Toxin-Free Brains

New reseach indicates that the brain is probably more sensitive to stimulants than was previously believed.

If you really enjoy stimulants, experience no side effects and/or are a teenager research shows that your brain is at a particularly high risk of damage.

A scanning technique of the brain (SPECT-scan) shows that alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and drugs impact on fundamental functions of the brain. A brain under the influence of stimulants looks like a Swiss cheese full of holes.

It´s not a new idea, that massive abuse destroys the brain. However, recent studies suggest that even a small consumption of stimulants can affect the brain, so that you function at a lower level than your potential. The effects are insidious – many people are under the impression that they function perfectly well with stimulants (tobacco, alcohol, ect.) but neither they nor those around them have the opportunity of experiencing that they could function very much better without these chemical additives. It is very difficult to make a comparison unless your attempt to stay free of chemicals for some months.

Studies suggest that young people very quickly can get addicted to tobacco and stimulants because their brains have not fully matured yet. Researchers from Massachusetts Medical School in USA have discovered that nicotine dependence in many cases begins with the very first cigarette. Some of the young people are already dependent after a few days of smoking.

The same thing goes for other stimulants like alcohol or ecstacy. The teenage brain is still maturing and this might be the explanation for the fast development of dependence. An unfinished nervous system is particularly sensitive to chemical stimulants.

Consequently, it is most likely best if teenagers are completely free of toxins until the age of 20-22 (read more here).