Your brain is an incredibly powerful organ, serving as the conductor of your entire nervous system. It stores memories, processes information, and controls your thoughts, movement, and speech. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
It makes sense then that when your brain isn’t functioning optimally, you don’t feel like yourself. You may experience brain fog, memory loss, fatigue, or even anxiety and depression.
But what’s going on in your brain to cause these symptoms? Learn how to improve brain function in this article.
Before we dive in, please take a moment and check out this short video:
Why You’re Experiencing Issues With Brain Function
The toxic overload of the world around you could be the culprit or poor brain function. And I’m not just talking about physical toxins, but emotional ones as well. Although they often go hand in hand.
In general, the four major insults to brain function include:
#1 Heavy Metal Toxicity
This is a big one. No matter how clean your diet, how natural you keep your home, or how rigorous your liver support regimen is — heavy metals are everywhere.
And your central nervous system is the primary target for these toxins. Once lodged into your brain they can cause a range of neurological and behavioral effects that leave you feeling mentally and physically out of whack[1].
But this isn’t necessarily new information. In fact, heavy metals are one of the most ancient poisons known to man. It’s even speculated that heavy metal exposure is responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire[1].
Which begs the question — why don’t we know better by now?
The fact is, although heavily metal awareness is growing, we’re still being exposed to a rising level of toxins in our environment[*].
Some of the primary heavy metals to be aware of include:
Lead
Lead is a known neurotoxin. It can inhibit your body’s ability to create heme, which allows your blood to carry oxygen to your tissues. In this way, lead can cause interference with energy metabolism in your cells.
Lead toxicity may also affect the production of neurotransmitters, and the binding and transport of calcium — essential processes that affect brain function[1].
Mercury
Mercury may be one of the most well-known toxic heavy metals. Historically, mercury was used in everything from thermometers to face paint. However, as awareness around mercury’s toxic effects grew, it was pulled out of man-made products. The issue is that mercury is still present in the environment, and research shows that exposure to mercury is only increasing.
High levels of mercury can have a strong impact on your central nervous system, causing irritability, fatigue, tremors, hearing loss, and even hallucinations[2].
Aluminum
Aluminum is a neurotoxin that’s associated with a range of neurological conditions, including; Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Autism, and Multiple Sclerosis. It’s found widely in nature, and exposure typically occurs via diet, occupationally, or environmentally[3][4].
One way in which aluminum impacts brain health is through the production of reactive oxygen species (oxidative stress), which directly affects the function of the powerhouse of your cells — the mitochondria[5].
#2 Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Your mitochondria are responsible for a myriad of functions in your body. Chief among them, however, is their role in energy production.
Also known as the “powerhouse of the cell,” mitochondria create usable molecules of energy for your body to run off of, called ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
Your brain uses 20% of the energy mitochondria produce! So if your mitochondria aren’t working, your brain cannot perform at peak ability.
Unfortunately, your mitochondria are a target for toxic pollutants like heavy metals[6].
In your brain, heavy metals disrupt mitochondrial function by inciting the formation of reactive oxygen species(ROS). Although your mitochondria already have an army of antioxidants to fight off ROS, the overload of oxidation caused by heavy metals can overwhelm your mitochondrial antioxidant systems[7].
Ultimately, ROS cause mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to cell injury and potentially cell death. This causes a disruption in energy production, leaving your body fatigued and your brain in a fog[8][9][7].
In more severe cases, mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder[10].
Due to the onslaught of heavy metals in our environment, as you learned about in #1 above, caring for your mitochondria becomes essential if you want to improve brain function.
#3 Stress
People often overlook the impact that stress has on their lives. And many don’t even realize that they’ve been living in a chronic low-level stress response for years, or even decades.
Work, family, health, to-do’s, and even hobbies can add to the stressors that overwhelm your mind on a daily basis.
Did you know that the natural state of your mind is actually a state of peace and calm?
The impact of stress on your brain can vary from symptoms like brain fog and memory, to potentially increasing your risk of cognitive diseases like Alzheimers and dementia[11].
Stress has a direct effect on the prefrontal cortex of your brain. This is the most evolved region in humans responsible for your cognitive functions like thinking, feeling, and expressing emotions.
The detrimental effects of stress can impair this part of the brain, and in chronic cases, even cause architectural changes[12].
Under stress, as your energy moves from the evolved prefrontal cortex to less evolved regions of your brain, you naturally de-prioritize functions like learning and memory. Instead, the focus shifts to more primitive, but seemingly important functions, like survival[12].
While your prefrontal cortex has been evolving, the primitive brain has remained relatively intact. This means that the trigger for survival that you feel when under stress is the same as your ancestors felt when they were running from tigers and other predators in the wild.
In our rapidly evolving world your brain hasn’t been able to keep up with modern day stresses, so instead of being able to work your way out of a stressful situation logically, you often get hijacked by the stress response[12].
If you want to be able to think clearly and confidently, keeping your stress levels low and your prefrontal cortex activity high is essential.
