognize symptoms you can take action to increase oxygenation of your brain, improve brain function, and reduce your risk of vascular dementia.

How to tell whether your brain can breathe

The brain contains one of the body’s most dense networks of blood vessels, which carry oxygen. It is very susceptible to any hindrances in blood flow. When the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain is hindered, brain cells die and the brain degenerates.

Many conditions can affect blood flow to the brain, things not normally associated with brain function. They include:

• Smoking

• Chronic inflammation (such as chronic pain, an autoimmune disease, or other inflammatory disorder)

• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)

• High blood sugar (insulin resistance)

• Hypothyroidism

• Diabetes

• Anemia

• Chronic stress

• Aging

Symptoms that may alert you to poor flow of blood and oxygen to the brain include cold hands and feet, becoming easily fatigued, brain fog, erectile dysfunction, and chronic toenail and fingernail fungus.

How to help your brain breathe better

Two of the most effective ways to oxygenate the brain are to lower inflammation and stabilize blood sugar. An anti-inflammatory diet is designed to lower overall inflammation in the body, which can boost blood flow to the brain. Be sure to eat a hearty breakfast with protein, eat regularly enough to avoid blood sugar lows (but avoid overeating), and avoid foods that spike your blood sugar, such as sweets or refined carbohydrates. Just focusing on an anti-inflammatory whole foods diet can go a long way to improving blood flow to the brain.

Certain herbs improve oxygenation to the brain. They include Ginkgo biloba, vinpocetine, and Butcher’s broom.

How to exercise to improve blood flow to the brain

Exercise is a great way to improve overall blood flow. High-intensity interval training in particular dilates blood vessels, lowers inflammation, and improves blood flow to the brain. This involves reaching your maximum heart rate with just a short but vigorous burst of exercise, resting, and repeating. It’s important, however, to work within your ability and avoid overtraining or you’ll negate the benefits. Even just a few minutes of high-intensity exercise can improve blood flow in the brain.

Improving blood flow to the brain may also include managing hypothyroidism, anemia, or other conditions. The book Why Isn’t My Brain Working? by Datis Kharrazian covers the topic of brain oxygenation. Ask my office for advice on improving brain health.

PRI Nutrition Plans and Physiotherapy Guided Exercises Programs provide cutting-edge techniques designed to maintain your brain healthy and reverse disease.

Solutions for Depression

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Depression (major depressive disorder) is a complicated issue and by definition can only be diagnosed if a patient has persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest not just for days but for months in a row.

It can stem from a neurotransmitter imbalance. In such case, a visit to an MD is warranted who will prescribe specific pharmaceutical medication that will help the patient.

It can stem from a chemical imbalance. In such cases, your body is missing the building blocks that are needed to create a natural cycle of neurotransmitters, necessary to make your brain feel good. A visit to a nutritionist is warranted in such cases. Some of the supplements that have been shown to help by research are: St Jones Wort, Fish Oil, Omega 3/6 supplementation, 5-HTP, Gaba, Rhodiola, CoQ10, L-Tyrosine, magnesium and Ashwagandha. If you are taking prescribed pharmaceuticals, it is important to consult with an MD, before taking any of the above, as they may affect the chemistry of a pharmaceutical agent, and may make you feel worse.

It can have psychological roots, such as after a motor vehicle accident, where a patient can feel sad due to not being able to execute certain functions of daily living as before the accident.
In such cases, a visit to a psychologist is warranted, who may offer cognitive behavioral therapy to overcome depression.

Depression may also stem from neuromuscular skeletal reasons. For instance, when the upper neck goes out of alignment, it can negatively affect the brain and the spinal cord in three main ways.
One is it prevents proper blood drainage from the brain. When that happens, it may cause depression and anxiety. By getting that upper neck in good alignment by correcting the misalignment with a specific adjustment, you’re ensuring good blood drainage through the jugular vein.

Secondly, when the upper neck is out of alignment, you’re affecting cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow. When you’re not getting good, healthy CSF flow into the brain, it’s just not going to work right. CSF brings electrolytes and nutrition feeding the brain. If you’re not feeding the brain what it needs, you can’t expect it to work right. By getting that upper neck in good alignment with a specific adjustment, that CSF flow will happen properly and the brain will function much better, thus improving anxiety, depression, and different mood issues.

Lastly, upper neck misalignment may cause brainstem tension. The brainstem is like the circuit breaker in the human body. No matter what issue you have – anxiety or depression you want to make sure that the brainstem is in good alignment because that controls your immune system, your heart, everything you don’t think about. By getting that in good alignment, you’re going to automatically allow everything else to function better. It’s kind of like if the circuit breaker trips and the lights go off, you can change the light bulb, you can get an electrician and they can work on it but until you go to that circuit breaker and flip that switch, nothing is going to work right. If your upper neck is out of alignment, a chiropractor can help by realigning your neck.

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