6 Things To Do To Clear Brain Fog

We’ve all had those days when no matter how many hours we sleep or how much coffee we drink, our memory remains foggy. Where thinking clearly just doesn’t happen, and those small things that should be easy to remember, just aren’t. It can make you feel crazy, but you’re not. It’s known as brain fog, a common condition characterized by symptoms like confusion, forgetfulness, lack of concentration, and difficulty with mental tasks.

To combat this, here are 6 things you can do to keep your brain healthy and improve your cognition:

1. Avoid eating foods that cause inflammation (e.g wheat or grains containing gluten, animal dairy products, processed sugar, ect.)

Foods that cause inflammation do so by affecting the bowel flora, reducing the optimal digestion and proper absorption of nutrients.

Within foods containing wheat and other grains, there is a protein called the ‘Gliadin’ protein, which disturbs the intestinal lining and can lead to autoimmune diseases. Besides this, there has been an increase in evidence that the condition of the gut; gastrointestinal tract (GI), plays an important role in the health of the brain. With a leaky gut; initiated by inflammation, and preventing the absorption of essential nutrients, preventing the brain from performing optimally..

Dairy can reduce the amount of ‘good’ bacteria, causing inflammation in the GI tract. Sugar feeds harmful bacteria and causes fungi to proliferate in the gut, leading to microbes and toxic breakdown products entering the bloodstream during digestion, which can result in illness and poor cognition.

2. Support your gut with high fiber foods (legumes, potatoes, chia seeds and flaxseed, leeks ect), and pre/probiotics

To add to the point above, our intestines are lined with “good” bacteria, which feeds off the food we ingest. This bacteria makes up the microbiome within the gut, and high fiber foods feed the healthy bacteria, promoting metabolite

production through the bowel flora, which leads to a reduction in blood sugar and blood pressure, as well as inflammation.

These are all things that play a part in the health of the brain. Prebiotics and probiotics increase the diversity of the bacterial species within the gut, aiding in proper digestion.

3. Consume foods with a high fat content (e.g avocados, nuts, olive oil, tuna and fatty fish)

Avocados, olive oil and nuts like walnuts, macadamia and hazelnuts, all have a prominent monounsaturated fatty acid called ‘oleic acid’. Is important for good cognition, in particular for learning and memory, whereby the fatty acid promotes neuronal production.

Tuna and fatty fish like salmon, contain a high amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which promotes brain function, by also producing brain and nerve cells. Research shows that omega-3 and 6 help prevent neurodegenerative diseases.

4. Drink up to 15ml of MCT oil a day

MCT oil is made up of C8 coconut oil and palm kernel oil. This mixture has medium and short triglyceride chains, which allows for a quicker breakdown of essential nutrients and fats and a faster absorption back into the body.

This oil also promotes the production of ketones, increasing cognition.

5. Stay sufficiently hydrated

When your water intake is sufficient, the blood flow and amount of oxygen taken to your brain increases, which in turn improves concentration, and aids in memory function, whilst balancing your emotions and helping you mental health.

6. Move your body!

I’m sure everyone has heard oh how good exercise is for cognition and mental health, but just in case you missed it, research has shown that people who exercise showed heightened activity in those parts of the brain responsible for memory processing and decision making.

In addition to this, the same study showed that those who exercised had an enlargement in those same parts of the brain. So when you exercise, you’re actually growing your brain 🙂

Improving brain function and clearing a foggy brain takes time, but you can start regaining your brain health and optimizing your cognition by implementing the six steps above.