For 100,000 years, humans lived in a pristine environment. Our bodies didn’t need to know how to detox because our planet was clean. But in our modern environment, we’ve changed that picture. Now it is far too easy to become loaded with toxins, even from birth, and our bodies haven’t developed enough mechanisms to remove them.
Over the last century, chemistry has brought us an amazing array of “useful” products, from plastics to pesticides. The challenge is that most of us assumed that the chemicals included in these products were tested and proven to be safe for humans. But that has not been the case. There are around two hundred chemicals in the blood of newborns before they are even born, many of them harmful. In fact, only a small fraction of the thousands of chemicals in use in the United States have been tested for safety.
Take just one example, a brain toxin that has crept into our food chain with ease. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is commonly found in the lining of canned food containers—and until recently, in plastic baby bottles and the ubiquitous sippy cups used by toddlers and very young children. When a toxin like BPA is ingested, it can impact the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, the number one cause of cognitive decline. It is easier to accumulate BPA than you might think. Consuming two servings per week from cans and containers lined with BPA will, over the long term, increase blood and urine levels of BPA and block insulin receptors, and it may double your lifetime risk for developing diabetes. BPA has also been shown to spike an increase in blood pressure, after participants ingested a single serving of food from a BPA-containing can.
Compounds known as phthalates are used in the manufacturing of plastics, including plastic water bottles and other food packaging, as well as common household items like shower curtains and plastic flooring, furniture, children’s toys, and electronic devices. Studies have shown that repeated exposure and ingestion of chemicals like BPA and phthalates may increase your risk for cancer and diabetes. Phthalate tissue levels are also associated with lower IQ scores in children.*
Fortunately, BPA is now banned in baby bottles, but children and adults still need to avoid toxins that make their way into everyday life. It’s challenging, but not impossible. You can start by looking for BPA-free canned goods—it should say BPA-free on the can. To avoid phthalates, don’t cook or microwave in plastic containers, and avoid drinking out of plastic bottles. The box “Getting Brain Toxins Off Your Plate” on this page offers more suggestions.
It’s much easier, however, to target major brain toxins that can be eliminated in a very straightforward way, through conscious choice and lifestyle changes.
Though a healthy diet with proper nutrients, as well as exercise and stress management, will promote a better brain and protect it, each of these toxins is capable of undermining those valuable efforts and harming your health and memory. You will recognize many of the toxins on the list below as substances that are clearly harmful to humans. What is new and that you may not realize, however, is the extent of damage that these “everyday poisons” can do to your brain. If you are exposing yourself to any of the following, it’s time to detox.
Using tobacco products raises your risk of developing early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Tobacco, of course, is also highly addictive, and quitting is very hard, even when the stakes are known. Unfortunately, because of the immense power of the global tobacco industry, one of the most damaging and deadly products in the world will likely remain legal to use.
Tobacco usage will increase your risk for heart attack and stroke, as well as more than a dozen fatal cancers, skin wrinkling, bone loss, and debilitating fractures. Smoking is the primary cause of emphysema. It gives you frequent respiratory and sinus infections, bad breath, and heartburn. It worsens sexual performance, especially for men, as tobacco is a leading cause of erectile dysfunction.
Its links to cancer and cardiovascular risk are well researched and documented, but many people don’t realize the damaging impact that tobacco can have on the brain. One reason for this lack of consciousness may be that tobacco is a stimulant frequently associated with heightened awareness. Smokers will point out that using tobacco helps them pay attention. It’s true that as with many stimulants, tobacco does wake you up and can help you focus. In fact, data from my own clinic reflects this—up to a point: Though patients who use tobacco do show an improvement in attention scores, more importantly they show decreased executive function (problem solving) and decreased overall neurocognitive performance. Over the long term, tobacco use worsens overall cognitive function.
If the other widely publicized risks of smoking and using tobacco aren’t enough to motivate users to stop, perhaps the fact that brain health hangs in the balance will do so—the sooner the better. There are now dozens of sponsored programs to help you quit. (Check with your doctor.) Many of these programs are free, even if you don’t have medical insurance.
Here is some information I share with my clinic patients to help them stop smoking. If you don’t smoke but have loved ones who do, perhaps these guidelines will benefit them—and their brains.
