Bipolar Disorder

It might come as a surprise to you that there are no two kinds of bipolar disorder that are the same. The same is true for anxiety and depression. Each person experiences symptoms differently, which makes it that much harder to understand. In truth, this disorder is so difficult to understand that its name is not really appropriate at all, especially if you understand the true cause of all the symptoms. The name bipolar was given because the episodes people experience reflect two opposite extremes. They are either up or they are down. However, this is not a true expression of the disorder because it implies that one day someone is low and depressed, and the other they are high and manic. If you or someone you know has bipolar disorder, you will be aware that this is not necessarily a true representation of this condition. 

Furthermore, there are so many different levels of bipolar disorder that it is impossible to classify each one properly. The only way the medical community knows how to classify the levels are from mild to severe. However, bipolar disorder is so unpredictable that it may hit one unassuming person radically one day and then creep up slowly over the years for someone else. This is due, as I will explain further, to the triggers that occur in one’s life as well as what is happening to the brain after the triggers happen. But these are not the cause, simply the triggers. In all cases of bipolar, there is an underlying cause that medical communities are unaware of. 

The Limitations of Research and Science

First of all, we have some amazing neurosurgeons today that have developed and regularly perform life-saving procedures, and for that I am very grateful. For example, there is a surgery that miraculously removes aneurysms from people’s brains, saving many people from premature death. I have immense respect for how far we have come in various areas. However, when it comes to the majority of chronic illnesses, research and science are woefully behind. This may sound hyperbolic, but research and science essentially know very little when it comes to what is going on in the brain. Because it is not an area of the body science and research can effectively probe and study, there is very little progression in the study of conditions of the brain. Unfortunately, due to this lack of progression, we are in the same place we were many decades ago in understanding bipolar disorder.

In the 1950s, mostly women, but some men as well, were filing into doctors’ offices complaining of depression and extreme mania, to which the medical professionals could only shake their heads because they had no idea what was causing such symptoms. Since most of the patients were women in their late 40s and 50s, doctors’ first reaction was to blame menopause. In fact, those who were deep in research and medication development were in the process of creating synthetic hormones and were just about to put them on the market. So, when people started having symptoms now referred to as those of bipolar disorder, doctors blamed hormones. This made it vastly simple to turn around and prescribe the hormone medications they were primed to release. More than half a century later, science and research has the same exact answer for the cause of bipolar disorder: hormones. This lack of progression has caused many to continue their suffering for so many years and prevented healing from this disease. In recent years, they have tacked on environmental issues and trauma to the list of causes, which is some advancement; but these are mere triggers, not actual causes.

The True Cause of Bipolar Disorder

A common theory for an answer for bipolar disorder is a chemical imbalance in the brain. The truth is, however, that it is impossible for the body to naturally disrupt its own chemicals and cause an imbalance when there are no outside factors. There is an actual tangible substance that is disrupting the brain and its mental functioning. The answer is toxic heavy metals.

Research and medicine stay away from the discussion on toxic heavy metals. There is little to no conversation about them in medical communities, let alone in relation to how they cause mental disorders. There is so much controversy surrounding heavy metals that scientists do their best to neglect them altogether. As a result, medical communities are completely unaware of just how many illnesses toxic heavy metals play a role in. Toxic heavy metals are present in petroleum, plastics, antibiotics, and countless other drugs so it is no wonder science and research ignore them. The idea that the very things doctors are prescribing for healing and managing diseases contain ingredients which are harmful would be damaging to the pharmaceutical industry. Toxic heavy metals are also in our water supply, falling out of the sky, and found in a multitude of other places. 

If you could examine the heavy metals in the brains of those who have bipolar disorder, you would begin to see why this disease manifests itself so differently in each individual. Heavy metals of all kinds, including copper, mercury, lead, and aluminum, find their way into the body either at conception, during pregnancy, at birth, or afterwards. People can also get heavy metals later in life from pesticides, which contain heavy metals, the metals in kitchenware, old copper pipes, and many other sources. Heavy metals are passed down generationally, which is one reason why children can have heavy metals in their systems when they are so young. This truth is still unknown to medical communities and science and research. It’s critical to understand how these toxic heavy metals can impact you and your loved ones and be contributing to chronic illnesses, which is why I addressed them in my books Medical Medium and Life-Changing Foods.

On their own these metals are poisons. What is worse is that they tend to oxidize, causing even worse problems, such as toxic runoff that damages any tissue in its path and disrupts the path of electrical impulses. Sometimes the heavy metals oxidize quickly in people’s brains; at other times, it takes a bit longer for the metals to oxidize. Additionally, there is the factor of where the heavy metals have made a home in the brain. They could be in the frontal lobe, by the pituitary gland, in the cerebral midline canal, or scattered about. Toxic heavy metals are also a food for viruses and bacteria, a truth that medical science and research are not yet aware of. When viruses and bacteria eat toxic heavy metals, they excrete neurotoxins, which can worsen the condition of someone with bipolar or another condition caused by toxic heavy metals. All these factors and more (to come below) play a part in someone’s neurological health and why no two people can have exactly the same bipolar. 

