CASE STUDY: BRAIN-FAG AND SEXUAL IMPOTENCE

My original brain-fag case was that of Mr. Carrington. Carrington held a position of responsibility within the United States government. His job entailed a great deal of detail work and a profound knowledge of several unusual fields. His colleagues had looked upon Carrington as a kind of human computer in the days before computers had in fact taken over such arduous tasks.

Over a period of years, Carrington noticed that his capacity for work was diminishing. He kept a special file on his desk of difficult material. He found that he could only work on this material at the most once a week, when his brain was “in full gear.” During the rest of the time he suffered from what he himself dubbed “brain-fag”—a term he had come across in his wide reading. I was startled by his use of the term brain-lag to describe his illness. When I first heard this word, I thought it was pure slang, but on looking it up in dictionaries, I found that it has been in the English language for a century. 1 have continued to use it, because it is one of the few descriptive terms which has not been “redefined” in psychiatric dictionaries.

Associated with his brain-fag was sexual impotence and malaise. He had more or less lost his sexual drive. The only way he and his wife could have intercourse was if he took two stiff bourbons on a carefully timed schedule. The bourbon would restore his libido for a short while.

Carrington was in the Library of Congress one day, searching for a clue to his “brain-fag,” when he came across the book Food Allergy, which I had co-authored with Drs. Rinkel and Zeller in 1951 and in which I had described allergic fatigue. He went straight to a phone book, called me up, and within thirty-six hours had been admitted to the hospital under my care.

Carrington turned out to be violently susceptible to corn. This did not surprise me, since he was from the South and many of his fellow Southerners are similarly susceptible. This helped explain why he was stimulated by bourbon, in which corn is a principal ingredient. When Carrington avoided corn in all its forms, as well as a few other foods to which he was found to be susceptible, he underwent a transformation. Both his work output and his sexual ability improved immediately, and he was soon leading a normal and productive life.

Brain-fag may go untreated or unrecognized in those who lead a sedentary, noncompetitive life. For those in positions of responsibility, where they must compete with other relatively well individuals, brain-fag can be a disaster. Two cases will illustrate the course of treated and untreated ecologic illness.

*81\110\2*

THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF ALLERGIES: FOGGING FOR INSECT ABATEMENT AND WEED CONTROL

We have spoken of insecticides as a source of indoor air pollution. They are also a source of outdoor air pollution, especially in the form of insect and weed abatement programs.

Many people who know themselves to be susceptible to chemicals move to the suburbs or the countryside to escape from the source of their problem. Having moved to what they think is a safe haven, they are sometimes presented with a worse problem: insect abatement. Sometimes rural or suburban residents are “abated” in the dead of night without any prior warning. Large chemical spraying rigs move through the neighborhood, applying poisons to trees, roadsides, and ponds.

Sleeping quietly in bed with the windows open, a susceptible person’s first warning of an abatement rig may be to awake with a strangling cough or even an epilepticlike seizure. I have been called out at night on a number of occasions to resuscitate such people.

Chemically susceptible patients living in areas where these programs exist have to take rather elaborate precautions to guard against such exposures. Some contact the local agencies and ask them for advance notice when their area is to be treated with pesticide sprays. Others flee the area when spraying starts or lock themselves in their homes until the toxic chemicals disperse somewhat.

Yet others attempt to move farther into the country. Sadly, this strategy usually fails, since the abatement programs are often enthusiastically carried out in the rural districts as well. New spraying agencies are continually being formed, or else the escapee runs into trouble with farmers who are spraying for weed and insect control or with foresters spraying their trees. A few of my patients have actually moved back into the city, in order to escape the indiscriminate spraying which is now practiced in the countryside!

It is a sad commentary when people must flee to the polluted cities to escape the even worse pollution of the rural areas. Even a drive in the country is now often perilous for chemically susceptible individuals. One may suddenly encounter roadside weed control programs at any time. If this happens, you are well advised to stop, turn the car around, and escape as quickly as possible. An alternative plan is to close the car windows and breathe through an activated carbon filter, if one is available. Even driving along a recently sprayed roadside or railway right-of-way or through a country area immediately after spraying may trigger reactions.

