Autism linked to DDT exposure in the womb

A recent Finnish study found a link between DDT, the banned insecticide that is still prevalent in the environment, and autism. Pregnant women with elevated blood serum levels of a breakdown product of DDT showed increased risk of having children who went on to develop autism. The study is the first to connect an insecticide with increased autism risk.

Maternal DDT exposure raises autism risk in children

In a study of more than 1 million pregnancies, researchers identified almost children with autism and compared them to mother-child pairs without autism.

Maternal blood taken during early pregnancy was analyzed for DDE, a metabolite (breakdown product) of DDT. They also evaluated PCBs, another long- banned toxin that nevertheless remains in the environment.

They found that:

• The odds of autism were nearly one-third higher among children whose mothers had elevated DDE levels.
• The odds of autism more than twice as high among children whose mother's DDE levels were in the top 25 percent. 

These findings persisted after adjusting for maternal age, psychiatric history, and other factors.

While the study showed a strong link between maternal DDT and autism risk, it showed no association between PCBs and autism. The researchers propose two reasons. First, maternal DDE is associated with low birth weight, a well-researched risk factor for autism, whereas maternal PCB has not been linked to low birth weight.

Second, they propose a connection with hormone function in which DDE has more of an impact than PCB.

The study is the first of its kind to link a pregnant woman’s blood levels of an insecticide to an increased risk of autism in her offspring. Previous studies have looked at pregnant women’s proximity to sites contaminated with pollutants.

Wasn't DDT banned decades ago?

DDT has not only been linked to autism, but also to the following:

• Breast cancer
• Reproductive difficulties
• Changes to the nervous system
• Impaired immune system function
• Liver damage

DDT and PCBs were banned in many countries more than 30 years ago. However, they remain in soils and elsewhere in the environment because they take decades to break down.

Exposure happens in small increments, mostly from eating foods that contain minute levels, in particular fish, poultry, and meat.

DDT attaches to the roots of plants, but it does not easily move to other parts of the plants. However, DDT in the air can be deposited on to the surfaces of plants, making them carriers as well.

In addition, not all countries have banned DDT, so it is possible to ingest it via imported food products or while traveling.

When we ingest DDT, the amount we actually absorb depends on what it was attached to when ingested.

As a result, a pregnant women passes on DDT metabolites to unborn baby.

DDT and DDE are more soluble in fats and oils, and more bioavailable when mixed with them. Because they are more fat-soluble than water-soluble, they tend to concentrate in our fatty tissue — in fact, they can be found in fat at levels several hundred times that of found in the blood.

Over time, the liver metabolizes DDT/DDE and makes it water-soluble for removal, but the process is very slow. According to the University of Nevada, it has a half-life of 8 years, meaning an amount you ingested 8 years ago is now only reduced by half.

How do I avoid DDT?

DDT and DDE can be found in root crops, leafy crops, grains, fatty meats, fish, poultry, milk, cheese, and oil. They may be found in small amounts on US food but can be found in larger amounts in or on imported food products.

Below are ways to reduce your DDT exposure:

• Wash your produce to remove DDT residues.
• When cooking fish, remove the skin and visible fat, then broil, grill, or bake the fish so the fat drips off.
• Support liver health and detox capabilities.
• Be aware of health advisories for imported foods source where DDT is applied.
• If you fish local waterholes, check your state website for DDT advisories.
• Supplement with curcumin, which has anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin also inhibits the estrogenic effects of DDT and is synergistic with phytoestrogens.

For more information about how to support your body's ability to cope with DDT in the environment, contact my office.

Nutrients to help repair your leaky blood-brain barrier

The brain is surrounded by a thin lining called the blood brain barrier, which prevents harmful compounds from entering the brain while allowing helpful nutrients in and cellular debris out. However, for a lot of people the blood brain barrier degrades, allowing harmful toxins and compounds into the brain. This causes inflammation in the brain and symptoms such as depression, brain fog, memory loss, and other brain-based symptoms and disorders.

The strategies for repairing a leaky blood brain barrier are similar to the strategies for repairing a leaky gut because the causes are similar. Some of the more foundations include balancing your blood sugar, removing inflammatory foods and chemicals from your diet and environment, and focusing on a whole foods diet that is abundant in produce.

However, beyond that certain nutritional compounds have been shown to help repair a leaky blood brain barrier:

Resveratrol. Resveratrol is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant (protects against damaging free radicals) known to help prevent development of neurodegenerative diseases.

Resveratrol can increase your brain's growth hormone, support mitochondria, and protect and restore the blood-brain barrier.