When someone has deposits of heavy metals in the brain, it disrupts the proper functioning of electrical impulses. Instead of running down a neuron in a smooth path of communication, the electrical impulse fires down a neuron on neurotransmitter fuel and runs into a heavy metal deposit as though it is a wall. As a result, the electrical impulses short circuit. And as the metals oxidize and runoff occurs, surrounding brain cells are damaged and more electrical impulses are short circuited. This is what is happening with someone who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. As you can now understand, there is much more to this condition than science and research have discovered yet.

Triggers

It’s critical to understand the difference between the underlying unknown cause of bipolar that I revealed above and its triggers. Just because someone has heavy metals in their brain does not mean they automatically have bipolar disorder. There needs to be a trigger first. Without a trigger, the metals can remain cool and calm inside the brain, not causing much trouble. The trigger can be any sort of emotional experience that sends adrenaline to the brain. A childhood trauma, a sudden death of a loved one, a car accident, a divorce, or other devastating news can all be examples of traumatic events that push massive amounts of adrenaline to the brain. Sometimes the emotional event triggers the bipolar disorder immediately. At other times, it takes a bit longer and isn’t recognized until many months or many years later. To help manage the release of excess adrenaline, especially when someone is going through a difficult time, it’s critical for someone with bipolar to employ the adrenal grazing method I outline in my book Medical Medium where you snack every one and a half to two hours on the right kinds of foods. 

Another example of a trigger could be getting mercury fillings removed all at once. While this may seem like the best thing to do for your health, it can lead to an extremely high level of exposure to mercury, regardless of the protective measures a dentist goes to to protect you. IIt is better to remove only one at a time months apart from another, if at all. This is something I also talk about in my book Medical Medium because so many well-intentioned people do it but it’s critical to know how it can trigger more health issues, including bipolar. 

The Manic Storm

What people do not know is that when you are facing a difficult situation, you can experience an emotional storm in your brain. When I use the word “storm”, it is not an analogy. There are actual storms inside our brains when we are full of emotion such as anger, confusion, and heartbreak. Emotion creates so much heat, like a fire and lightning storm swirling around the brain. Many people might be skeptical about how heated your brain can get just from emotion because the brain itself does not melt from emotional experiences. In other words, people do not die because they are angry. The reason is the brain has the incredible capacity to cool and protect itself against these storms. The worrisome aspect of these storms is what the heat does to the toxic heavy metals inside the brain. When you apply heat to metal, the metal becomes malleable and can run. And this is the same thing that happens with heavy metal deposits in the brain.

These heightened emotional experiences can then be considered triggers because the heat melts the metals causing runoff, which as I said damages any tissue nearby. And the adrenaline that is being pumped to the brain during these emotional storms acts as gasoline, fueling the fire even further. These emotional triggers are heightened even further because there is so much confusion surrounding bipolar that people often feel very alone. They do not know why they are acting this way, and even more fear and anger heat the brain. The storm slams against the heavy metal deposits and alters them. 

Bipolar is not due to malfunctioning hormones. The only aspect of bipolar disorder that is related to hormones is the adrenaline that pumps up from the adrenals into the brain that contributes to the emotional storm that melts the heavy metal deposits. It’s also important to know that when someone has adrenal health issues, they can be misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder. What is actually happening is that when someone’s adrenals are exhausted, they can produce both too little or too much hormone for any particular situation. This can result in something like the massive mood swings in someone with bipolar. To find out more about adrenal fatigue, read the chapter on this topic in Medical Medium. This is another reason why the adrenal snacking technique I describe in that book is so important. It’s essential that medical communities become aware of this information so they know what’s really behind bipolar and how they can most effectively help their clients and patients.

High Fat Diets Oxidize Metals

While emotional storms oxidize metals instantaneously, certain lifestyles and diets can have a slower effect. High fat diets have become extremely trendy over the years under the guise that carbohydrates are harmful for us. Trends like these low carb, high fat/high protein diets are not helpful for anyone suffering from bipolar disorder or other mental illnesses. The reason is because too much fat in the diet promotes oxidizing of the heavy metal deposits in the brain, which then causes corrosion. This creates a problem over time and short circuits the electrical impulses, which then causes more manic episodes. 