*51\110\2*

ALLERGENS THAT SHOULD BE SUSPECTED IN ASTHMA AND RHINITIS: GENERAL POINTS

• Infections

Infections can trigger asthmatic attacks, so attacks that are worse in the winter do not necessarily point to a particular allergen. In some children, wheezing only occurs during infections and there is probably no allergen involvement. The viruses involved appear to produce substances that directly trigger mast cells in the bronchi.

• Salt and MSG

Too much salt in the diet may make asthma more likely – try reducing the amount of salt eaten to see what effect this has. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) may have similar effects. The most common sources are tinned and packet soups, convenience foods and Chinese food.

• Irritants

Various airborne irritants can provoke both rhinitis and asthma, eg:

Smoke from cigarettes, bonfires, incinerators etc

Perfume and even strongly scented flowers

Industrial fumes, especially those containing sulphur dioxide Sulphur dioxide is also given off by some foods and drinks (p291). Chewing and swallowing quickly can help to reduce the amount of sulphur dioxide released, but avoidance is probably a better solution.

If possible, reduce exposure to these irritants before trying to work out which allergens may be involved. Once allergens are identified and dealt with, the asthmatic may be able to cope with these irritants again because the bronchi are less sensitive.

• Other non-specific triggers

Cold air, exercise, fear, anger and other emotions can also trigger attacks, so you should consider the possible involvement of these factors. However, there is likely to be some other factor that is the primary cause of the asthma. It is only when the bronchi are already sensitized that they respond to triggers such as these.

• Multiple triggers

Remember that there may be more than one allergen producing the same symptom – food may be one cause and inhalants or contactants another. Where foods are involved they may make the bronchi more sensitive, so that an airborne allergen then triggers an attack. In such cases, the food alone may not bring on an asthmatic attack.

*75\180\8*

STRESS AND THE HARD CHARGER: RECOGNISING THE HARD-CHARGER

There are a number of categories of hard-chargers that I have come to recognize over the years. They are broad categorisations that don’t take into account individual nuances. I’ve included them here to help you decide whether or not hard-charging is a problem for you. Because humans are such varied creatures they cannot be categorised rigidly. For this reason you may find you can fit into two categories, being, for instance, 60 per cent one and 40 per cent the other. If you can identify with any of these categories, but don’t have any symptoms, take heed now. Ill health could be just around the corner if you don’t slow down.

Hard-chargers fall into one of two camps, the adrenally competent and adrenally fatigued. The adrenally competent have all the symptoms of stress but have enough life left in their adrenal glands to be able to whip them along and keep themselves going. They are still able to produce enough beta endorphins to kill some of the pain and moderate the intensity of their symptoms. So long as they keep going they are OK. The moment they stop, they take a dive and start to feel lousy. Recognising that action is the only thing that makes them feel good they reason they should keep at it, so they get going again, not realising that it’s an excess of that particular action that has them feeling the way they are.

The adrenally fatigued are those hard-chargers who have pushed too hard for too long. They can no longer produce enough adrenalin to force their tired bodies to perform. Chronic, unrelenting fatigue that reduces only a little when they push themselves is the main symptom. However, they seldom get to push themselves, for now they lack the enthusiasm to do so. The adrenally fatigued are easily recognised by the way they flop into the armchair in my office on their first visit and say. ‘I don’t really know why I’m here, I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.’ Having said that, they then proceed to verbalise a litany of symptoms.

Hard-chargers are the classic Type A personalities described in life insurance company premium tables and popular psychology texts. They are forever tearing around like scalded cats. Type As in the workplace resent the Type B personalities who, being less ebulliently dynamic, are perceived as lazy under-achievers. At the end of the day, Type Bs are invariably more productive and make far fewer mistakes, a fact that is seldom ever admitted to by Type As.

*139\18\9*

DEEP BREATHING EXERCISES: WHY DO WE NEED IT?

