As of today 7 million Americans are presently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. There is a new diagnosis every 68 seconds. This number is projected to triple in the coming years.
This is not just numbers for me; it’s deeply personal. My younger brother was diagnosed with progressive ‘early-onset’ Alzheimer’s at 61 years old.
Every year he would spend his vacation in June participating in “Ride The Rockies”, a 6 day bike ride climbing challenging mountain passes. The last year he rode the cyclists woke to below freezing temps and iced over bikes. Summer hail and snow caught them at 10,000 feet, testing their commitment to finish the ride. These people don’t train all year to turn back. At 60 years old, my bro finished with plans to return the next year. But then his memory began to slip and his life and dreams were cut short.
My grandfather had Alzheimer’s. He was diagnosed when he was found, in his 80’s, walking down the middle of a busy street, confused, with $6,000 tucked in his sock. In the past my Poppy’s Alzheimer’s would have been linked to my brothers by genetics. But this theory is becoming obsolete. New studies have shown that most Alzheimer’s is in Europe and North America. The areas of the world least affected are Africa, Asia, and India. Nigerians in the US experience a higher rate of the disease than Nigerians in Africa. In Japan, a country that has traditionally had a low rate of dementia, Alzheimer’s is increasing significantly as their diet becomes more Western. This obviously cannot be attributed to a change in genetics. The number of people living with Alzheimer’s is projected to rise to nearly 13 million by 2050 in the USA alone. It’s not contagious, so why has this number been spiking for so many individuals?
ALZHEIMER’S DRUGS CAUSE BRAIN BLEEDS
June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. The Alzheimer’s Association wants people to “take charge of their brain health to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s and other dementias”. So here is Diet For Living School’s contribution. I expose the little known serious dangers of the present Alzheimer’s drugs, and, of course, tout doctors that support diet change…..
Simply put, a healthy human brain contains tens of billions of neurons. These are specialized cells that process and transmit information via electrical and chemical signals that travel throughout the body. Alzheimer’s disease disrupts this communication among neurons, resulting in loss of transmission and cell death when amyloid plaques collect between neurons and disrupt cell function.
Of course Western Medicine’s first response is to throw medication at it. Drug companies, without much success, are trying to provide drugs that get rid of the amyloid plaque buildup in the brain. And the three newest approved drugs, touted as break-through medications, have proved to have side effects like brain swelling and bleeding. My brother did not die from Alzheimer’s; he died from a brain hemorrhage*. To stay informed, we must keep in mind that there is lots of money to be made from this disease, from medications to Memory Care Centers, to Assisted Living Homes. and even Hospice. But there are now plenty of pioneering doctors taking a different approach and I would like to share a few.
*Just as a side note: I was not invited to have any input over my brother’s treatment. That goes to his guardian, in this case his wife.
THE NEW GAME IN TOWN
Pioneering Dr. Dale Bredesen, the leading neurodegenerative authority on Alzheimer’s and cognitive health and author of the book “The End Of Alzheimer’s,” is asking what is causing the amyloid in the first place. His root cause approach to the disease is helping us understand how to best reverse the impact of Alzhemer’s. Using a whole body concept, his findings are strongly pointing to what we eat as a leading factor. “Food is a critical, critical contributor,” he says.
Dr Dean Ornish feels that understanding Alzheimer’s is much like how heart disease was viewed in the late 1970’s, which was that the best you could hope for was to slow down the rate of it getting worse. But he has now found that people who have made more intensive changes in lifestyle factors could often keep the disease from progressing or even reverse it. These findings have redefined what is possible for many people who are open enough to connect the dots between lifestyle and the growing cases of Alzheimer’s.
Much respected Dr Neal Barnard is the founder and president of the Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine. Since 1985, he is a huge advocate of the benefits of a plant-base diet in the prevention of Alzheimer’s. You may have seen him in the films ‘Super Size Me’, ‘Plant Pure Nation’ or ‘Forks Over Knives’, to name a few. Serving as adjunct professor at George Washington University of Medicine, he leads programs advocating for preventive medicine and higher ethical standards in research.
MOUNTING EVIDENCE: IT’S AT THE END OF OUR FORKS
Mounting research strongly suggests our modern sugar-laden, meat heavy, ultra processed diet is playing a significant roll in the skyrocketing amount of sufferers. This includes the thousands of food-like products that bear little resemblance to our true evolutionary diet.
High blood sugar levels make beta amyloid proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease dramatically more toxic to cells lining the blood vessels in the brain, according to a Tulane University study published in the Journal Of Alzheimer’s Disease. Evidence indicates that damage to cerebral blood vessels compromised by high blood sugar plays a role. Studies show that the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease among people with Type 2 diabetes is 65% higher than those without. With such a strong link, research has focused on explaining the connection between these two diseases, and the evidence is so strong that Alzheimer’s is now being referred to as ‘Type 3 Diabetes’.
It is now better understood that damage to the brain starts a decade or more before memory and other cognitive problems appear. During this ‘pre-clinical stage’ of the disease, people seem to be symptom-free, but toxic changes are actually taking place in the brain and the pathways become ‘thick and gunky’. Healthy neurons stop functioning; they lose connection with other neurons; then shrink and die.
PREVENTION IS KEY
To prevent the ‘gunky brain’ that allows the buildup of plaques and tangles, experts advise avoiding the biological mechanisms that can damage the brain. The best ways to do this are to:
> Avoid Chronic Inflammation: Consume a diet packed with live food veggies, fruits and fresh pressed juices.
> Build a healthy microbiome for the 100 trillion cells that live in the gut to strengthen the Gut-Brain connection: Consume unpasteurized foods daily like cabbage kraut and miso.
> Avoid the nutrient deficient Standard American Diet: This diet of packaged, processed foods does not contain the life force to support the high octane needs of the brain.
> Avoid grains with a high gluten content: Your blood brain barrier is negatively effected by gluten.
> Avoid Refined White Sugar: It is no friend of the brain. This can take some ‘keeping on your toes’ and diligently reading food labels, because sugar is hidden in everything.
> Do everything you can to avoid modern wheat: This wheat, hybridized in the laboratory in 1971, is 75% starch. Starch turns to sugar in the bloodstream within 10 seconds. Study up on and consume ancient wheat. This is the real thing, before modern science started tinkering with everything in the lab.
BEHOLD! THE BRAIN: THE MOST COMPLEX STRUCTURE IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE TAKES LOVING CARE…..
When should you start Alzheimer’s prevention? As early in life as possible. The Standard American Diet is highly addictive and insidiously destructive. The symptom’s of Alzheimer’s are not an overnight occurrence. They are supported over the years with poor diet and lifestyle choices.
THE TIME FOR PREVENTION IS NOW!
And, As Always, Much Love and Support
Paula Diana
#Alzheimer’s #Alzheimer’s Disease #Type2Diabetes #Type3Diabetes #Standard American Diet