Curcumin. Often used in conjunction with resveratrol, curcumin is the anti-inflammatory component of the spice turmeric. Heavily researched, curcumin can:

• Lower stress hormones
• Increase the brain's growth hormone
• Reduce hyper-permeability of the blood-brain barrier
• Reverse blood-brain barrier dysfunction
• Improve integrity of the blood-brain barrier
• Reduce inflammation and oxidative stress
• Sulforaphane. A phytochemical found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, this antioxidant has anti-inflammatory qualities similar to curcumin.

Studies show it can prevent breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, reduce its permeability, and improve brain function after traumatic brain injuries and stroke.

If you take sulforaphane in supplement form, make sure it contains the co-factor myrosinase.

Vitamin D. Vitamin D is a powerful tool in managing inflammation and autoimmunity. Every tissue in your body has vitamin D receptors. Studies show it can help prevent leaky brain by reducing inflammation and reducing blood-brain barrier disruption.

Ways our modern lifestyle contributes to a lack of vitamin D:

• Modern diets lack vitamin D-rich foods such as liver and organ meats, seafood, butter, and egg yolks
• Chronic stress and elevated cortisol (stress hormone) depletes vitamin D
• Gut inflammation reduces absorption of vitamin D
• Obesity contributes to vitamin D deficiency

While we think of direct sunlight as the best way to get vitamin D, not everyone can make enough this way. To maximize your vitamin D levels, get 15 minutes of sun on your skin every day and take care of your gut health to optimize absorption of dietary vitamin D.

In the absence of exposure to enough sunlight, it's recommended to supplement with a minimum of 1000 IU of vitamin D3 (not D2) daily to maintain proper blood levels.

Some people need much higher doses, from 5,000 to 25,000 IU per day. If you take higher doses, have your blood levels tested periodically to avoid toxicity.

Emulsified vitamin D is best for those with poor digestion.

B vitamins. Several B vitamins support the health of the blood-brain barrier:

• Vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency disrupts the blood-brain barrier and supplementation can restore it.
• Vitamins B12, B5, and B9 (folate) can restore blood-brain barrier integrity.

Magnesium. A vital mineral for more than 300 biochemical processes in your body, magnesium affects brain neurotransmitters, enzymes, and hormones. Many people are deficient, so ask your healthcare practitioner of you should be tested.

Magnesium protects the brain by:

• Protecting the blood-brain barrier
• Supporting mitochondria
• Increasing the brain's growth hormone
• Assisting in overcoming addiction and withdrawal

Strong dietary sources of magnesium include:

• Spinach
• Chard
• Almonds
• Avocado
• Banana
• Pumpkin seeds
• Dark chocolate

Omega 3 fatty acids. Essential fatty acids (EFA) are fats our bodies need but can't produce on their own, so they must come from food sources or supplementation.

EFAs are critical for:

• Dampening inflammation and autoimmunity
• Supporting blood vessel and skin health
• Production of hormones

It's estimated that up to 80 percent of the US population is deficient in EFAs.

Primarily found in fish, Omega 3s are EFAS that support your mitochondria, increase brain growth hormone, and support the blood-brain barrier.

When consuming EFAs, it's important to consume the proper ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6. Omega 6 is a necessary EFA but taken in the wrong ratio to Omega 3 it is highly inflammatory.

The average American consumes a shocking ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 of 25:1, contributing to the epidemic of inflammation-related health disorders.

Researchers recommend a ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 that ranges from 1:1 to 4:1. A recommended dose is 3,500 mg for a person eating a diet of 2,000 calories per day.

As you now know, it's important to take great care of your precious blood-brain barrier. Many of the above suggestions also benefit other health issues, so by adopting them you are hitting more than one target at a time. For more information on how to fix your leaky brain, please contact my office.

Brain inflammation can be at the root of your suicidality

If your antidepressants aren’t helping your severe depression or suicidal thoughts, you’re not alone — but an alternative could be the key. New research shows brain inflammation plays a key role in depression, pointing the way to new treatments for depression and suicidal ideation.

For decades, depression has been treated as a chemical imbalance in the brain’s neurotransmitters — most often serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Commonly prescribed medications such as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and NDRIs (norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors), attempt to resolve depression by changing how the brain stores, transports, and reabsorbs these key brain chemicals.

While this treatment helps some, it proves inadequate for many others. For those with severe depression and suicidal thoughts it can strand them in the danger zone with nowhere to turn.

