Best strategies for a disease-free life
When it comes to the brain, no ailment is more feared than an aneurysm. A brain aneurysm has the ability to impair both motor and cognitive functioning, often resulting in a long-term disability. You could be at risk, whether you realize it or not.
A brain aneurysm can occur in any part of the brain, and some occur deeper in the brain than others. The impact of a brain aneurysm on the body will be different, depending on which side of the brain it occurs. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, while the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body.
If you have an aneurysm on the right side of your brain, chances are that you will not lose memory. However, you could lose physical abilities, such as a visual field cut. A visual field cut causes a pie-shaped blind spot in both eyes and typically affects peripheral vision.
If an aneurysm occurs on the left side of the brain, you may develop short or long-term memory loss. How much memory is lost will depend upon the size and location of the aneurysm.
In some cases, a brain aneurysm directly results in death. This is often the case if the aneurysm occurs in a part of the brain that controls breathing.
Knowing the risk factors for a brain aneurysm is one of the first steps to preventing one. According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, high blood pressure and smoking put a person at a high risk of having a brain aneurysm. High blood pressure, which is often caused by atherosclerosis, has the ability to clog arteries and cause a buildup of blood in the brain that results in a brain aneurysm.
Of course, these are not the only factors that create risk for a brain aneurysm. Others include traumatic brain injury (TBI). Those who have suffered a TBI are twice as likely to have another brain injury or aneurysm. And the scary part is that every five seconds, a TBI victim dies.
Some brain aneurysms are the direct result of a birth defect. Many people are born with an anteriovenous malformation (AVM) in their brain. An AVM is a nonfunctional jumble of arteries that some believe develops in the womb. Operating on an AVM is quite risky and requires great surgical skill.
Although a brain aneurysm often bursts without warning, there are warning signs to watch out for. An aneurysm often begins with a severe and persistent headache that worsens over time. The headache may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting or convulsions. If you or someone you love experiences any of these symptoms combined with headaches, seek medical attention.
What to do about high blood pressure to reduce risk for aneurysm? According to Alice Feinstein in Healing with Vitamins, high blood pressure is often the result of low potassium, calcium and magnesium levels. Most experts agree that sodium should be consumed in amounts that keep it in balance with potassium. This means potassium should always be at optimal levels.
In her book Food: Your Miracle Medicine, Jean Carper points out that, although some people retain water when they consume too much sodium, it is calcium that acts as a natural diuretic to help kidneys release sodium and water, thus reducing blood pressure. When calcium levels are too low, this process does not take place.
Editor’s note: Reaching optimal mineral levels through food intake requires consuming several servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Taking a high quality daily mineral complex provides assurance that these optimal levels are reached. The mineral complex in Daily Balance (180) is one of the best because it uses mineral carriers that are bound with bionutrients from the Kreb’s cycle which are actually produced in the process of making ATP (energy available for metabolic processes). When used as mineral carriers, these bionutrients are easily recognized by the body, making the minerals they carry easy to assimilate and use.
