The Blood-Brain Barrier and Neuroinflammation - Dr. Datis Kharrazian

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"One of the biggest risks to over activating the microglia is a leaky blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is a finely woven mesh of astroglia cells and blood vessels that surrounds and protects the brain. It is designed to allow only nano-sized particles in or out as needed and keep unhealthy things out.

However, like the gut, it can become damaged and "leaky", allowing dangerous intruders to slip in and potentially trigger the ultra-sensitive microglia. The blood-brain barrier is extremely vulnerable to various aspects of modern life, such as inflammation and high cortisol from chronic stress. The most common symptom of leaky blood-brain barrier is brain fog or reduced brain function after exposure to environmental insults such as gasoline fumes, chemical cleaning products, or inflammatory foods.

The good news is that even though the blood-brain barrier degrades easily, it also has the potential to regenerate quickly. For instance, high stress degrades the blood-brain barrier, but normalizing stress can allow it to repair. This doesn't mean you have to quit your job and become a beach bum. Simply stabilizing your blood glucose and cortisol levels, reducing inflammatory triggers such as gluten, clearing up a gut infection or chronic virus, boosting your antioxidant system, and supporting anti-inflammatory mechanisms can help restore the blood-brain barrier and protect your brain.

In addition to stress and systemic inflammation, other factors that degrade the blood-brain barrier are elevated homocysteine (homocysteine, measured by a simple blood test, is an inflammatory compound that elevates with B vitamin deficiency), alcohol, advanced glycosylated end products (these are free radicals made during diabetes and high blood glucose when glucose cannot enter the cells), and harmful free-radical compounds, such as pollutants or other compounds that trigger inflammation."