Brain Fog

Peato Diet

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Im desperately trying to find the cause and cure of 'brain fog' which I’ve had for years now. Symptoms include:

• Inability to concentrate, remember and process information e.g. reading becomes difficult. I would like to do another degree part time but wouldn’t have a hope in being able to get through the work whilst I’ve got brain fog symptoms.
• Feels like I’m in a way detached/numb.
• When it’s really bad I may feel decline in physical coordination.
• These symptoms usually come on strongest within minutes, of eating or drinking.
• Does improve during exercise however.

Until fairly recently I was on a low carb version of the gaps diet for about 9 months which did improve the brain fog and I believe would have continued to do so. However since switching to a peat style diet the brain fog has definitely been getting worse to the point where I have it constantly to varying degrees of intensity throughout the day.

On the ray peat diet I have more physical energy and higher body temps i.e. less cold feet etc. So I’m thinking if this brain fog has something to do with thyroid problems then the brain fog symptoms should be improvoing also.

Some people say brain fog is caused by allergies, leaky gut and/or low thyroid etc (the list is endless). Has anyone here got rid of brain fog symptoms through ray peats dietary suggestions :?:
 

jyb

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I'm also here trying to cure this, its been a lifelong issue and my number one reason to be here. I have brain fog as I occasionally experience some kind of lethargy and no brain energy left to concentrate.

I'm generally not very energetic and experience one or several episodes of brain fog during the day (lasting 30 minutes each). It's like becoming so sleepy I need to lie down and nap. Only on some days, or part of a day, do I experience being truly energetic. The amount of lethargy I experience on a given day is not very correlated to the temperature, libido and skin appearance on that day - so it's a bit puzzling sometimes and all happens as if its a "brain only" issue.

I think on a RP diet it's improved a bit, but the symptom is still there to some significant degree. It was worse when I ate big meals and starches - the connection between the fog and the meal was evident. On a RP diet, I don't think that the fog always occurs following a meal.

I also have poor sleep quality, no doubt both poor sleep and brain fog are connected to an underlying issue.
 

charlie

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Hibernation comes to mind while reading this. High PUFA is how some animals put themselves into hibernation. I wonder if this is whats going on with the brain fog issues. Your mind is trying to hibernate. Just a theory so don't hold me to it.
 

jyb

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Yes RP's writing on hibernation is very relevant, I like that term.

But PUFA? I'm skinny - the kind of person that never gained weight yet never counted calories (until I started the RP diet when I gained muscles) - so I don't think I have so much PUFA stored, especially after about a year on a RP diet.
 

narouz

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jyb said:
Yes RP's writing on hibernation is very relevant, I like that term.

But PUFA? I'm skinny - the kind of person that never gained weight yet never counted calories (until I started the RP diet when I gained muscles) - so I don't think I have so much PUFA stored, especially after about a year on a RP diet.

Don't you have some possible thyroid issues, jyb?
(May have you confused with another poster.)
Low temp/pulses?

I feel lethargic and hibernatey and brain foggy when I'm hypothyroid.
Well...that's one presentation of hypothyroidism.
It makes me feel other ways too.
 

charlie

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You would still have a huge percentage of your PUFA storage even after a year if the half life is 600(I think thats the number) days.

PUFA and maybe stress or, was it metabolism turned way down, that causes hibernation? I cannot remember from off the top of my head right now. But if your metabolism is turned way down, and that's causing hibernation. It can take a while to bring the metabolism back up. And maybe the brain isn't getting the wake up call yet.

I really should read more into this hibernation stuff so I can me more useful in this discussion.
 

jyb

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@narouz: Correct, I'm hypothyroid and have suboptimal temps despite the diet and thyroid supplement and its no doubt connected to those symptoms.
 

Isadora

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It's either what you are suggesting, or histamine, triggering reactions in the central nervous system, where it can "contribute to the regulation of body temperature, food intake, locomotion, learning, memory" (study posted by Mittir here, p. 1186, check out pathway marked H3).

