LD and special diets

Also recently my mother has been telling me that my restriction of water intake will cause brain damage in itself. Also she asked her doctor about this water restriction and he says that I am seriously damaging my kidneys by only drinking sixteen ounces of water a day. What I don’t understand is I have been doing this for almost two years and I have never had an infection or problem with my kidneys because i get plenty of hydration from the food I eat as well as from drinking milk (which i might give up because of caisen’s effects on the brain ). Like I said if some neurologist or even a dietician can give me advice on this brain swelling water intake link PLEASE tell me the truth. I am trying so hard to find a special diet to help heal my brain. If i have to give up water and other stuff i’ll risk anything to get rid of my learning diabilities.

Here are two sure fire ways to reduce the effects of LD without killing yourself (which high protein/low fluid diets have a nasty habit of doing):

1) Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is probably the single best thing you can do for both your brain and body. Exercise actually improves vascularization of the brain, leading to greater oxygen intake (a good thing) and also is linked to the increased production of a naturally occurring substances that have positive effects on your mood and general learning ability. One such subtance is called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF has the excellent properties of both fighting harmful stress hormones (which cause brain damage) and promoting growth of neurons in various areas such as the purkinje cells in the cerebellum and the pyramidal cells in the hippocampus.

2) Enrichment

Use your brain as much as possible and constantly expose yourself to new sights and sounds. Some especially good things that help rewire the brain are studying a foreign language and/or learning to play a musical instrument. Listening to certain types of music has also been shown to be good for improving learning (ie J.S. Bach and Mozart). In addition, I find that meditation has helped me improve my concentration and reduce anxiety.

BTW, both running and music seriously saved my life when I was younger. I have no doubt I would have killed my self in my teens without those two things. Also, while I am not an actuall doctor, I am somewhat of an armchair neurologist/psychologist. Probably has something to do with wanting to improve my own mental functioning by understanding how the brain physically works (A good basic textbook on neuroscience coupled with reading medical papers can do wonders for your knowledge of how the brain works, though you won’t be qualified to p erform brain surgery).

I have done many activities to stimulate my brain. In college I’ve taken many art and computer classes as well as Japanese. It was in my Japanese class that my teacher pointed out that something could be wrong. She thought I had a hearing problem because I lagged behind everyone in listening skills, but was top of the class in visual memory of the many phonetic characters and reading out loud.

I do not want to get into any music lessons. After flunking keyboard class in fifth grade I do not want the embarassment again. Everyone called me “retard” after this because there was a brain injured kid that was a prodigy who sat next to me in the class. Anyway I enjoy listening to music as I paint or draw. Also I listen to quite a variety of music ( movie and TV soundtracks, electronica, oldies, classical are some of my favorites). Today i even went out and bought a Clay Aiken single. :D

All I want to know is if water restriction will help my brain function. I’m trying to stay away from excess sugar and carbs in my diet, and get the right kinds of fats.

The major danger from drinking too much water is hyponatremia, or water intoxication. This occurs when sodium levels in your blood drop too low. Sodium is necessary for the proper functioning of your muscles and nerve cells, so low concentrations can be dangerous. Also, this condition can cause brain swelling. Other than this, I’ve never heard of someone suffering brain damage from drinking water (and I’m a runner who is well acquainted with drinking lots of fluids). Generally, your brain is fairly good at maintaining proper fluid levels and electrolyte balances through the blood-brain barrier. If you’re really worried about this ask a doctor at your student health center or your family physician. MDs usually know what they’re talking about.

Unfortunately though, no matter what you do, you will still have your LD. Yeah, I know it sucks. I spent all of my childhood, teen years, and my early twenties obsessed with my mental “defects”. Some people would argue I’m still obsessed. Heck, I spend hours reading medical papers and textbooks on brain neurobiology in my quest to understand what happened to me (also it’s an interesting subject). I’ve probably learned just enough to be really irritating to people in the medical profession along with everyone else. At least now I have an idea what may have happened to me and what might be “wrong” with me. Not much I can do to cure it, though. I guess I just have to learn to live with it.

Amber — water restriction **can be very dangerous**. I say “can” because there are many factors involved and it would take a textbook to sort them all out. But take it as read that you are literally risking your life.

16 ounces of water plus other fluids is fairly minimal — this is about what I’m on and it’s barely enough (I *don’t* restrict water deliberately but can’t take chlorine so have to go a long way for chemical-free supplies.)

If you are in a cool climate, dressed moderately, not exercising much, not having a fever, not vomiting, not having diarrhea, not drinking alcohol, not drinking a lot of caffeine, not donating blood, not taking any legal medications, not taking any OTC medications/herbs/supplements (and especially not weight-loss supplements), and not taking any illegal drugs, then yes you can probably get by on 16 ounces of water plus other fluids.

However if any of the above are true, you can risk dehydration.

Dehydration can kill in 24 hours or less if severe enough. Not only that, even if it doesn’t kill, it can CAUSE both physical illness and brain damage With only a little bit of bad luck, say catching a bad flu or riding your bike in a heat wave, you can make your problems worse instead of better.