The deep breathing exercises are a good prelude to the mental relaxation exercises as they have the capacity to significantly relax the muscles especially when combined with adequate fluid and vitamin/mineral intake. So effective are they that some people elect to use them alone as their vehicle for relaxation. Many hard-chargers who have a bloated abdomen and the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome find that all these symptoms disappear after three to four weeks of the breathing exercises combined with a reduced workload, fewer commitments and the attendant rushing and speeding in cars.

This form of bloated abdomen and irritable bowel is caused by tight digestive tract muscles that cause food to get stuck in the intestines leading to fermentation, blockage and swelling. If three to four weeks of the deep breathing exercises don’t significantly improve the condition then food allergy and/or Candida albicans infection is a safe diagnosis. Some people have all three factors contributing to their bloated abdomen or irritable bowel. In all cases treatment commences with the Metabolism-Balancing Program, adequate fluid intake and deep breathing. Otherwise the severity of any food allergies or Candida infection will never be determined.

By relaxing the muscles, the deep breathing exercises also relax the brain. The muscles are connected to the brain by the sensory nerves. This makes it impossible to have relaxed muscles and a tense and agitated brain. The deep breathing exercises relax the muscles by suffusing them with oxygen and removing from them carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a major metabolic waste product of cellular respiration. Lying around in the muscles it acts as an irritant, causing them to contract, often to the point of spasm. Most importantly the breathing exercises lower the blood histamine levels, which reduces the number and intensity of one’s allergies. Conversely, shallow, rapid breathing raises the histamine levels, aggravating allergies.

*131\18\9*

HYPERVENTILATION: WHAT IS IT?

Don’t confuse the deep breathing exercises (done slowly and rhythmically) with hyperventilation. ‘Hyperventilation’ means many, rapid, shallow breaths. This often accompanies and frequently causes anxiety, panic attacks and angina. It results in oxygen starvation of the tissues by causing the blood to become too alkaline.

Reduced levels of oxygen trigger the reflex mechanisms of yawning and sighing. Yawning and sighing are nature’s ways of forcing us to breathe deeply, in an attempt to raise the blood oxygen levels before they cause metabolic imbalances.

Hyperventilation is, in many ways, a misnomer, for although it draws in more air than normal breathing, the rapid in-out shallowness of its action means that less oxygen is taken up by the blood.

Also known as ‘over-breathing’, hyperventilation is, in fact, ‘under-breathing’. It causes serious acid/alkaline imbalances in the blood.

Water is important because we are made of it. Oxygen is important because we run on it. Under-drinking and under-breathing are epidemic and create metabolic imbalances that are stresses to the body. Stress can inflame mild (even asymptomatic) allergies into full-blown, troublesome ones.

*123\18\9*

CHRONIS FATIGUE SYNDROME: EPIDEMIC

CFS, or ME or Epstein Barr virus, as it is otherwise known, is spreading. More and more people are enduring the unrelenting tiredness, depression, muscle pain, joint pain and often headaches and symptoms of fever it brings. This is not surprising given the dramatic increase in allergies since the massive industrialisation that’s taken place in the West since World War II. The consumption of sugar and white flour (both of which promote Candida yeast infections) has risen dramatically and our air, water, and food has become significantly chemically polluted.

Candida infection promotes our sensitivity to these chemicals which in turn lowers our resistance to the more common allergies of dust, dust mite, moulds, pollens, grasses, cats, dogs, feathers and foods. Often its the chemicals in the foods we’re reacting to rather than the foods per se. All the evidence suggests that CFS is on the increase in direct line with the increase in the number of allergy sufferers appearing in the statistics. The official allergy sufferer count is 45 per cent of the population, though most doctors and naturopaths agree its closer to 60 per cent.

Most of these allergy sufferers are suffering from varying degrees of CFS. Many of those with mild to moderate CFS didn’t even know they had it until their allergies were treated and they experienced a sudden rise in energy levels. They were so used to feeling below par they thought it was normal. Many a time I’ve had a patient remark to me, ‘I had no idea how tired I was,’ or, ‘Now I’ve got something to compare it to, I don’t know how I got by on my previous energy levels.’