The inflammatory model of depression: Microglial over-activation

New research reveals the root of depression may not be chemical imbalance but instead chronic inflammation that disrupts brain function. This can lead to malfunctions in how the brain manages not only its neurotransmitters, but other key functions such as fighting inflammation, immune response, and communication with the rest of the body, including the gut.

A team at the University of Manchester has found a strong correlation between major depressive episodes and increased neuroinflammation — inflammation of the brain's neurons.

At the root of this relationship is increased activity of microglia cells (glial cells), the immune cells of the brain and nervous system.

Glial cells outnumber other neurons in the brain and are responsible for removing debris from the brain. As neurons die, the glial cells chew off the dead portions so that communication between remaining cells is not impaired.

Under normal circumstances, glial cells do their cleanup and the brain returns to normal. However, processed foods, environmental toxins, sleep deprivation, and chronic stress spikes inflammation in the brain.

Unlike other immune cells in the body, glial cells don't have an easy off-switch. When brain inflammation continues unabated, glial cells become over activated, creating an inflammatory cascade that damages neighboring neurons and destroys their ability to communicate with each other. This can result in brain fog, depression, and worse.

Glial cell over activation is fueled by:

• Chronic systemic inflammation
• A diet high in sugars, carbs, processed foods, and industrial seed oils
• Poorly regulated blood sugar
• Food sensitivities
• Autoimmunity and other chronic health conditions
• Chronic viral infections
• Traumatic brain injuries (even minor concussions)
• Gluten sensitivity

Glial cell over activation linked to suicidal thoughts

The study compared subjects with moderate to severe depression and suicidal thoughts to a control group of healthy subjects with no depression. In the depressed group, brain scans showed increased microglial activity.

The most significant increase was observed in the part of the brain responsible for mood regulation, pointing to a link between suicidal thoughts and increased brain inflammation. The control group showed no elevated glial activity.

Prior studies of post-mortem suicide subjects also showed similar inflammation in these brain regions.

Do I have glial cell over activation?

Look for these clues your brain is inflamed:

• Brain fog
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Poor memory
• Physical or mental fatigue
• Difficulty finding words
• Gut inflammation (the gut is connected to the brain via the vagus nerve)
• Food sensitivities
• Leaky gut

Lowering brain inflammation to relieve depression and suicidality

Many functional neurology patients have relieved depression by addressing brain inflammation.

Below are ways you can minimize inflammation and protect your brain.

Exercise regularly. Exercise can literally save your brain. Raising your heart rate a few times a week positively impacts your brain by flooding it with healthy brain compounds such as brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps neurons communicate better. It only requires a few minutes of high intensity exercise to increase BDNF levels. The more coordination required for the exercise, the better it is for your brain.

Control blood sugar. Whether you have chronic high blood sugar (insulin resistance) or low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), imbalanced blood sugar is inflammatory to the brain. Left unmanaged, it can be one of the most damaging factors for the brain. In fact, chronic high blood sugar is so damaging to the brain, neurologists call Alzheimer’s disease “Type 3 diabetes.”

Symptoms of chronic high blood sugar (insulin resistance):

• Constant sugar cravings, especially after meals
• Fatigue after meals
• Constant hunger
• Waist girth equal to or larger than hip girth
• Frequent urination
• Increased appetite and thirst
• Difficulty losing weight
• General fatigue

Symptoms of chronic low blood sugar (hypoglycemia):

• Lack of appetite or nausea in the morning
• Sugar cravings
• Eating to relieve fatigue
• Irritability, light-headedness, or dizziness when you miss a meal
• The need for caffeine for energy
• Energy crashes in the afternoon

Adopt an anti-inflammatory diet. American diets are high in sugars, processed foods, allergens such as corn, soy, and wheat, and inflammatory foods such as gluten and nightshades. An anti-inflammatory elimination and reintroduction diet can help determine what foods may be causing you undue inflammation. Contact my office for guidance on how to manage this protocol.

Fix leaky gut and leaky brain. Leaky gut happens when the lining of the small intestine becomes inflamed, damaged, and over-porous, allowing undigested food particles, toxins, and other pathogens into the bloodstream. These pathogens trigger an immune cascade that leads to systemic inflammation, increasing your risk for more inflammation, food sensitivities, and autoimmune disease.

The brain is surrounded by a protective layer called the blood-brain barrier (BBB), meant to allow nutrients in and keep pathogens out. Similar to leaky gut, inflammation can disrupt the integrity of the BBB, making it over-permeable.

This allows inflammatory pathogens into the brain, firing up the immune response and glial over activation. Once the BBB is leaky, many other immune triggers can feed the inflammatory fire.

