All of the organs depend upon each other for proper functioning and noone can ignore a situation when one organ starts to falter.
Some of the scarier thoughts floating around these days include losing brain power through loss of memory, Alzheimer’s disease, decreasing concentration, attention deficit disorder, and/or having brain fog from chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and overmedication. Finding a remedy for these potentially debilitating conditions is an urgent and uncertain quest for many people.
From a Chinese medicine point of view, brain function rests upon the healthy functioning of major organs of the body. You need circulation (heart) to bring in oxygen (lungs) and other nutrients (digestive system.)
The digestive system includes stomach, small and large intestines, pancreas, gall bladder and the liver. Wastes must also be removed from the body(liver and kidneys) so toxins don’t keep recirculating in the blood stream.
You need to have a good immune system (thymus gland, spleen and lymph) to fend off potentially harmful substances and a good communication system (nervous and endocrine glands) to coordinate all functions.
This means anything you can do to improve any of your organs will improve brain function. All of the organs depend upon each other for proper functioning and noone can ignore a situation when one organ starts to falter.
Did you know some of the neurotransmitters/chemicals that make brain function possible are produced in the digestive tract? That means problems in your stomach, intestines, pancreas, liver and gall bladder can affect your brain.
In fact, studies show children with neurological dysfunction such as autism have 10,000 times more E. coli (a harmful bacteria) and 63% more pathogens in their digestive tracts than normal. We all have E. coli in our systems, but we only get sick from it when the levels get too high.
Once the helpful bacteria are reestablished in the gut with the help of diet and probiotics, which are the good bacteria that support life, the neurological functioning of these children improves.
There is also evidence to show that doing certain types of exercise will help to improve the production of good neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine in the area of the brain associated with memory.
Many of us are aware of doing aerobic exercise to bring more oxygen to all our cells for better energy production. But are you aware that doing strength training is not only beneficial for muscle strength, but also stimulates the production of neurotransmitters? Sleep deprivation is a major problem in our society today and does contribute to increased stress, decreased organ function and brain degeneration.
There is no easy solution to a multiple system problem, but going step by step in improving each of your organ systems through proper nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress management goes a long way in preventing brain dysfunction.
Qigong also has many forms of exercise that help all organs and thus help the brain. To enhance you body’s overall health and wellbeing, I periodically conduct a six week series of Chinese energy classes (qigong) at our office in Alhambra.
See our calendar for upcoming qigong events.
Your first class of Level I qigong is free.
Learn more about qiqong.
