Beat Brain Fog: No More Fuzzy Thinking

Almost everyone knows what it’s like to have brain fog. As a psychologist, when I hear this expression, I want to know more. Because it can mean different things to different people. Here’s a sample of descriptions clients have told me when they experience brain fog:

• I can’t think straight
• I can’t find my words
• I can’t remember shit (CRS “disease”)
• I have no energy, can’t do what I usually do
• I’m distracted, unfocused
• I want to vegetate, eat, sleep, watch TV
• I know I must get this done, but I don’t care
• Just let me procrastinate until I get my brain back

Brain fog isn’t a disease but it’s a sure sign of a malnourished and overworked brain. At the origin of this feeling are brain chemicals and neurotransmitters out of balance. The brain is designed to balance itself, but it can’t do that unless it has proper nutrients. Most of us don’t know what a healthy diet really is. (Hint: it’s not the Standard American Diet)

What to Eat for a Healthy Brain

I suggest key changes to your eating, drinking and health habits. If you adopt only a few good habits, you will improve your thinking and feeling. You will sharpen your focus, clear up brain fog, and regain your energy. You can stop your aging brain from a path of deterioration and dysfunction.

12 Ways to Eat for Brain Health

Here is a summary of tips to start eating for brain health:

1. Pick the healthiest protein. Use wild caught fish with low mercury (salmon, sardines, anchovies) and grass-fed meat, chicken and dairy.
2. Get your fill of the healthiest fats (olive oils, coconut and avocado oils). Stop eating vegetable oils. Use grass-fed butter or ghee.
3. Eat colorfully: greens, reds, yellows, blues and other hues. This means lettuce(s), bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, celery, onions, garlic, and much more.
4. Limit carbohydrates to veggies and some fruits (blueberries, strawberries), stop eating refined carbohydrates and junk food. Avoid most grains and “whole wheat,” corn, and processed pasta and rice.
5. No sugar. Not even honey, agave, other forms of sugar, no candy, pastries, bread, ice cream or desserts. No artificial sweeteners except Stevia. (unless Stevia upsets your stomach and triggers a glucose spike.)

More Ways to Beat Brain Fog

1. No sodas, sugary drinks, fruit juices, limit caffeine, and drink green and other teas. Mostly drink water (which can be flavored with lemon or lime.) No alcohol, (unless you can limit it to 2-3 glasses of wine per week.) (I forget to say this, but no smoking either. You know that, of course.)
2. Use healthy herbs and spices to flavor your food (curcumin, ginger, herbs de Provence)
3. No fried foods.
4. Eat organic. (What’s expensive are medical bills, not food).
5. Don’t snack, even “healthy snacks.” Do not eat between meals because you need to give your system a chance to metabolize previous meals.
6. Don’t eat 2-3 hours before bed. Try to not eat anything for 12-16 hours between dinner and breakfast or lunch.
7. Practice occasional partial fasting such as Intermittent fasting. Not eating for 12 to 16 hours allows time for metabolism, and kicks in your body’s natural detox system called autophagy.

You can do a lot to beat brain fog and protect yourself from dementia down the road. Not only will you start having more fun and success in whatever you do in life, you will give yourself the best chance of avoiding the chronic diseases of aging.

The Wrong Solutions for Brain Fog

In our culture of quick fixes, we reach for a pill, a drink, or food. Our efforts are valiant, but off the mark and often exacerbate the problem.

Common solutions range from energy bars, sports drinks, coffee, candy, snacks, cigarettes, alcohol and recreational drugs to stimulant medications. Brain fog is a common reason some seek out psychiatrists for ADD prescriptions like Adderall and Ritalin. I suggest these solutions are not good for your brain.

Some seniors blame their cerebral malfunction on their aging brains, especially if they have genes or a family history of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s essential to check with your physician to rule out any brain or physical diseases.

Healthy Solutions to Beat Brain Fog

In the meantime, here are some commonsense ideas to combat brain fog.

1. Get a checkup for any health issues
2. Clean up any unhealthy habits (you probably know what they are)
3. Find out more about how to stop your unhealthy eating and drinking habits
4. Get 30 minutes of vigorous activity, exercise, or sports daily
5. Get tested for key blood biomarkers, either through your doctor or directly at a lab
6. Get 7-8 hours of restorative sleep a night
7. Connect with friends or family face-to-face
8. Engage in meaningful activities that are important to you

In this crazy world of quarantine restrictions, we may experience anxiety and anger over not being able to do some of our favorite things. Some of our normal activities involve earning money and keeping control over how we live. Deprived of that, we end up doing unusual behaviors we don’t normally do.

Like visiting the fridge every two hours so so. Like using food for entertainment instead of for nourishment. It’s harder to maintain healthy habits when you might be overwhelmed with strong emotions.

Of course, I’m speaking for myself and from my own experiences. I do know, however, that having guidelines and routines help keep us structured and away from overthinking and overreacting to things out of our control.

We need each other more than ever, but even our social connections are disrupted. We can circumvent the restrictions, however, by finding alternative means to keep friendships alive. Like the phone, the internet, and some of the things we’d really rather be doing face-to-face.

As Darwin said, it’s not the strongest that survive, but the most flexible and adaptable. Go forth and adapt. Safely, and healthily.