Fresh food for y'all and antihistamine and/or DAO supplementation, or have you already tried those?
 

jyb

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Isadora said:
It's either what you are suggesting, or histamine, triggering reactions in the central nervous system, where it can "contribute to the regulation of body temperature, food intake, locomotion, learning, memory" (study posted by Mittir here, p. 1186, check out pathway marked H3).

Fresh food for y'all and antihistamine and/or DAO supplementation, or have you already tried those?

Nothing to lose from controlling histamine as an experiment - but do you think I get much histamine from my diet anyway? Usually OJ (fresh or concentrate), milk (pasteurized), egg yolk (but max one per day), cheese (I think the parmesan I use is from raw milk), sometimes meat or oysters (from butcher so cut a few days before max), and the usual coffee, coconut oil etc.

I assume it's not necessary to test DAO supplementation if, as an experiment, I eat histamine free food only - so for a few days I'd cut out the raw milk cheese, egg yolk but not sure about meat.
 

Isadora

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So why would parmesan from raw milk not gather histamines? It's true that it has a lot more than the cheeses I used to eat, but still... Pasteurized milk never decomposes? All food does. But hey, I don't know enough on the subject, I'll get back to you in a couple of days if I get more ideas.
 

jyb

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Isadora said:
So why would parmesan from raw milk not gather histamines? It's true that it has a lot more than the cheeses I used to eat, but still... Pasteurized milk never decomposes? All food does. But hey, I don't know enough on the subject, I'll get back to you in a couple of days if I get more ideas.

Yes I do intend to test without any cheese to try your suggestion. But from your histamine thread, it seems like pasteurized milk (uncultured) was less of an offender.
 

kiran

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Ray thinks cognitive issues are usually connected to low body temperature. That would explain the brain fog after a meal, due to a drop in stress hormones and thus body temperature.
 

Isadora

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Sorry, I meant to say

Isadora said:
So why would parmesan from raw milk not gather histamines? It's true that it has a lot [strike]more[/strike] less than the cheeses I used to eat, but still... Pasteurized milk never decomposes? All food does. But hey, I don't know enough on the subject, I'll get back to you in a couple of days if I get more ideas.

Cheese histaminic content from Mittir's article:

Cheese
Gouda 10–900 10–900
Camembert 0–1000 0–4000
Cheddar 0–2100 0–1500
Emmental 5–2500 0–700
Swiss 4–2500 0–700
Parmesan 10–581 0–840

Also, I wonder in what ways the other "biogenic amines", not just histamines, affect us. Serotonin is often discussed by Peat. Are there any others in the lot that we should be particularly concerned about and what are their usual "carriers" into our bodies? How do they affect the thyroid? Etc.

There is a lot to learn here, and fascinating stuff!
 

jyb

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@Isadora: Use a search at raypeat.com at "histamine", you'll find articles that mention histamines and others. Mostly serotonin it seems. He mentions the usual coconut oil etc as defense, so nothing new. I'm tempted to understand that the types of saturated chains found in milk provides protection so no worry for milk.
 

Beebop

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kiran said:
Ray thinks cognitive issues are usually connected to low body temperature. That would explain the brain fog after a meal, due to a drop in stress hormones and thus body temperature.

That's really interesting. I always thought it would be because something in the meal wasn't being digested well.
Do you remember where Peat says that?
 

kiran

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He mentioned it to me in an email. Unfortunately I can't find the email anymore, don't remember the exact context. :(

A proper Peat-y meal with carbs and protein can cause a stress drop if your stress was high to begin with. Remember that cortisol is an adaptive hormone and can keep you going in the short term. A good meal can thus cause brain fog.

Low carb meals can definitely "help" brain fog by keeping cortisol high to supply the necessary glucose to balance the protein.
 

jyb

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frustrated said:
I've had huge improvements in brain fog with bamboo shoots, caffeine, and lots of salt.

I assume bamboo shoots is interchangeable with any safe fiber like carrot?
 

Beebop

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So what is the mechanism that cortisol uses to reduce brain fog? I know this is a process that is not helpful over the long-term, but maybe it's worth understanding.

Having mental clarity would help us survive in a life threatening situation so it makes sense that cortisol would promote that. But how?
 

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