I talk a lot about the Mind-Body connection and in this article I focus on how inflammation in the body impacts the way our brain functions.  We hear the term “inflammation” a lot these days, and especially when we think about chronic health conditions. While acute inflammation proves itself quite useful, by enabling your body to repair itself, chronic inflammation, on the other hand is like an endless fire and it’s destructive. Chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation has been directly implicated in just about every chronic disease and, more importantly, brain conditions are no exception. It can lead to symptoms such as anxiety, brain fog, lack of mental clarity, ADHD, depression, memory loss, and slow mental processing as well as serious neurological diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer’s.

“Neurological Inflammation occurs when an inflammatory cascade releases inflammatory mediators. Neurological inflammation can be a result of the overexcitation of neurons, nerve pathways in the nervous system and brain, leading to misfiring, exhaustion, and ultimately the death of these nerves. When neurons die, chronic inflammation results, leading to poor nerve signaling and health imbalances. For example, the red swelling that surrounds a bug bite is actually the body’s inflammatory process at work. A very similar process can occur in the areas surrounding our nerves, even if we can’t see that internal process as clearly as we can the red bite on our skin’s surface.” (Autism: Pathways to Recovery by Dr. Amy Yasko, Ph.D – Neurological Research Institute)

The Inflammation – Brain Connection.

There is evidence indicating that increases in levels of peripheral markers of inflammation are associated with age-related declines in brain health.

When there is inflammation, there are also pro-inflammatory cytokines, proteins that regulate the immune response. The study referred to as the “cytokine model of cognitive function” explains how inflammation affects the brain and its function.

Thus, prolonged exposure to inflammatory triggers, higher levels of peripheral pro-inflammatory mediators that communicate with the central nervous system, lower levels of anti-inflammatory factors, and the “priming” of immune target cells (the first contact of a T or B cell with its specific antigen in the brain) can all contribute to heightened or prolonged neuroinflammation.

A new study, published in Neurology, looked at 1,633 people whose average age was 53 in 198789, measuring white blood cell count and various blood proteins that indicate inflammation.  They followed the participants for 24 years. In 2011-13, when the subjects’ average age was 77, the scientists measured their brain volume using M.R.I. and tested their mental agility with a word-memorization task. They found that the greater the number of elevated inflammatory markers earlier in life, the smaller the volume of several parts of the brain, including those associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Higher levels of inflammation were also associated with poorer performance on the memory test.

The Gut – Inflammation – Brain Connection.

There are many ways in which the brain can become inflamed, but one of the most prevalent actually originates in the digestive system, which is also known as “the second brain”.

The communication between the diverse gut bacteria and brain cells has the ability to shape the brain’s white matter, affecting learning and brain function. Of course, the composition and abundance of our microbiome is heavily influenced by the quality of our diet and lifestyle.

A study from researchers at the University of Cork, revealed how gut microbes can also influence other parts of the brain. The microbiome can influence the function and structure of the brain by regulating myelination, which protects and insulates the nerve fibers. The researchers determined that changes in myelin can be reversed by regulating microbe colonization. This is especially important for people suffering from psychiatric disorders involving irregular myelination in the pre-frontal cortex.

Another study published in the Translational Psychiatry journal showed that gut bacteria manufacture a wide spectrum of neuroactive compounds such as dopamine, histamine, acetylcholine and tryptophan. Alteration in the function and levels of these compounds and neurotransmitters is strongly related to the health of the digestive system.

Clinical studies have also revealed a high prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms, inflammation, and dysfunction in children with autism.  Treating the gastrointestinal symptoms contributes to improving the behavioral and social symptoms of persons with autism.

One of zonulin’s jobs – a protein that’s released during inflammation, is to open up the intestinal tight junctions, which are typically closed to protect our gut’s delicate environment. But zonulin has also been shown to open the protective blood-brain barrier.

When this protective barrier is breached it can activate the glial cells, the brain’s immune cells, which can turn on an inflammatory and prolonged response in the brain. This way any brain problem can be tracked down to this continuous inflammation, which can decrease neuron firing. Creating a vicious cycle of inflammation, the altered brain output can also decrease its communication with the gut and impairing its function.

According to Dr. Datis Kharrazian, author of Why Isn’t My Brain Working?, a compromised bloodbrain barrier is one of the greatest risk factors for brain inflammation.

Steps to Reduce Inflammation and Improve Brain Health

Sleep

Melatonin is best known as the body’s natural sleep hormone, but it’s also a potent antiinflammatory that is especially protective of the brain. Even one sleepless night may increase the inflammatory response in your body. In a recent meta-analysis of 72 studies involving more than 50,000 participants, the data demonstrated that both too much and interrupted sleep had the effect of increasing the inflammatory response.

Also, during sleep your brain removes amyloid-beta in greater amounts than when you’re awake. These are amino acids that are crucially involved in Alzheimer’s disease as the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer patients.

There are many actions you can follow to improve your sleep, including: meditation, aromatherapy, light evening exercise, a warm bath, sleep inducing herbal teas like chamomile and holy basil, turning off WIFi, TV and computer at least one hour before bedtime.

Exercise

Since our brains don’t operate in isolation, what we do with our body also affects our mental faculties. The part of the brain that responds strongly to aerobic exercise is the hippocampus, which is at the core of the brain’s learning and memory systems. Exercise also greatly improves attention and mood.

Certain types of exercise like yoga combined with meditation can contribute not only to stress reduction and a flexible body, but also to structural changes in the amygdala, a deep-brain structure strongly implicated in processing stress, fear and anxiety.

Further research determined that even 30-45 minutes of brisk walking, three times a week, can help fend off the mental wear and tear and delay the onset of dementia.

Diet

Many people don’t really make the connection between food and brain health right away, but once again, food does affect every cell in your body, including those found in your brain. Foods that increase the inflammatory response in your body and so in your brain include processed foods, genetically modified foods, sugar, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, processed vegetable oils, oxidized omega 6 fats.

Luckily, Nature provided us with plenty of anti-inflammatory foods in the form of vegetables (especially the green leafy ones), fruits (especially berries and pineapple), grass fed meat, unpolluted fish and healthy fats (like coconut and olive oil). Hundreds of anti-inflammatory compounds can also be found in many herbs and spices like ginger, turmeric, green tea, cloves, cannabis oil.

In Conclusion

The health of our physical body often impacts our brain (and visa versa) – meaning it has an impact on our thoughts, our emotions and our behaviours.  Many times the necessary actions to reduce chronic brain inflammation long term requires a strategic and effective healing program, that goes much more in depth on all levels – physical, mental, emotional and social.

Resources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3320802/h

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