1. Pick a quit date. Some people are motivated by selecting a birthday, anniversary, or a child’s upcoming graduation or wedding as a quit date. Announce the date to friends and family to prepare them as well—if you get a bit grumpy or tense, they’ll be more forgiving if they know you are quitting an addictive habit. By going public with your intention and tying it to a specific date, you are enabling them to provide added support.
2. Talk to your physician about using medications to help you quit. Specific drugs, such as Chantix and Wellbutrin, increase your success at quitting. Talk to your doctor about whether they are a good option for you. They work by blocking the pleasure gained from using tobacco. If appropriate, start using the medication two weeks before your quit date.
3. Before you quit, identify the three W’s. When do you smoke? Why are you smoking (what need is being met)? What else could you do to meet that need? Write down the answers on a notepad. It’s easy enough to answer the first question (when), but dive deeper into the why and the what. Most people credit their tobacco products with helping them accomplish certain things: to relax, to take a break, to stop eating. In their minds, those are all good reasons. The challenge is to identify why and then make sure that need is met in another, more healthful way—for instance, by meditation, taking a bike ride, or eating a better diet.
4. Plan to meet your needs. One is the habit or the action, and the other is the addiction. One option for quitting is to first break the tobacco habit, then tackle the addiction. If you have identified why you smoke and what need it is meeting, develop a plan to match that need. If you require a five-minute break every hour, then take one without lighting up. If you like the hand-mouth movement, then switch to drinking tea, or chew gum with a harmless sweetener such as xylitol. Be prepared for this step. If you don’t have a plan, you might be tempted to substitute food for cigarettes—particularly handfuls of junk food—and gain weight.
5. Ask your physician if you are a good candidate for nicotine replacement. Cigarette manufacturers have altered tobacco processing to make it easier to inhale and thus to absorb higher amounts of nicotine. In addition, they have modified tobacco plants to increase nicotine content. The overall effect is to make tobacco more addictive today than it was fifty years ago. Likely, if you use more than half a pack of cigarettes per day (or the equivalent in other forms of tobacco), then you’ll have to break a nicotine addiction. If your physician thinks nicotine replacement is a good idea for you, then the general rule is to use 1 mg of nicotine patch for every cigarette you use daily. If you smoke a pack a day (20 cigarettes), that means you need a 20 mg patch per day. (Conveniently, patches commonly come in 21 mg, 14 mg, and 7 mg daily patches.) For a pack-a-day smoker, start with a 21 mg patch daily for 2 weeks, then 14 mg daily for 2 weeks, and then 7 mg daily for two weeks. By six weeks, you will have found other ways to meet your needs and it will be much easier to break the nicotine addiction. When you do stop, celebrate, do something really fun, and thank the people who helped you succeed.
6. To prevent weight gain, add an exercise routine. People often gain weight when they quit smoking, typically ten to twenty pounds. Before you balk at the health implications, studies show that you would have to gain eighty pounds to do as much damage to your body as smoking a pack a day does. Exercise revs your metabolism and burns calories. It also reduces stress, which can trigger the urge to smoke. Following the Better Brain Solution eating plan will help you avoid gaining weight.
If you happen to restart the tobacco habit, just schedule another quit date, and repeat the steps above. Don’t waste time feeling guilty. In some ways, it is like riding a bicycle—it’s normal to fall several times before you get the hang of it. Just get back on and do it again. Research shows that the more times you try to stop, the more likely you will be to succeed in the end.
As we have seen, having one or two daily servings of alcohol, especially red wine, is good for your brain. (One serving is 4.5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1.5 ounces of liquor.) But excessive amounts are not good for your health or that of your family, co-workers, or loved ones. If you can’t keep your alcohol intake moderate, then don’t use it at all.
Excess alcohol turns into sugar and promotes both weight gain and insulin resistance, which will damage your cognitive function; it basically pickles your liver, heart, brain, and tissues. Although wine has the least risk, alcohol also increases cancer risk, especially if you exceed three servings per day.
Toxins naturally build up in your bloodstream, such as extra chemicals in the food chain, excess nutrients, and even the naturally occurring by-products of food breakdown. Like clockwork, your liver provides the lifesaving “cleaning service” of eliminating these toxins. Alcohol, once it’s in your bloodstream, acts like a VIP, jumping to the head of the liver detox line and blocking the removal of toxins. When you consume alcohol, your liver stops its everyday detoxing process until all the alcohol has been processed. In the meantime, other toxin levels build up, often to dangerous levels.
