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When most people think of inflammation they think of arthritic joints, or maybe a sprained ankle. But did you know your brain can become inflamed, too?<\/p>\nWhen most people think of inflammation they think of arthritic joints, or maybe a sprained ankle. But did you know your brain can become inflamed, too?<\/p>\n
The problem is an inflamed brain won\u2019t hurt. Instead you should look for other symptoms of brain inflammation. These include brain fog, slow thinking, fatigue, and depression<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n Brain fog is a hallmark symptom of brain inflammation. The inflammation slows down communication between neurons. This is what causes you to feel foggy, dull, and slow.<\/p>\n Brain inflammation is serious because it means nerve cells in the brain are dying. In other words, brain inflammation is causing your brain to atrophy and age too fast.<\/p>\n What causes brain inflammation<\/strong><\/p>\n A common cause of brain inflammation is head injury. Injuries cause immune cells to turn on in order to begin the healing process. But unlike immune cells in the body, the brain\u2019s immune cells do not turn off. This means brain inflammation can continue to be a problem long after the injury. This is one reason football players have high rates of the chronic degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other common causes of brain inflammation include chronic inflammation in the body, leaky gut<\/a>, high blood sugar and diabetes, hormone imbalances, hypothyroidism<\/a>, food intolerances (gluten is a notorious brain inflamer), stress, and brain autoimmunity<\/a> \u2014 a disorder in which the immune system erroneously attacks and damages brain tissue. It is more common than people realize.<\/p>\n Depression and brain inflammation <\/strong><\/p>\n Depression is a common symptom of brain inflammation (although different things can cause depression, depending on the person). Immune cells called cytokines that are created by inflammation impair brain function. Cytokines also hamper the activity of serotonin<\/a><\/u>, the \u201cjoy and well-being\u201d brain chemical commonly linked with depression.<\/p>\n A good illustration of this is the fact that many patients given the anti-viral drug\u00a0interferon,<\/a> which increases cytokine activity, develop depression. Conversely, many people who address inflammation relieve depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n Brain inflammation: Autism to Alzheimer\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n Brain imaging and autopsies show brain inflammation<\/a> <\/u>is more common in individuals with\u00a0autism<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n Brain inflammation is also increasingly being linked with dementia and\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s<\/a><\/u> disease. The inflammation both degenerates brain tissue and increases amyloid beta, the hallmark of Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n Take brain inflammation seriously to save your brain<\/strong><\/p>\n If you have brain fog or other symptoms that suggest brain inflammation, this means your brain is degenerating (aging) too fast. Be proactive in saving your brain health:<\/p>\n\n