Avoid gluten. Gluten exposure opens the lining of the blood-brain barrier, allowing inflammatory pathogens into the brain and contributing to glial over activation and damage to brain cells and function.

For those with celiac disease, gluten exposure activates zonulin, which opens the lining of both the gut and the BBB, leading to more brain inflammation.

Manage stress. Regular stress-reduction practices are anti-inflammatory and provide great benefits for brain health. Even a few minutes a day of one of the following can make a difference:

• Meditation
• Deep breathing
• Yoga
• Tai Chi
• Dance
• Laughter
• Hug a tree
• Walk in nature
• Gratitude journaling

Improve circulation to the brain. In addition to exercise, look for other ways to increase brain circulation such as:

• Gingko biloba
• Eliminate smoking
• Address asthma
• Address hypothyroidism (and associated anemia)

Address head injuries. If you have a head injury, you need to address it no matter how mild or severe. Even a mild head injury can initiate glial cell-over activation, and many with old untreated head injuries have an inflammatory fire smoldering in the brain that can erupt years later in the form of mood issues, brain dysfunction, and worse. Those with multiple head impacts over time are especially at risk — even if the injuries have all been minor.

While it was previously thought that the intensity of the head trauma mattered most, we now know that other factors such as an inflammatory diet, lack of exercise, toxic overload, and chronic stress set the stage for how well your brain and immune system will respond to trauma, regardless of the intensity.

An exciting future for depression treatment

Ongoing research will offer more answers to how inflammation relates to depression. Meanwhile, functional neurology offers numerous tools to reduce its impacts on the body and brain. For more guidance into how you can use the above tools to minimize brain inflammation and reduce your depression, contact my office.

Exercise your vagus nerve for better gut health

Are you following the right diet and taking all the right supplements yet still struggling with irresolvable gut problems? The problem could be in your head, or more exactly, in the large nerve that runs between your brain and your digestive system.

Called the vagus nerve, this large nerve sends communication back and forth between the brain and the organs, including the digestive organs. If your gut problems are accompanied by poor memory, brain fog, problems with cognition, or other brain symptoms, then you know you might have a sluggish vagus nerve.

Indigestion, acid reflux, constipation, burping, gas, bloating, diarrhea, pain, and irritable bowel disorders are some of the common problems that result from an insufficiently active vagus nerve. A problematic vagus nerve is also evidence that your brain is degenerating, or aging, too quickly.

The brain delivers commands to the gut via the vagus nerve. This function executes digestion, gut repair and regeneration, moves food through the intestines (motility), secretes digestive enzymes and juices, triggers digestive hormones, and more.

When brain function deteriorates or the brain degenerations, the vagus nerve does not receive sufficient communication from the brain to deliver to the gut. This poor communication between the gut and the brain causes constipation, leaky gut, food sensitivities, irritable bowel disorders, and other gut problems.

This is one reason gut problems are common among people with brain injuries, the elderly, or people struggling with poor brain function.

Exercise the vagus nerve to improve gut function

A functional neurologist conducts a thorough exam of your brain health and function and then customizes a rehabilitation program unique to your brain. This rehabilitation may include activating your vagus nerve to improve your gut function.

The good news is you can also activate your vagus nerve on your own at home with some simple exercises.

How to exercise and improve your vagus nerve

First, how do you know if you need vagus nerve activation?

• Look at the back of your throat in the mirror when you say “ahhhh.” If the uvula (the little punching bag at the back of your throat) does not rise much, that’s an indication of a sluggish vagus nerve.
• You don’t have much of a gag reflex; you can test this by pressing on the back of your tongue with a tongue depressor. It should make you gag.
• If possible, listen to your abdomen with a stethoscope. You should hear intermittent rumbling noises. If you hear virtually nothing, this indicates sluggish bowel and vagal activity.

So, it looks like you have a sluggish vagus nerve, now what? Here are some exercises to activate the vagus nerve, taken from Dr. Kharrazian’s book, Why Isn’t My Brain Working?. You can also contact my office regarding some other methods of activation. It is a growing field with many innovations.

Robustly gargle several times a day. Gargle each sip of a glass of water several times a day hard enough to make your eyes tear up.

Sing loudly. Sing as loudly as you can several times a day if you are in a place where you can do this, like the car.

Gag. Use a tongue depressor to gently press on the back of your tongue and make yourself gag several times a day until your eyes tear. This is one of the stronger approaches; just be careful not to poke the back of your throat.

Coffee enemas. Google coffee enemas and hold the enema solution as long as you can.

This is a very simple summary of how to activate the vagus nerve. For more advice unique to your brain’s needs, please contact my office.