*115\18\9*

GLUE EAR: THE DISCOVERY AND THE EXPERIMENT

My introduction to the link between food, mood and learning came by way of treating kids for colds, ‘flu and allergies. Time and again parents would remark to me that in addition to their colds and allergies clearing up their child was more sociable and was getting better marks in exams. This was supported by reports from teachers that the child was trying harder and had a better attitude to work. At first I explained this as the result of less time off school and less physical discomfort giving rise to less distraction. But still time and again parents would insist the changes were so profound there had to be more to it. In time I decided to find out for myself and advertised for parents to volunteer their children for an experiment to determine the link between food, mood and learning. Fifteen children took part in the experiment, the full details of which will appear in a future book.

To summarise, all the children were slow learning under-achievers. Some of them were, to varying degrees antisocial. Some had definitive glue ear, some had suspected low-grade glue ear, some didn’t appear to have any glue ear. All of the children commenced their treatment regime by remaining on their normal everyday diet with the addition of Formula Six multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. As the following case histories indicate some were able to overcome their problems by the addition of Formula Six to their program and some had to embark on the full Anti-Candida/ Anti-Allergy regime to get a desirable result.

Space unfortunately precludes a detailed explanation of each child though the following notes will give you some idea of how successful the programs and Formula Six were.

Each child was subjected to before and after aptitude and intelligence tests by two independent educational psychologists one tested language, writing skills and English comprehension, the other tested mathematics. Their progress was monitored by their parents and schoolteachers on a day-to-day basis, and by me once a month. Both psychologists submitted written reports on their findings.

*107\18\9*

HEART ATTACK AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: WHY DO CHOLESTEROL AND FAT STICK TO THE ARTERY WALLS?

There is little doubt that high levels of fat and cholesterol in the blood contribute to heart attacks. Fats (known technically as lipids) and cholesterol can build up on the walls of any given artery to the point where blood flow is stopped. If this happens to the arteries that feed the heart the heart stops beating and we die of a heart attack.

Over the years a number of theories have gained acceptance only to be challenged by other theories. For the last twenty years the experts have agreed that the smooth inner lining of the artery becomes damaged and that passing fat, cholesterol and blood platelets stick to the damaged roughened section of artery lining forming a little bump. Over time more and more passing fat, cholesterol and blood platelets stick to the little bump that is growing on the artery wall and the bump continues to grow until it blocks the artery off.

There’s no clear consensus on the exact causes of artery wall injury. Cigarette smoke, high levels of fat and haemodynamic stress have all been mooted and there’s every possibility that all can be involved.

*99\18\9*

SKIN PROBLEMS: REDUCING STRESS

All skin complaint owners must practise the deep breathing exercises described in the chapter on stress for at least ten minutes, though preferably fifteen to twenty minutes, each day. They can be done all at once or morning and afternoon. If you have time, do the mental relaxation exercises as well, though the deep breathing is priority one.

Some people like to do the deep breathing at one part of the day and the mental relaxation exercises at the other, rather than doing the mental relaxation exercises straight after the breathing. That’s fine. Do whatever is most comfortable for you.

Follow closely all the stress-reducing instructions laid down in the chapter on stress. Chilling is a stress. Keep all affected areas warm and, where possible, covered in winter. Chilling causes the body to withdraw blood from the skin and hold it in the centre core to conserve body heat. You cannot heal skin without a good blood supply to it. Keep the body at an even, warm temperature.

This section would not be complete if I were not to mention that the great majority of the acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea and itchy rash sufferers I have treated have had a girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse in the waiting room indicating there is no lack of love in their life. And when I look back on my own teenage (acne) years I have to admit that it was I who had trouble talking to the girls not the other way around. I allowed myself to be so immobilised by some pimples on my face, I could not respond to Marcia Green’s overtures. Clearly my skin wasn’t a problem to Marcia and if I’d had the wisdom to focus on my good points I would have been much happier.

Looking back, my acne-induced shyness was just a big waste of time and I’m sure Marcia would have told me so if only I’d given her the chance. As a result of my attitude, some other lucky bloke swooped on Marcia and I was left to ponder what I was missing.

*91\18\9*