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What Causes Brain Fog?

Symptoms of brain fog are said to include fatigue, irritability, and memory loss. Various diets and supplements are said to help treat it. But is brain fog even a real thing? What causes brain fog?

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I have gotten a handful of questions lately from listeners wanting to know whether a certain diet or supplement will help with “brain fog.”  Each of the people that wrote to me had come across a blog or a YouTube video or podcast that described a product or dietary regimen that was supposed to treat brain fog. Interestingly, each offered a completely different solution for the same problem.

Although Brain Fog is not a recognized medical condition, it's a term that I’m starting to see more and more frequently. It’s used as a sort of catch-all to describe a wide range of symptoms. Here’s a typical list of things that are given as symptoms of brain fog:


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  •         

  • low energy

  • fatigue

  • irritability

  • trouble concentrating

  • headaches

  • forgetfulness

  • low motivation

  • depression

  • anxiety

  • confusion

I don’t know if the folks who wrote to me were online trying to find a solution for a problem they were experiencing or whether they simply stumbled across this list of things and thought, “Hey, I sometimes feel tired or blue. Maybe I have brain fog?“

»Continue reading on QuickAndDirtyTips.com

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