Because of excess alcohol’s toxic impact on the brain, as well as the other damage it can do to mind and body, it’s bad enough even a few days per week. It is especially harmful if it is happening every day.
Nitrosamines are preservative chemicals used in the production of most processed meats—such as sandwich meats, hot dogs, sausages, pepperoni, ham, and bacon—to extend their shelf life. Not only are they associated with greater risk for cancer and overall death, but studies performed on rodents show they are brain toxins.
Dr. Suzanne de la Monte, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University, has shown that administering nitrosamines to rodents not only causes insulin resistance, diabetes, and fatty liver but leads to neurodegenerative injury and Alzheimer’s disease. When she and her colleagues injected a nitrosamine-related compound (streptozotocin) into mice, they immediately acquired insulin resistance and showed signs of brain injury.
Tobacco also contains brain-damaging nitrosamines (another reason to quit using it). Dr. de la Monte and her colleagues have demonstrated that the harm associated with tobacco goes beyond cancer. Emerging data indicate that nitrosamines found in tobacco products—cigarettes and their smoke, chewing tobacco, and e-cigarettes—have harmful effects on the brain. These findings help to account for the increased rates of neurodegeneration and insulin resistance among smokers.
1. Check labels. Don’t buy foods that contain nitrosamines. Names for nitrosamines include: nitrosamine, nitrite + an amine, and other nitro- compounds, as in NDMA (nitrosodimethylamine) or NDEA (N-nitrosodiethylamine).
2. If you purchase deli meats, bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs, or other cured meats, it is especially important to read the label as well as the ingredients list to confirm you aren’t getting this toxin. Look for items that are organic, pasture-raised, and nitrosamine (nitrate) free. Many brands, such as Applegate, now make organic, nitrate-free meat products.
3. Quit tobacco, including cigarettes, chewing and dipping tobacco, and e-cigarettes. If you don’t smoke, be aware that passive smoking can expose you to nitrosamines.
Getting Brain Toxins Off Your Plate
The most effective ways to reduce your exposure to BPA and phthalates are straightforward, but because many common convenience foods are sold in packaging that contains these toxins, it may require some adjustments to how you shop, prepare, and store food.
• Avoid or limit consuming food and beverages stored in plastic or in BPA-lined cans and cardboard cartons or boxes (including water bottled in plastic). Store your food in glass, not plastic, containers.
• Don’t microwave food in plastic containers. Heating plastic increases the leaching of phthalates into food. Use glass for microwaving.
Choosing a more carefully packaged product is worth the extra money you may pay and the extra time you may take.
Some toxins that impact insulin sensitivity and the risk for type 2 diabetes have been in the environment for decades, even though their manufacturing has declined dramatically. Examples include:
• DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, the infamous pesticide used in the United States until 1972)
• Dioxins (released from fuel combustion and other industrial processes)
• PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls, a compound widely deployed in coolant fluids, copy paper, and electric fluids that winds up in water)
These compounds linger in our environment for decades, waiting to be consumed and to accumulate in our tissues. DDT, banned in the United States more than fifty years ago and worldwide in 1986, still finds its way into our food chain. In one study, a DDT residue known as DDE was four times higher in elderly patients with Alzheimer’s than in a control group of healthy elderly individuals.
People are commonly exposed to DDT and other pesticides, dioxins, and PCBs by eating animal products, particularly fatty meats and fatty dairy. One way to lower your exposure to toxins that impact blood sugar is to choose wild, cage-free, organic-fed, pasture-raised, and grass-fed products. If you avoid animal products that come from large-scale commercial feedlots, you will greatly reduce your exposure to pesticides and other brain poisons. When this isn’t realistic, avoid fatty meat and dairy. (When animals consume contaminated feed or water, toxins are stored in their fatty tissues.)
Mercury is a common metal that has been used in manufacturing and in scientific and medical applications for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, mercury is also a well-established brain toxin.
Even in otherwise healthy people, elevated mercury levels are common. Over the course of fifteen years, I have measured the mercury levels of nearly every patient in my clinic, and my data show that a full 25 percent of them have elevated mercury levels. Measuring serum (the liquid in blood itself) is not an effective way to measure for mercury, and whole blood samples are required. Most labs consider a normal level to be less than 11 µg/L (micrograms per liter). More than 14 percent of my patients have levels that are above 15 µg/L. At levels higher than that, my patients exhibit a drop in complex information processing, and when levels exceed 20 µg/L, the drop in function becomes substantial.