Symptoms of a Toxic and Imbalanced Brain
From stress to heavy metal toxicity, it’s no wonder so many people struggle to feel like themselves these days. Common symptoms associated with low brain function include:
- Brain fog
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Memory loss
- Impaired learning
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Insomnia
The Solutions To Improve Brain Function Are In Your Grasp
While this may all feel very overwhelming, the good news is that the solutions to your brain function woes are all within your grasp. And you don’t have to start taking a cabinet full of pharmaceuticals or move to a remote cabin in the woods either.
If you want to improve your brain function naturally, start taking care of this delicate and vital organ from the inside out.
If you’ve tried every trick, supplement, and pill in the book to improve brain health and you’re still not feeling your best, it’s probably because you haven’t gotten to the root of the problem. And if you want to make lasting changes, you may have to go beyond conventional wisdom.
Here are my top five unconventional (yet incredibly impactful) ways to improve brain function naturally.
5 Unconventional Ways To Improve Brain Function Naturally
#1 Remove Heavy Metals From Your Brain
As you learned earlier, heavy metals can wreak havoc in your brain, leaving you with brain fog, fatigue, irritability, or much worse. No matter how clean your diet or household is, they’re still lurking everywhere in your environment.
To detox your brain of heavy metals you need to bring in the big guns. Beyond your everyday liver support, there are specific nutrients that can target heavy metals and remove them from your body efficiently and effectively.
CitriCleanse was specifically formulated with heavy metal toxicity and brain health in mind.
This formulation is a toxin binder that works to not only mobilize heavy metals and toxins from your cells, but to bind and remove them from your body.
One scoop of CitriCleanse a day can help your body clear harmful chemicals that are slowing you down and improve your brain function.
Each ingredient in CitriCleanse was chosen for its powerful detoxification benefits.
Fulvic Acid
Fulvic acid is an organic compound found in soil that helps to restore minerals to your body.
Minerals play a crucial role in the process of removing toxins from your cells by working in your tissues to remove trapped heavy metals and liberate them for elimination[17]. This is the first step in detoxification.
Cilantro
Cilantro extract works by mobilizing heavy metals out of your cells and into circulation. It’s exceptionally efficient at removing mercury from your body, which is one of the primary heavy-metal offenders for brain function[18][19].
Grapefruit Citrus Pectin
Citrus Pectin is obtained from the peels, seeds, and pulp of citrus fruit. It serves in this formula to catch and bind toxins that have been mobilized and to eliminate them from your body.
Expressly studied for its ability to bind heavy metals, research shows citrus pectin can remove up to 74% of toxic heavy metals in your body[20].
#2 Boost Mitochondrial Health
If you have heavy metal toxicity in your body, it’s very likely that your mitochondria have been affected.
In fact, if one of your symptoms is fatigue, you can be sure of it.
As mentioned above, heavy metals induce oxidative stress in your body, with your mitochondria being a primary target. Overwhelmed mitochondria can lead to cell injury or even cellular death[7]).
This type of disruption leads to an impairment in your body’s ability to produce energy, leaving you feeling fatigued and foggy-headed. Or in more serious cases, at risk for neurological diseases[10].
The Mitochondria Detox kit can combat the effects of heavy metals on your cells, and specifically in your mitochondria. This detox protocol repairs mitochondrial dysfunction, reverses damage, and restores energy to your body.
It combines the powerful CitriCleanse detoxification system with Mitotox, (a mitochondria specific bioenergetic solution), and activated silica.
CitriCleanse works to remove heavy metals from your body, while Mitotox detoxes and energizers your mitochondria. Activated silica is then added for those hard-to-detox metals, ensuring you’re getting a deep heavy metal detox[21].
What makes the Mitochondria Detox kit so effective is that it not only removes toxins from your body but assists in your cells’ natural repair post-detox.
#3 Meditate For Stress Relief
While heavy metal detox is a critical component of brain health, finding peace in your everyday life is essential if you want to feel and function at your best.
Meditation is one of the most effective and natural ways to relieve stress[22][23]. Specifically, mindfulness meditation works to improve brain function by stimulating your prefrontal cortex and calming your primitive brain[24].
As you learned above, the activation of your primitive brain and subsequent shut-down of your prefrontal cortex is at the root of many neurological issues spanning from brain fog to neurological disease[25].
There are plenty of apps, audio recordings, and resources out there to help you on your meditation journey, but if you are looking to really maximize your emotional healing and stress reduction, I highly recommend using these sound healing sessions in conjunction with mindfulness meditation.
Sound healing is a powerful tool for strengthening your energy field and releasing stress.
When your energy field is holding stress or unresolved emotions, it’s in a state of dissonance. This stress creates an imbalance in the field, and therefore your Biofield is out of harmony.
When you introduce a new frequency to the field around your body, through sound vibrations, the frequencies of your emotions and stress entrain or match with the frequency produced by the sound and become coherent. In other words, the sound vibrations balance out the frequencies of the stress, and your energy field reaches a new state of harmony.
I recommend checking out these 7 transformative sound healing sessions to help you get started.