The reason you may hear many authors and experts today endorse high protein/high fat diets is because they claim the brain is made of fat. This one of the biggest misconceptions about the brain that is currently becoming popular. This just shows how little the medical community actually knows about the brain if this misguided theory has been allowed to be considered truth. The brain is mostly made of and runs on glucose. There are only tiny traces of fat in the brain because it’s made almost entirely of carbohydrates. In many countries, animal brains are eaten as delicacies. If you have ever tried lamb brain, monkey brain, or rabbit brain, it has a very sweet flavor. This is because brains are made of glycogen (glucose). If someone experiences regular brain fog, or any other malfunction of the brain, it could be because they simply are not eating enough healthy carbohydrates like fruits and sweet potatoes. Instead, they are eating high fat and high protein diets (which are one and the same.)

I must mention as well that someone’s high fat diet may not be due to following a trendy regimen. Most Americans and other Westerners who eat standard diets full of oils, meats, cheese, eggs, milk, and yogurt have an extremely high intake of fat. Therefore, keep in mind that a high fat diet may not be intentional, but rather an inevitable consequence of eating in the standard way. The same is true if someone is eating a plant based diet but they’re consuming a lot of oils, nuts, nut butters, soy, or processed vegan foods or eggs and dairy products if someone is vegetarian. 

Inherited Toxic Heavy Metals

It is common to talk about mental illness running in one’s family. In fact, most people assume that if there is evidence of depression or bipolar disorder in the family that the rest of the family members have the potential to develop such illnesses because it is in their genes. However, the reason mental illness often shows up in family lines is not because of genes. Genetics have absolutely nothing to do with it. To understand more about how illnesses are being inaccurately blamed on genetics, check out my chapter on this in Thyroid Healing. The reason is due to the way heavy metals are so easily passed down in family lines. If your father had bipolar disorder and your aunt has it and now you have just been diagnosed, it is not the fault of your genes. It is because of the heavy metals in your brain and environmental or emotional triggers. You don’t have mental illness in your family; you have heavy metals in your family. This is an important distinction because when a disease is considered hereditary, people tend to put up their hands in defeat and believe there’s nothing they can do about it. There is very little we can do to manage a disease if it is inevitable and in our DNA. However, when there is an actual cause that you know now, there is hope for recovery and healing. And that’s what I am here to share with you. 

How to Detox Heavy Metals

The good news is there are ways to remove the heavy metals that are behind bipolar disorder. The most important step to take is to incorporate the five heavy metal detox foods I shared in Medical Medium and my other books into your life every single day. This is not any old heavy metal detox you might read about online or hear from your practitioner. There is a great deal of misinformation out there that can lead you to try something which doesn’t actually work. This detox, the Medical Medium heavy metal detox, does work. If you truly want to heal from bipolar disorder, these foods will help you get there. Cilantro, Atlantic dulse (a sea vegetable), spirulina, barley grass juice powder, and frozen or fresh wild blueberries (or wild blueberry powder if you can’t find fresh or frozen) all work together synergistically to safely and effectively carry out the heavy metals from your body like no other foods, practices or detoxes you might hear about do. While all of them are detoxifying foods on their own, the synergy of the five together is what ensures total elimination. Many people who have been incorporating these five foods have enjoyed the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie because it is a simple way to get them all in at once and the five foods must be enjoyed daily within a 24 hour period of each other. However, if you prefer to consume these foods in other ways over your day, feel free to get creative. Find out more about the heavy metal detox on my blog.

I will just make one note about the blueberries because many people get confused about which ones to buy. While cultivated blueberries have many wonderful benefits and health supporting properties, they are put to shame when compared to the wild blueberry. Wild blueberries are much smaller and have much deeper deep blue/purple skins. They are so packed with nutrients and healing properties that simply including these alone can be helpful if that is all that you can do today. Wild blueberries help remove heavy metals from the body, not cultivated blueberries. Wild blueberries are most commonly found in the freezer section of your grocery store, and, thankfully, they are available in most grocery stores around the United States these days. Be sure to buy the blueberries that are wild so that you can properly complete your five foods to detox from heavy metals daily.

Other Important Healing Foods

For any kind of disorder involving the brain, it is crucial to consume plenty of electrolytes from natural sources. Drinks like coconut water, fresh squeezed lemon or lime in water a few times a day, and pure cucumber juice provide vital electrolytes that help repair the brain and protect you from some of the effects of adrenaline being released. It is incredible what these simple elixirs can do for those who struggle with bipolar, depression, and anxiety. In fact, if you are with someone during an emotional experience, like getting bad news or being in an accident, and you have the ability to do something helpful, consider offering them one of these drinks instead of a simple glass of plain water. The electrolytes and glucose will help counteract the storm that is happening in the brain and protect and restore brain tissue. Another source of electrolytes is the right kind of B12, which contains both adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin. 

Mineral salts are amazing secret powerhouses for brain recovery. Drinking a glass of plain celery juice every morning can help you heal from the emotional storms you have experienced due to bipolar disorder. Many vegetables are high in mineral salts as well, especially spinach and other leafy greens.

