Gut on Fire Equals Brain on Fire
 

A paragraph from: Why Isn't My Brain Working, The Gut-Brain Axis, p175 by Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS

(for those of us complaining of "chemo brain")

"Poor gut health can do more than cause depression. A study publish in the Lancet found subjects with inflammatory bowel disease developed white-matter lesions in the brain, a identified by MRI, with almost the same frequency as patient with multiple sclerosis (a disease of brain myelin destruction). Forty-two percent of patients with Crohn's disease and 46 percent of patient with ulcerative colitis had white matter lesions in their brain. Several other studies have shown the same results.

It is interesting to watch this mechanism at work in people. When the gut and the brain are "on fire" people don't experience pain. This is because neither the brain or the mucosal lining of the intestinal walls have pain fibers. Instead of pain you might see bloating follow by brain fog - intestinal inflammation causes gut distention while brain inflammation slows the transmission of information from one neuron to another, resulting in brain fog.

For example, a person who is dairy-intolerant may notice her belly become distended when she eat dairy, she cannot find the right words when speaking, and she loses her ability to focus and concentrate. Food sensitivities, leaky gut, and gut flora imbalances can cause these inflammatory responses."

Re: Gut on Fire Equals Brain on Fire
 

Dr. Kharrazian' diet suggestions:

Foods to avoid:

ALL sugar and sweeteners, even honey or agave
High-glycemic fruits: watermelon, mango, pineapple, raisins, grapes, canned fruits, dried fruits, etc.
Tomatoes, potatoes, and mushrooms
Grains: wheat, oats, rice, barley, buckwheat, corn, quinoa, etc
Dairy: milk, cream, cheese, butter, whey, etc.
Eggs or foods that contain eggs (such as mayonnaise)
Soy: soy milk, soy sauces, tofu, tempeh, soy protein
Alcohol
Lectins - nuts, beans, soy, potatoes, tomato, eggplant, peppers, peanut oil, peanut butter and soy oil, etc.
Instant coffee (contaminated with gluten)
Processed foods
Canned foods

(That's my diet, rats!)

Re: Gut on Fire Equals Brain on Fire
 

Foods to eat:

Most vegetables (except tomato, potatoes, and mushrooms)
asparagus, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, beets, cauliflower, carrots, celery, artichokes, garlic, onions, zucchini, squash, rhubarb, cucumber, turnips, and watercress, among others.

Fermented foods: sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled ginger, fermented cucumbers, coconut yogurt, kombucha, etc. Pick ones free of surgars or additives.

Meats: fish, chicken, beef, lamb, organ meats. Best choices are grass-fed and pastured meats from a local farm. Second best is organic. Avoid factory-farmed meats that contain antibiotics and hormones.

Low-glycemic fruits: apricots, plums, apple, peach, pear, cherries and berries, etc.

Coconut: coconut oil, coconut better, coconut milk, coconut cream

Herbal teas

Olives and olive oil

Re: Gut on Fire Equals Brain on Fire
 

Interesting enough one of the supplements to help repair the intestinal lining is:

L-glutamine

L-glutamine is the preferred fuel source for the cell of the small intestine and has been shown to support the regeneration and repair of the intestinal lining. It has been shown to increase the number of cells in the small intestine and the number of villi on those cells, as sell as the height of the villi. Studies have show L-glutamine reduced permeability of the lining that accompanies leaky gut patterns that promote intestinal inflammation and the development of delayed food intolerances.