The single most common cause of elevated mercury levels is eating too much big-mouth fish, such as tuna or swordfish. Over the last thirty years, mercury levels have increased globally from burning mercury-laden coal, with the result that ocean and lake mercury levels have dramatically increased. Mercury is in the plankton in tiny levels, far less than 0.1 parts per million. But as we rise up the food chain from plankton to tiny copepods, to shrimp, to small fish, to bigger fish, and finally to large-mouth fish, mercury levels accumulate exponentially.
Fish with high mercury levels would be tuna, grouper, snapper, sea bass, kingfish, tilefish, swordfish, and shark. The larger and older the fish, the higher its mercury level will be. Wild salmon are a fairly big fish, but they have small mouths and eat mostly shrimp and herring, which are low on the food chain. That helps explain why wild salmon have very low mercury levels.
In 2012 my colleagues and I analyzed my clinic database to study the relationship between fish intake, mercury levels, and cognitive function in four hundred patients. We noted a clear improvement in cognitive function when people ate more fish and consumed more omega-3 fats, up to the point that their mercury levels reached 15 µg/L (15 parts per million). Levels greater than 15 showed a continued drop in their ability to process complex information. And a level more than 20 displayed an even greater drop in function.
An individual’s ability to remove mercury after consuming it varies with the liver’s ability to detoxify it, so detoxification varies greatly from person to person. Within a family whose members eat the same food, mercury levels fluctuate significantly among them. For example, my wife seems able to eat big-mouth fish weekly, and her levels have never been more than 5 µg/L. I have to be more careful, and if I eat even a couple of big-mouth-fish servings per month, my levels will be 15–20 µg/L or higher.
Our study published in Integrative Medicine in 2012 found that among people who ate big-mouth fish at least three or four times per month, 30 percent had an elevated mercury level that could harm their cognitive performance (a level more than 15). If you are eating more than two servings of big-mouth fish per month, have your doctor check your whole blood mercury level. Your level may well be normal (less than 11), but if it is higher, stop eating so much big-mouth fish. If it is more than 20, talk to your doctor about treatment options, and/or visit my resource center at www.DrMasley.com/resources.
Jeffrey’s Better Brain Story: Removing the Toxins
Jeffrey, a highly successful CEO for a local company, came to see me as a patient because he was concerned he was losing his memory. For the previous few months, he couldn’t remember names of staff he had known for years, nor a seven-digit phone number for long enough to dial it. He felt exhausted, dragging himself through the day, and he had ringing in his ears. We gave him the standard Mini-Mental Status Examination, and his result was completely normal, but he missed four out of ten questions on our clinic’s Brain Symptom Score questionnaire. His computerized cognitive testing was clearly abnormal, with decreased memory and low executive function scores. His history revealed that he had changed his diet six months earlier to get healthier. His brother had had a heart attack the year prior, so he decided to give up eating meat and was eating five to ten servings of seafood each week, in particular ahi tuna. His examination was normal, as were all the laboratory studies noted above, except that his mercury level was 44 µg/L, extremely high.
I asked Jeffrey to eliminate all big-mouth fish from his diet. The only seafood he was to eat would be wild salmon, sardines, wild sole, cod, or shellfish. Because his levels were so high and he had neurological symptoms, we also started him on an oral chelation regimen with DMSA and supplemented him with ingredients that would double his liver’s detoxification of heavy metals. (For information on chelation therapy, see www.DrMasley.com/resources.) Three months later his memory was better, the ear ringing had stopped, and his mercury level had dropped from 44 to 18. At six months, his mercury level was 10. (As a reminder, less than 11 µg/L is the normal reference range for the laboratory we use.) His symptoms resolved, and his computerized cognitive function was back to normal. The good news is that his condition was identified and treated fairly quickly. In a different clinical setting, this could very easily have been missed, and he would have likely suffered permanent memory loss.
My general recommendations are that if you eat big-mouth fish more than three times per month, or if you have concerns about your memory function, check your mercury level.
Many patients ask me about amalgam dental fillings and mercury levels. Most dental amalgams are at least 50 percent mercury. Mercury amalgams release about 1 microgram of mercury every day. They typically account for a 2–5 point rise in blood mercury levels. As the half-life for mercury removal is about two months, it can take substantial time for your body to remove this added mercury load. If you need a new dental filling, avoid amalgam fillings and opt for porcelain instead. (Some dental insurance may not cover the difference in cost, as amalgam fillings are less expensive.)