Healthy sugars from fruits are essential to healing disorders in the brain. As we discussed above, the brain is made almost entirely from glucose. If you starve it too long from the right kinds of glucose, you will be setting the stage for a manic episode to occur. This is why it’s so critical to focus on healthy high carbohydrate foods such as all fruits, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and winter squashes, as your main source of calories when healing from bipolar disorder. Some doctors may prescribe high protein, high fat, low carb diets and for some the symptoms may improve initially, but eventually an even bigger episode will occur because you are being starved of glucose. As I shared earlier, glucose is needed for the brain to cool down so that when another trigger happens it helps to protect your from the emotional storm happening in the brain. Triggers are inevitable because the only predictable thing about life is that it is unpredictable. While you can do your best to set up emotional boundaries and live a low-stress lifestyle, there will still be things that cause emotional storms and surges of adrenaline. This makes being prepared by getting your brain the food it needs to protect itself even more important. 

Instead of withholding these precious sugars from your brain, begin to incorporate more fruits, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, raw honey, and winter squash. Bananas are one of the secret weapons against bipolar disorder and should not be underestimated. Dates are an amazing way to get glucose to the brain quickly. Try not to restrict your fruit, especially bananas, in any way. No matter what you may hear about bananas being bad, I have seen them save lives. Restricting your fruit intake is like refusing to feed your brain what it needs to truly heal. In truth, someone with bipolar or another neurological illness requires far more glucose to support the brain than someone who has no health issues. Fruits as meals, snacks, and alongside greens throughout the day are very important. Potatoes, sweet potatoes and squashes with your evening meal are also incredible. 

Any kind of young greens can be amazing tools against bipolar disorder. Eat sprouts and microgreens of all kinds because the mineral salts in them have a different healing quality when they are in that stage. Baby spinach, radish sprouts, broccoli sprouts, and kale microgreens are examples of amazing vegetables you can put into your salad, juices, or smoothie to help in recovery, or simply top steamed potatoes and baked sweet potatoes with a big handful. Also, include radishes and asparagus, which have unbelievable properties to fight bipolar disorder. Asparagus helps to repel new metals and toxins from taking up residence in the areas where heavy metals once were as you remove them through the heavy metal detox. Radish greens are one of the most powerful leafy greens on our planet and also help to remove heavy metals. Read more about the healing properties of these foods in Life-Changing Foods.

Keeping your fats low, as I have discussed above, is essential. If you eat animal foods, try to reduce your intake to once a day or every other day because they are some of the highest sources of fat. If you’re vegetarian, it’s important to remove eggs and dairy in your diet (read why in any of my books). If you are vegan, try not to overdo too many plant sources of fats such as avocado, coconut, nuts, and oils. While these plant fats are not bad foods, in fact they can be quite healing, you want to be mindful of your intake because too much fat in your system makes it harder for the toxic metals to leave your body. Additionally, by keeping your fat intake low, you are creating more room on your plate for the most healing foods like fruit, potatoes, vegetables, and leafy greens, not to mention your heavy metal detox foods or smoothie every day. 

Healing Supplements

As with any type of supplement regimen, it is largely about personal preference and what works for each person. Because everyone’s bipolar disorder is different, so will be the supplements that work for them. It can be helpful to work with a skilled practitioner when beginning to work with new supplements to discuss dosages. Also, when purchasing supplements, be sure to purchase ones without alcohol. 

Supplements that can be helpful for for bipolar disorder are the right kind of B12, a good B complex, and methylfolate, which is helpful for the brain and central nervous system. I also like magnesium l-threonate. Other helpful supplements include 5-HTP, California poppy, Micro-C, and zinc sulfate.

Moving Forward

Knowing what is wrong gives you freedom. If you have been struggling with bipolar disorder, you may have felt lost because the answers that were given to you in the past did not leave you hopeful for a better future. Maybe you have been hearing countless explanations about why you are sick and the solutions being offered in tandem do not seem to result in true healing. Or perhaps you keep getting the same answers from different people but you are still sick. With the information in this article, you will be able to take real steps toward healing every single day. That is what it looks like to have real answers. I have seen good people live in misery, which is why I care so much about getting the truth into your hands so you can take the necessary action to detox from heavy metals and experience healing. 

Do as much as you can today and try not to beat yourself up over imperfections. Find community in your lifestyle adjustments by doing it with family members or making friends with those on the same protocol. Healing is possible when you have bipolar disorder, no matter how long you have had it. I have found that baby steps are what keeps us going. Try to think of it like with each bite of healing food and with each supplement you take, you are that much closer to recovery. Healing takes time so take it one day at a time and keep moving forward. And remember above all that you are not alone in this. I am with you and believe in you.

Learn more about how to heal from the New York Times bestselling book Cleanse To Heal

This item posted: 31-May-2018

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