Ask any reputable doctor and you will be told:
— restrain the number of drinks with sugar, caffeine, and alcohol — they can take as much fluid out of the body as they bring in and there are all the other health problems.
— don’t take diuretics (water-loss pills, often sold for weight loss by quacks) unless prescribed *and* supervised by a fully qualified doctor.
— balance milk product input with other foods, nothing to excess.
— drink *at least* the sixteen ounces of water on an average day, and more, say thirty-two, would be better

As soon as you feel thirsty, drink water first, other stuff for pleasure later. If you are in reasonable health, thirst is an accurate guide to water needs.

— Any time your body is putting out more fluid than it is taking in, you are in danger — vomiting, diarrhea, and excess sweating can cause fast collapse. In these cases, you force water in whether you feel like it or not.
— If you are in reasonable health, your body balances its water needs quickly and easily. Any extra water just passes out. Brain swelling from fluids is caused by other major illnesses, not what or how much you drink.

I have several years of first aid, and qualified as a first-aid instructor
victoria

chrain, You are not obsessed. You sound bright and determined. Don’t let some idiot put a psych-babble lable on you.

There is a good chance that you are more informed than the doctors you may have seen. When it comes to issues of neurology most doctors don’t have the grey matter or desire to be of much help but the will still take your money.

I’d like to know more aboud BDNF.

Okay, you asked for it:

The brain naturally produces several growth factors and neurotrophic factors. These help protect the brain against damage and help in regenerating neuron cells (or at least promoting growth). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor specifically targets neurons in the hippocampus and other areas. The hippocampus is a structure that sits just beneath your temporal lobes and is involved in memory, learning, and the regulation of mood. BDNF production has been shown to be increased naturally by aerobic exercise. There is also some evidence that some anti-depressants also increase the production of BDNF, which is interesting since it has been recognized that mood disorders don’t respond immediately to anti-depressants. This indicates that most mood disorders are not just the result of an imbalance in neurotransmitters (which are altered quickly by anti-depressants) but rather by some structural problem. The hippocampus could definitely be involved in depression, since it regulates the limbic system. Damage or malfunctioning of the hippocampus also causes memory and learning problems. If you saw the movie Memento, then you know what severe damage to the hippocampus can do.

I have also read that BDNF targets purkinje cells in the cerebellum. The cerebellum is now believed to not only be involved in movement, but also in learning, attention, and the regulation of emotion. In fact, there is a theory that the cerebellum is central to disorders such as dyslexia. For instance, damage to the posterior lobes of the cerebellum has been shown to produce left-right confusion and problems with speech (such as letter reversals). Therefore, it is possible that BDNF could help improve functioning in this area (though this is totally untested).

So, if you’re depressed, anxious, having problems with remembering, or just plain old dyslexic, you need to increase production of BDNF. From my own experience, I have always felt more normal when I have been involved in regular aerobic exercise. Walking and running are my two favorites. Also, perhaps the next generation of antidepressants will increase production of BDNF directly and avoid the side effects of mucking around with neurotransmitters that do not necessarily need to be adjusted. If such drugs become available, I could see them being used to treat other brain disorders, such as certain learning disabilities. This is all just speculation, of course.

BTW, if you want more information, just go to Google and type in BDNF.

Thanks for the info. I did a google search and I found that creatine monohydrate improves brain function.

Why is it that doctors don’t reccomend this sort of therapy? Are they just thick?

Why don’t doctors recommend this stuff?

Well, as in any group of people, a *few* doctors are thick.
The majority, however, are well-informed about snake oil, wishful thinking, placebo effects, and the vast dangers of taking random medications without safety testing.

I don’t work for the FDA, far from it, and I agree that many of the regulations are over-complex and slow to change. This doesn’t mean that the idea of checking things out before you put them in your body is bad.

Victoria is right. As good as something might seem, it might also have harmful side effects. For instance, BDNF is under investigation for use in drugs — but, who knows what might happen if you have too much of it; maybe you end up with brain cancer instead of a learning disability. My approach is to make use of my own body’s natural abilities to heal and grow. I don’t expect to find a cure for my LD anytime soon (if ever), but I do expect to get the most out of what I do have.

Also, most medical doctors are not specialists in neurology or psychiatry. Unfortunatly, LD is considered something that is treated by educators, not neurologists. Maybe as our understanding of the brain improves, people with learning disabilities will go to a neurologist instead of getting stuck in special ed.

:D Thank you everyone for the advice. It seem like the website I found this information at seems to have controversial medical advice. The doctor who created the institute in which these treatments are given has some wild ideas about LD, ADD, and brain injury. He says seizures are a way the brain rids itself of “toxins”. Also he recommends the gluten ( that means no bread products) and dairy free diet for his patients.
Anyway I feel now as if i’ll have to learn to live with this. Got a Dr.Phil book a few days ago so I can figure out my goals and what I want in life. The book deals a lot with negative “labels” that people give you and how to ingore them and find your true identity