If you already have some fillings with amalgam in your teeth, talk to your dentist about a plan to gradually exchange the mercury fillings for porcelain fillings. You’ll need to ensure that the dentist uses proper dams and venting for this type of procedure, as removing amalgam fillings can inadvertently increase mercury levels in the short term. In the dental world, dentists using proper techniques to remove dental amalgams are called ecological dentists. However, if you are concerned about your risk for high mercury levels, keep in mind that big-mouth fish intake is likely a more pressing issue.
Rare cases of mercury exposure don’t relate to big-mouth fish or dental amalgam. You might recall as a child breaking a thermometer and playing with the slippery, magical-looking “quicksilver”—highly dangerous and toxic liquid mercury. Today, if we break a mercury thermometer in a medical office, we might call in an occupational health agency to handle the cleanup because we are now acutely aware of how poisonous this metal is in any form.
Though we are far more careful these days about handling mercury, other sources of mercury exposure include wood preservatives; fungicide sprays for lawns, shrubs, and landscaping; batteries; lab and industrial equipment; cosmetics; mercury-containing vaccines (though you can get mercury-free vaccines); and industrial polluted waters, especially those associated with mining.
1. Don’t eat more than two or three servings per month of big-mouth fish (grouper, tuna, snapper, sea bass, kingfish, shark, tilefish, or swordfish). If you do eat this much big-mouth fish and hope to continue doing so, then ask your physician to measure your whole blood mercury level.
2. If you enjoy eating seafood, select wild salmon, sardines, sole, flounder, cod, tilapia, and shellfish.
3. Avoid amalgam dental fillings. If you have them, have an ecological dentist remove the oldest, most worn-out fillings first, a few at a time.
4. Don’t be exposed to fungicide sprays used in landscaping.
5. If you work in industrial manufacturing or mining, be aware of mercury-related compounds.
In Flint, Michigan, local government officials chose to save money on water service and collect acidic water from a local polluted river. The acidity corroded the city’s old, outdated lead pipes, leaching lead into the local drinking water. People who consumed and bathed in the water became ill, developing digestive issues, skin conditions, hair loss, fatigue, and brain fog. Particularly for babies and children who ingested the poisoned water, the potential health issues are catastrophic, as lead poisoning can cause irreversible damage to a still-growing brain.
This issue isn’t limited to Flint, as public water in many areas of the country has elevated lead. Even in minute quantities, lead is a brain toxin, potentially causing permanent harm to children and adults. If you live in a house or work in an office that was built prior to 1978, lead paint may have been used, which can contaminate the structure. Lead pipes used through the 1960s are another source of common lead exposure.
I recommend lead testing for all children and even adults who live in a home or work in an office built before 1978, especially if you have any symptoms of cognitive dysfunction. Don’t hesitate to ask your physician to check your lead level—it should be zero. Children with lead levels of less than 5 mcg/dL have lower IQ scores than children with zero lead. If testing reveals that you have measurable lead levels, talk to your doctor about chelation therapy options to remove it.
Copper is an essential trace mineral that at low levels is critical for healthy blood cell formation, immune function, and nerve and bone health. However, at high levels it is toxic, especially when present as inorganic copper, one of the two forms we might ingest. (The other is organic copper.) The recommended daily allowance for copper is 0.9 mg (900 mcg) daily.
Organic copper comes from food sources and from supplements that are bound to amino acids (protein bound). Rich food sources of organic copper include nuts, seeds, beans, mushrooms, and green leafy vegetables. Healthy blood levels of copper can easily be achieved by eating these foods regularly.
Inorganic sources of copper come from plumbing (such as copper pipes in your home) and inorganic copper salts that are commonly included in many cheap vitamin supplements.
Only recently has copper emerged as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, and the data are startling. In animal studies, giving mice inorganic copper supplements (also called copper-2 or divalent copper), compared to giving a placebo, caused increased beta-amyloid production in the brain, plus an elevated rate of Alzheimer’s disease. If you recall, beta-amyloid is the sticky protein that overaccumulates in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s disease.
