102 Achieving pH Balance to Treat Specific Ailments
disturbs mental function. Excessive blood levels of copper, iron, and
estrogen in the cerebrospinal (intercellular) fl uid in the brain are an
almost sure indication that they have made their way into the neurons
through leaks in their membranes.
Wastes such as ammonia, heavy metals, lactic acid, and other debris
in the blood accumulate in the brain—rather than in some other organ
system—when it has sustained an injury or when a key enzyme or coen-
zyme in the brain is missing due to a genetic defect. Fred Bookstein of
the University of Michigan’s Medical Center found these extraneous
substances in the brains of schizophrenics.^2 Schizophrenia is also asso-
ciated with fetal brain injury due to maternal viral infections, misplace-
ment of the fetus in the uterus, diffi cult pregnancies, mothers and/or
fathers over the age of forty, and a family history of mental illness.
Excessive blood levels of acidic wastes, heavy metals, and ammonia
in the brain are most likely responsible for the swelling and redness in
two areas—the corpus callosum (the thick cluster of nerve fi bers that
connect the two halves of the brain) and the brain’s ventricles. The
elevated estrogen so commonly found in individuals with mental prob-
lems may be the real reason for the aberrant chemical reactions that
Llinas found.
Symptoms of fear, anxiet y, and/or depression worsen existing mental
disorders because they trigger the fl ow of the adrenal hormone cortisol.
When the release of cortisol—which is intended by the body to be
liberated in big doses only as a response to life-threatening situa-
tions—is prolonged because of ongoing feelings of anxiety and fear, it
destroys brain cells in the hippocampus (a part of the primitive limbic
system where long-term memories are stored). This explains why most
schizophrenics have a smaller than normal hippocampus. Emotional
and physical abuse during childhood also causes injury to this region
of the brain, and these injuries can give rise to intellectual and emo-
tional disabilities.Energy Defi ciency in the Brain Prevents
Neutralization of Toxic WasteA lack of energy is the biggest problem in brain disorder because
enzymes, vitamins, and minerals can neutralize the toxic waste in