Can You Prevent or Treat Alzheimer's Disease?

Sep 6

Sep 6 Can You Prevent or Treat Alzheimer's Disease?

If you have known someone with Alzheimer’s disease, you are rightfully concerned that you could get it. Currently, most of us think that it either comes ‘out of the blue’ or that you inherit the gene and wait for it to get you.

What I’ve Read

I have recently read two books that give much more hope… we can actually make some changes in our lifestyle and drastically decrease our chances of getting it… or at least we can kick it down the road a few years.

The first book, The End of Alzheimer’s, was written by Dr. Dale Bredensen the founding president and CEO of the Buck Institute. Dr. Bredesen, now heads the Buck Institute lab that is focused on Alzheimer's disease research.

The second book, The Alzheimer’s Solution, was written by Doctors Dean & Ayesha Sherzai, neurologists who lead the Brain Health & Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University.

These books have similar themes as they both recognize that Alzheimer’s disease is not something that is preordained for people as they grow older.

Dr. Bredensen relies on many tests and supplements in his approach, while the doctors Sherzai rely on diet research and the Blue Zone status of the town of Loma Linda, California.

The Sherzais have spent the past fifteen years seeing patients who suffered from every stage of dementia and cognitive decline, which has been one of the largest observational studies ever conducted on cognitive health and lifestyle.

They have had the unique experience of treating two drastically different patient populations:

• The Seventh-day Adventists of Loma Linda who have a remarkably healthy lifestyle that protects them against Alzheimer’s.

• The residents of nearby San Bernardino, by contrast, live a typical modern life – standard American diets, lack of exercise, chronic stress, poor sleep – and suffer disproportionately from lifestyle diseases including, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Their research has led them to the conclusion that overall brain health is linked to lifestyle factors and can be influenced – and more importantly, prevented – by the choices we make every day.

Risk Factors

Between the two books, the authors give many similar risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease including:

• Age – The older you get, the greater your risk.

• Genetic Profile – The more first-degree (father, mother, sister, brother) relatives you have that have had or currently have Alzheimer’s, the more risk you have. People with the strongest genetic risk carry the APO-e4 gene.

• Vascular Disease – The more first-degree relatives you have that have had a stroke, heart disease or peripheral vascular disease, the more risk you have.

• Your History of Disease – If you have diabetes, hyperglycemia, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, a BMI greater than 30, a vitamin B12 deficiency, a history of stroke, a history of atrial fibrillation, a history of COPD, or, if you are a current or past smoker, the more risk you have.

• Your Lab Results - Having high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high homocysteine, high inflammation, and high LDL cholesterol, put you at a higher risk. To see what normal levels are, visit Healthy Is a Habit dot com.

• Your Diet - Research has shown that both cholesterol and saturated fat in meat, eggs, and dairy are closely associated with the degeneration typical of Alzheimer’s disease.

• Your Weight - In a 2016 study it was found that an overweight person had the white matter volume of a lean person ten years older. Obesity appears to dramatically accelerate the process of cognitive decline because of the stress it puts on the brain and the entire body.

• Sugar – A finding in the Framington Study was that high sugar consumption was associated with greater loss of brain volume.

• Migraines – Long term migraines are associated with cognitive decline. Some triggers for migraines include hormonal changes during PMS, the way your teeth fit together, and some foods including cured meats (lunch meats), cheeses, and high-fat foods.

• Physical neglect and emotional abuse sustained at a very young age have been associated with memory deficits in adulthood. Also, sports-related head trauma such as “heading” in soccer.

• A 1993 study of over 3,000 subjects, found that those who ate meat – including those who ate only poultry and fish – had twice the risk of developing dementia compared to vegetarians.

Ways to Lower Your Risk

From Alzheimer’s research, a number of lifestyle factors have been identified that can lower your risk:

• Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that minimizing the animal products in your diet and eating plenty of leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, and nuts can lower your risk for Alzheimer’s compared to people who eat fewer plants and more fatty animal products.

• People who have eaten a whole-foods, plant-based diet low in meats of all kinds, dairy, sugar, salt and processed foods are at a lower risk.

• The American Heart Association recommends keeping your added sugar content low (under 6 teaspoons/day). Sugary drinks are the main source of sugar in the American diet.

• Keep your saturated fat intake to a minimum. Meat, poultry, cheese, and coconut oil all contain saturated fat. The less meat you eat, the healthier your brain will remain over time. Even farm-raised or grass-fed beef and wild game meat are high in inflammatory saturated fats. Chicken is the main source of cholesterol in the American diet and is high in fat and a major contributor to obesity.