Researcher and physician George Brewer, M.D., MACN, has studied the relationship between inorganic copper intake and the dramatic recent increase in Alzheimer’s rates. He draws a very strong relationship between copper pipes used in home plumbing and the rapid rise in Alzheimer’s rates in the United States. His data demonstrate a correlation between levels of copper in public water supplies and Alzheimer’s disease. Copper levels should be less than 0.01 parts per million, but Dr. Brewer’s data suggests that two-thirds of all homes have copper levels in water that exceed this level.
In the past fifty years, Alzheimer’s rates began to climb rapidly, perhaps not so coincidentally as Americans were first being exposed to inorganic copper. The use of copper piping in U.S. home construction was in full swing in the early 1960s, when we began to see a significant rise in dementia. By 1970 copper was the typical material of choice for water piping, and it is now estimated that more than 90 percent of all homes built after 1970 have copper pipes. Water with pH levels below 6.5 can corrode copper pipes. This breakdown of the pipes dramatically increases the level of copper in water. (Ironically, in an effort to ensure a safer water supply, many homeowners retrofitted their older, pre-1970s homes with copper piping to replace potentially corrosive lead.)
Humans evolved to metabolize organic forms of copper, and it is an essential food nutrient. However, inorganic copper is something brand new in our environment, and humans appear to be ill-equipped to metabolize it. Although inorganic copper has not conclusively been shown to cause Alzheimer’s disease, the evidence is growing, and there is now ample reason for you to take some simple steps to avoid inorganic copper exposure.
1. Choose supplements with no copper ingredients or organic copper ingredients.
Examples of organic copper ingredients are:
• Copper glycinate
• Copper bisglycinate
Examples of inorganic copper ingredients, which you should avoid, are:
• Copper oxide
• Copper sulfate (commonly used as a pesticide, but also very common in poor-quality supplements)
• Copper carbonate
2. If you have copper plumbing in your home, get a reverse-osmosis filter to remove it from the water you use for drinking and cooking. A reverse-osmosis filter is an easy way to achieve safe, dependable drinking water for your household. It will also remove chlorine, lead, fluoride, and other impurities. To be practical, don’t fret over the whole house. Concentrate on the kitchen sink, your source of water for drinking, cooking, and food preparation.
3. Don’t cook with copper-lined pots and pans. Copper cookware is popular because it is a superior heat conductor, but at the same time, heated copper can leach into foods it comes into contact with, especially acidic foods (such as tomato sauce). Copper cookware exteriors and bottoms are acceptable, but make sure pot and pan interiors are copper-free.
4. Get organic copper, which your body can process and use, from food. Eat more nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, mushrooms, and green leafy vegetables daily.
For years, studies have shown an association between pesticide exposure and an increased risk for dementia. As with tobacco and other carcinogens, pesticides’ link to cancer is alarming enough—but research continues to prove that they are also extremely damaging to the brain.
In a study of 989 men and women at least seventy or older, scientists measured concentrations of blood pesticide levels and monitored those same subjects for ten years. Compared to those with low pesticide levels, those with the highest blood levels were 350 percent more likely to develop dementia. And a study in Taiwan found that even a single acute incident of poisoning with pesticides would double a person’s lifetime risk for dementia.
Because of their prevalence in agriculture and manufacturing, it’s impossible to totally eliminate pesticides—they are everywhere, including in our air and water. Yet you can significantly lower your exposure. The biggest source of pesticides isn’t fruits and vegetables that have been sprayed with these toxins, but rather meat, poultry, and dairy products from animals that eat and drink pesticide-contaminated food and water. Estimates vary, but up to 80 percent of pesticide intake in America comes from animal products, with fruits and vegetables providing only 10 percent. This is why it is so important to buy organically raised poultry, meat, and dairy.
1. If you eat meat, poultry, dairy, or any other animal products, always choose organic. Pesticide residues accumulate in and are passed on through animal fat, so if you cannot access organic dairy such as milk or yogurt, choose nonfat varieties.
2. For produce, be aware that certain types are more heavily sprayed than others, such as strawberries, cherries, apples, celery, cucumbers, and bell peppers. Some foods, such as onions and avocados, are seldom or lightly treated with pesticides. The Environmental Working Group provides “Clean Fifteen” and “Dirty Dozen” produce lists, updated annually. For the latest ones, visit their website at www.ewg.org.
If reviewing these common brain toxins has you concerned about your exposure, and you are thinking you need to both detox and avoid future exposures, here are some tips to get you started. Even if you don’t think you are at high risk, everyone would likely benefit from a four-to-seven-day detox once or twice per year to help remove and process toxins we have stored over time.