Through this Sound Therapy Transformation Series, you can:
- Release negative emotions and attract what you desire with 7 healing sound therapy sessions containing scientifically researched sounds, frequencies, and vibrational patterns
- Tap into your body’s own energy field and remove the blocks getting in the way of your relationships, creativity, and flow
- Rebalance your nervous system, increase energy, boost cellular regeneration, and promote youthful aging
- Overcome negative experiences and become a vibrational match to an abundant, joy-filled life
#4 Increase Neuronal BDNF
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a critical role in the growth and survival of your neurons (nerve cells). One of its primary roles is its participation in neuronal plasticity — the ability of your brain to create new pathways for learning and memory.
Under conditions like hypoglycemia, ischemia (loss of oxygen), and neurotoxicity (toxic insult from heavy metals), BDNF protects your nerve cells from damage.
Decreased levels of BDNF are associated with neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and multiple sclerosis. Making a clear case for the advantage of increased BDNF for brain function[26].
So how do you increase it?
One of the most effective ways to enhance BDNF is through a compound called sulforaphane.
Sulforaphane is an organosulfur compound that’s found in brassica vegetables. It has a wide range of health benefits, with its ability to increase BDNF being chief among them[27].
In one study, researchers gave diabetic rats sulforaphane to determine potential benefits to brain function. The researchers found that sulforaphane not only increased brain cell survival but improved the rat’s memory as well. The suggested mechanism behind these benefits? Increased BDNF[28].
Sulforaphane is found in a wide range of brassica vegetables, but it’s exceptionally high in broccoli sprouts. In fact, research shows that even people with schizophrenia (a serious mental illness associated with low BDNF) may benefit from broccoli sprout-derived sulforaphane[*].
If you’re looking to increase your BDNF and want an easy way to get your broccoli sprouts in daily check out the Daily Detox supplement, which contains a potent dose of broccoli sprouts, along with a myriad of other organic superfoods.
#5 Bioenergetics to Optimize Brain Function
Bioenergetics is the study of how your cells use and transform energy.
Ancient medicinal practices like Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have known about the importance of energy flow for maintaining optimal health for over 5000 years[13].
Today, research into energy medicine is growing as both scientists, and health care professionals search for deeper solutions to the health crises affecting modern society.
Quantum physics has elucidated a lot of the mystery behind the human energy field that we all have within and around us. This subtle energy that surrounds every cell in your body directs the activity and function of your body, and when in balance, creates a resonance for optimal health[14].
This energy, often referred to as the biofield, is the key to wellness on both physical and emotional levels.
However, just like your physical body, your biofield can become disrupted, and like a chain reaction, cause disruption on a physical level.
If you’ve tried it all; detox, diet, meditation, movement, and still experience suboptimal brain function, it’s likely that the root of your issues aren’t in your physical body — but in your energy field.
Common biofield disrupters include stress, environmental toxins, diet, and even emotional upheaval.
How do you know if your issues are in your energy field or your body?
The company NES Health Bioenergetics, a leader in the bioenergetics space, created a non-invasive software that can detect blockages in your energy field.
These blockages directly correlate to both physical and emotional problems that you may be dealing with.
Once you’ve identified your blockages, the next step is to correct these imbalances to restore yourself back to optimal health.
This is where NES Health Bioenergetics comes in.
A NES Health Bioenergetic Scan utilizes health assessment software to identify bioenergetic distortions and blockages in your body that may be contributing to physical and emotional problems. The Scan can be done in about 30 seconds from the comfort of your home, anywhere in the world.
When used in conjunction with NES Infoceuticals (more on these below!), the aim of a NES Health Bioenergetics program is to restore the integrity of the body’s energetic field and support the body’s inherent natural ability to heal itself at a chemical, physical, mental, emotional, energetic and informational level.
A NES Health Scan is designed to reveal:
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Your exposure to hidden environmental toxins
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Your food sensitivities
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Your nutrient and mineral status
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Your body’s ability to generate energy and burn calories
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Your energy blockages
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And much more!
Now, I mentioned something called Infoceuticals. These are specially energetically encoded water tinctures that interact directly with the Human Body-Field to remove or resolve blockages previously caused by EMFs, shocks, traumas, toxins, emotional issues, illness, and injury. Infoceuticals go beyond your physical body to impact changes on an energetic level.
The impact of energetic information on the structure of water has been well-studied by Masaru Emoto in several double-blind, and even triple-blind trials[15][16].
Brain infoceuticals are designed to help activate your body’s own healing system. They work specifically on your brain health and as a result you’ll notice a range of neurological benefits including:
- Enhanced ability to learn and retain new information
- Relief from negative emotions like stress, anxiety, and depression
- Faster, sharper thinking
- Reduced brain fog
If you’re struggling with any of the symptoms listed above and want to get to the root of your health issues to improve brain function, a NES HEalth Bioenergetics Scan is one of the fastest and safest ways to activate your natural healing system.
Improving Brain Function: Pulling It All Together
As you can see, optimizing brain-health is not a one-size-fits-all system. You have to look at your environment, your emotions, and the energy field around your body to fully assess where your imbalances are.
The tips and resources outlined in this article aren’t your run-of-the-mill treatment plans. These tactics are pulled from some of the most ancient sciences to the most cutting edge technologies, bringing together an integrative approach to improve brain function and make lasting changes to your health.
