Problems Focusing and Lack of Motivation

Do you have a huge, to do list in front of you and feel no motivation when you think, or look at that list? It would certainly feel so good to get things done, but yet, you feel tired, unfocused and not sure where to start. Then the guilt builds up, and you feel bad you are so behind. You think, “What is wrong with me?” Is this a motivation issue, or a health issue? It can be both, but we will discuss how balancing the physical body can improve concentration, clarity of mind and mood today, which will make it easier for you to feel motivated. Photo Credit Maxime Mc Duff Flickr

I’ll talk about 3 common causes of brain fog and difficulty focusing that I have seen in my practice. I’ve helped patients with ADHD, who did not do well with medication, use natural methods and heal. Many of my patients then function normally after I work with them, with no more traces of ADHD behavior. Some patients do not have ADHD but feel that they have difficulty with their memory, slower mental performance, or even difficulty making decisions. These patients were happy to find out that Candida, Food Allergies, or Heavy Metal Toxicity was causing these symptoms. 

Heavy Metal Toxicity:

Lead can be found in old paints, old water pipes, children’s toys from China, and contaminated soil. Inorganic mercury from dental amalgam fillings, vaccine preservatives, and organic mercury in fish such as tuna and swordfish are sources of mercury toxicity. Aluminum can be found in foil wrap, aluminum cookware including many non-stick pans, some medications (used as fillers), deodorants, certain water bottles and canned foods. Many of these heavy metals are neurotoxins and some have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss, and some mood disorders. Because most people have slow, small dose exposures to these heavy metals, most blood tests from your doctor will not show that you have elevated levels of these toxins. Heavy metals are attracted to fatty tissue, so they tend to get stored deep in your cells, in the brain or nervous system tissue where fat content is high, therefore being especially toxic to the brain and difficult to test for. I use some other testing methods that can detect smaller amounts that are hidden in the body. 

Candida:

Candida is a type of yeast, which is present in the intestinal tract as normal flora, but often overgrows and causes health problems such as brain fog, difficulty making decisions, anxiety, depression, problems focusing, and moodiness. Other tell tail signs that you may have an overgrowth of yeast include bloating, gas, genital itching, toe nail fungus, itching under the breasts or in the groin area, vaginal yeast infections, oily skin or scalp, dandruff, and poor digestion. Often when patients use anti-fungal medication over and over again, they yeast just grows back because the body is in a state of imbalance, which serves as a great environment for the yeast to propagate. In Chinese medicine, a state of damp heat often is associated with candida problems. Some homeopathic remedies are very effective at breaking the cycle to Candida overgrowth. If candida is the cause to your difficulty focusing and moodiness, it is definitely worth to address it now. I use the probiotic, Ultra Flora Acute Care by Metagenics, because it has a few strains of probiotics such as S. boulardii that is specific against candida. 

Food Allergies:

Most people associate food allergies to anaphylactic reactions such as swelling of the throat, lips, or face. However many people have much more subtle reactions to foods, including brain fog, fatigue, sleepiness, irritability, anxiety, gastrointestinal symptoms, or heart palpitations. If your pulse rate increases by 8-10 points per minute after eating, it is likely you ate something you had a food sensitivity to. 

Have you experienced eating and then feeling very sleepy right after? Besides a blood sugar crash, you may actually have a food allergy or sensitivity. The problem with continuously eating foods that your body is reacting to is that it triggers the body to be in a low grade state of inflammation which slowly damages your organs and can be related to allergies, asthma, auto-immune diseases where your body attacks itself when it is mistakenly trying to attack the epitopes of the foods. Some children with ADHD have been completely cured by avoiding their food allergens, which is a huge relief to parents. 

Again, there are many causes to each disease or symptom, so it is very important for a qualified doctor who understands how the body works holistically in order to identify what the problem is. Below is a video I’ve filmed discussing the various types of food allergy and sensitivity tests, and why most of the tests you get at the doctors office may not be accurate for food sensitivities. Click below to watch.

How does dietary fat consumption affect the brain?

Did you know that the make up of your cell membrane depends on what you eat? In that sense, you are what you eat. The way your brain talks to your body is via cell-to-cell communication along nerves or neuronal tissue. If you eat a lot of trans fats such as those found in vegetable shortening, fried foods, and arachadonic acid found in red meat, these fats send an inflammatory signal to the nervous system.

Inflammation in the nervous system causes in increase in glutamate, which is an excitatory chemical in the brain. This can lead to symptoms of anxiety, hyperactivity, addictive tendencies and in-attention. Increase in inflammation and glutamate in the brain long term from chronic excessive brain firing causes neuron damage. This contributes to degenerative diseases like dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease develop due to the oxidative damage this excessive inflammation produces. Also, consumption of inflammatory fats make cell membranes hard and rigid, blocking cell-to-cell communication.

If you eat lots of omega-3 fats found in fish, flax and walnuts your cell membranes are nice and malleable improving the structure and function of receptors on the cell. This allows for brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and acetylcholine to communicate better with the cell helping positive mood, attention and memory. Another large component of cell membranes are phospholipids such as phosphatidyl choline and serine, which are found in high concentrations in the brain. They help balance stress hormone levels, decrease anxiety, improve memory, improve mood, and decrease aggression. Phospholipids can be found in lecithin, soy lecithin, egg yolks, sardines and nuts.  

Many studies show a correlation between depression and deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids. According to the journal of Nutrition and Healthy Aging, DHA, which is an omega-3 fatty acid is “one of the major building structures of membrane phospholipids of the brain and absolutely necessary for neuronal function”. The British Journal of Psychiatry, Did a study on prisoners. One group had their regular prison diet, and the other group was supplemented with Omega-3 fats. The prisoners who were given omega-3 fats had a 35% reduction in violent crime in prison. I’ve seen in my practice patients having great symptom improvement from depressive mood, anxiety and improvement in focus on a therapeutic dose of EPA and DHA.

Often times we think of supplements that are neurotransmitter specific first when seeing brain issues, but it is important to remember that basic nutritional sufficiency can make a very large difference in neurology. Be careful of low fat fad diets, as these diets often compromise brain function and lead to teenage learning problems and depression. Your brain needs fat to function, so eat the good fats.