Certain foods and supplements increase your ability to remove heavy metals and other compounds. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy, and cabbage) are high on the list, as they contain sulfuranes, which help your liver remove toxins from your system. To boost your detox power over the long term, aim to eat at least one cup of cruciferous vegetables daily. You’ll notice that these vegetables are featured often in my recipes (see Chapter 10). For an even bigger dose of sulfuranes, consider broccoli sprouts, the greatest source of these detoxification compounds. During a brief detox, enjoy two cups of cruciferous vegetables every day.
Garlic, shallots, and onions are another source of potent detoxifying foods. They are loaded with sulfur, which helps you rid the body of toxins. Garlic in particular has been used for thousands of years to detox and improve health. To benefit, don’t use deodorized garlic, as the garlic fragrance has the active agents. And avoid overcooking garlic, since it turns bitter when overcooked and loses its detoxification activity—best is to add it during the last one or two minutes of cooking on low heat. Onions and shallots retain much of their nutrient content with cooking, so you can use them any way you choose. Your goal should be to consume at least a quarter of a medium onion and/or one garlic clove daily. During a brief detox, I recommend two garlic cloves daily; try dicing raw garlic and adding it to a salad or side of vegetables, with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
During a four-to-seven-day detox, you should add these foods, but there are also some healthy foods that you should avoid. Nightshade plants can slow down some key aspects of liver detoxification: these include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers, including cayenne pepper. On a daily basis, you don’t have to avoid nightshade plants, unless you have a specific intolerance to them, but during a detox, shun them.
Beyond foods, a partial intermittent fast will also help you detox. Fasting for fifteen hours generates ketones and shifts you to fat burning. (See the full discussion of partial intermittent fasting in Chapter 4.) When you burn fat, you release toxins stored in your fat tissue. During a brief detox, fast for fifteen hours each day. If you want to make that fast easier, you may drink organic coffee with organic ghee and MCT oil to start your day. (You may have coffee during a detox if it is organic.)
Avoid all alcohol during a detox. Recall that all forms of alcohol block liver detoxification. The last thing you want during a detox, when you are releasing toxins from your fat stores to your bloodstream, is to delay your ability to eliminate them.
Some supplements are excellent additions to a detox; take them during the detox and for at least one week afterward to help clear away any lingering toxins in your system. Curcumin has many health benefits, especially for the brain (see Chapter 5), and it also helps the liver remove toxins. To support your detox process, take a curcumin supplement with 1000 mg daily. Glucomannan (konjac root) is another supplement that is very helpful during a detox. It pulls toxins out of your system, acting like a sponge. (A commercial version of glucomannan is sold as PGX.) Not only does glucomannan help to eliminate poisons, but as a very viscous form of fiber, it also improves blood sugar control and enhances cholesterol profiles nicely. Ask your physician about taking 3 grams of glucomannan one to three times per day. If you can’t find glucomannan, all forms of fiber are helpful to remove toxins.
Beyond food and supplements, sweating is another way to help remove toxins. Aim to sweat during a workout every day. And for added benefit, try sweating in a sauna or steam bath one to two times per week. Humans have used sweat lodges for tens of thousands of years to improve many aspects of health. It remains a great tradition. During a four-to-seven-day detox, schedule time for a sauna or steam bath, or enjoy a steamy hot bath.
During a detox, keep in mind that you are pulling toxins from bone and fat and eliminating them. Many people experience some short-term symptoms while they are eliminating toxins, as toxins are circulating in the bloodstream as they are removed. Common symptoms during a detox can include skin rashes, smelly stools and urine, congestion, headaches, and muscle aches. Despite these short-term issues, the benefits of removing toxins outweighs these discomforts. If your symptoms are severe, you might be more sensitive, or you might suffer from a heavier toxin load. If this applies to you, stop the detox, and talk to your doctor for guidance.
Avoiding brain toxins isn’t easy, but if you are vigilant, you can significantly minimize your exposure to the most common toxins that can injure your brain. By doing so, you will protect your cognitive function and your overall health. Now let’s shift toward creating a happier and better brain for the rest of your life.
*In 2012 the FDA officially prohibited the use of BPA in the manufacturing of baby bottles and cups, though this was after declaring it safe in 2008, and then reversing that decision in 2010, ultimately banning it two years later.