Brain Fog: A Classic Sign of Candida Overgrowth In Your Gut
Everyone in their life has gone through a minor sequence of brain fog. Maybe you didn’t realise what it was at the time. However, if you’ve ever entered a shop only to forget what you are supposed to buy, that’s a snippet of brain fog.
Brain fog is a mild period of confusion and forgetfulness. It’s one of the common symptoms doctors come across in their practice. Again, it’s elusive and also hard to pin down. Some symptoms associated with brain fog include mental fatigue, poor concentration, lack of focus, memory loss, and confusion.
Causes of brain fog
There are many causes of brain fog, and in most cases, it occurs because of underlying issues. In other words, brain fog is usually a symptom of various conditions. So it takes time to diagnose because you have to find the underlying cause and treat for brain fog to clear.
Common causes of brain fog include inactivity, overeating, poor diet, lack of enough sleep, stress, and Candida overgrowth. Let’s focus on Candida overgrowth as a cause of brain fog and how to treat it.
What is Candida Overgrowth in the Gut?
Candida is also yeast overgrowth found inside your body. This yeast mostly lives in your mouth and intestines. It helps in the digestion and absorption of nutrients into your system. In short, it’s a harmless and beneficial bacterium, but when it overgrows, it becomes a harmful opportunistic pathogen. If not treated, it can cause numerous symptoms, brain fog being one of them.
Other symptoms include bloating, gas, mood swings, anxiety and depression, nail fungus, skin problems, low energy, and more.
What Causes Candida Overgrowth?
There are several lifestyle issues like diet and medical factors which cause Candida to overgrow. Here is a list of them:
- Weak immune system
- Use of antibiotics
- Too much stress
- Hormonal imbalances
- Diets with high concentrations of processed foods and sugar
How Candida Overgrowth Leads to Brain Fog
The overgrowth of Candida in your gut thrives by fermenting sugar to yield energy. That’s why people experiencing abnormal yeast overgrowth have an intense sugar craving. Besides, the fermentation process generates several chemical byproducts, and most of them are toxic.
These toxins affect your nervous system and brain, including alcohol and acetaldehyde. But thankfully, your immune system, together with good bacteria, can keep Candida in check. This enables your liver to process these byproducts and clear them out of your body.
However, if the yeast overgrowth gets out of hand, the liver gets overwhelmed and cannot clear the toxins. This leads to a build-up in the bloodstream and can travel anywhere in the body, including your brain. Once the toxins are in your bloodstream, they damage your nerve cells, reduce the amount of oxygen travelling to your brain, and cause a deficiency of vitamin B1, which helps with brain function.
How to Cure Candida Overgrowth
Fortunately, you can get Candida back to normal levels quite easily. This will help restore optimal functioning and clear brain fog. Luckily, you can treat Candida through a holistic treatment, where you subject the body to the right environment for some time. Diet and certain herbs will help kill the fungus and eliminate all the excess yeast. It only needs discipline, diligence, and consistency for a couple of weeks.
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