• Stay thin. Keeping your BMI between 18-25 is ideal. Don’t let your BMI get above 30.

• Try to get your cholesterol levels and your blood pressure down naturally. Taking statins or using a proton pump inhibitor can have negative cognitive effects.

• Studies have shown a strong correlation between insulin resistance and lower memory scores; among individuals with diabetes, the incidence of dementia was increased 10 percent.

• Alcohol is neurotoxic and directly damages brain cells. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency is associated with alcohol abuse.

• Keep processed foods to a minimum as they are high in sugar and saturated fats, which are toxic for the brain. These foods include chips, cookies, frozen dinners, white bread, croissants, pastrami, salami, bacon, hot dogs.

• Exercise can lower your risk so make sure you exercise at least 20-30 minutes/day. In the Framingham study, it was found that people who took daily brisk walks had a 40% lower risk of Alzheimer’s

• Research has shown that there was a greater prevalence of dementia in people who suffered from sleep apnea. Quality sleep is important so try to get 7-8 hours of regular sleep each night and get treatment for any sleep disorders.

• Keep learning and optimize activities that challenge and engage your brain.

• Have meaningful, social interaction and conversations three or more times a week.

• Make sure you practice stress management through yoga, meditation, breathing exercises and time spent in nature.

• A 2014 study by researchers at UCSF found that subjects with higher blood levels of omega-3s had less shrunken brains after a period of eight years. Omega-3s are found in fish, but fish are also high in mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other industrial chemicals which are toxic to the brain.

• Plant-based sources of omega-3s include walnuts, chia, flax, and hemp seeds, and green leafy vegetables like kale, brussels sprouts, and spinach. Because the short-chain omega-3s in nuts, seeds and greens are not easily absorbed into the body, the best source of highly absorbable, toxin- and pollution-free omega3s is marine algae.

• Look for a high quality algal supplement that contains both DHA and EPA and take at least 250 mg of DHA per day. Here are links to two supplements: DHA+EPA and Complement.

• In the Framingham Longitudinal Study it was found that individuals who consumed more sugar also experienced a greater loss of brain volume over the course of two years.

• A healthy brain runs on glucose. An unhealthy brain is damaged by a diet high in added sugar. For optimal cognitive function, the human brain needs up to six servings of complex carbohydrates per day. Not white sugar, but carbohydrates bound with fiber.

• Homocysteine is considered “a strong, independent risk factor for the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.” Having a blood level over 14 (µmol/L) may double our risk. If we put people on a plant-based diet—we can drop their homocysteine levels by 20% in just one week. The researchers suggest it may be because of the fiber, the folate (eating plenty of beans and greens), and taking vitamin B12 supplements.

• People who eat the standard American diet get high homocysteine from a breakdown of methionine which comes mostly from animal protein. If we give someone bacon and eggs for breakfast and a steak for dinner, we can get spikes of homocysteine levels in the blood. Thus, decreased methionine intake on a plant-based diet contributes to lower, safer homocysteine levels.

Clean Your Pantry

• Get rid of any sweets, sugary syrups, regular or diet sodas, processed fruit juices, ice cream and other frozen desserts.

• Get rid of sugary cereal – any cereal that has more than 6 grams of sugar per serving.

• Get rid of all cookies, cakes, cereal bars and baked packaged goods because they contain high amounts of sugar, salt, and saturated fats and are generally low in fiber, high in calories, and devoid of nutrients.

• Get rid of chips, crackers and other salty foods.

• Get rid of buttery popcorn.

• Get rid of white bread products. Your pantry shouldn’t contain anything that isn’t “100% whole grain” or “100% whole wheat.”

• Throw away milk, creams, yogurts, cheeses, eggs, butter and buttery spreads, mayonnaise and any other dairy-based products.

• Get rid of meats, processed meats and poultry.

• Get rid of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol is harmful to the brain. Under no circumstances should it be consumed in large quantities or on a consistent basis. Two glasses of wine per week is a good rule of thumb, but it is recommended to eliminate alcohol entirely.

• Throw out canned soups and noodle packets/cups as they contain at least a day’s worth of sodium.

• Throw out tropical oils like coconut and palm oils.

Conclusion

People often think they can find a solution to Alzheimer’s disease with vitamin supplements, super nutrients, brain games or intensive exercise programs. However, for almost every chronic disease, the root cause can be traced back to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Sources:

Bredesen, Dr. Dale E., The End of Alzheimer’s
Greger, Dr. Michael, Nutrition Facts dot org
Sherzai, Dr. Dean & Dr. Ayesha, The Alzheimer’s Solution

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