Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s. A dreaded word in every family. Who doesn’t know of someone affected by this terrible affliction? Over four million Americans are affected, and twice that number worldwide.

What is the cause of Alzheimer’s disease? Is it inevitable for some unfortunate souls? Has it always been this way? Is there anything we can do to prevent or avoid it? Let’s consider what the “experts” say, then see what else may be helpful.

Some of the common risk factors listed by representative authorities are Age, Gender, Family history, and Cardiovascular disease. Although some genetically-linked occurrences begin at younger age, the typical age at onset is 65 years or older. By age 85, as many as half the population may be afflicted. More women than men are affected, although it is not clear how that compares with the greater longevity of women. Some families have a number of members affected, but it has not been well defined how many are the result of genetics and how many occur because they live in the same environment. The cardiovascular factor is the focal point for a number of environmentally related items: smoking, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, diabetes, high homocysteine levels; all of these can be influenced by appropriate attention.

Some lesser factors mentioned are head injury, small head size, low economic level, low education, alcohol use, hormones, stress, and depression. Living in a rural area and having less than six years education has also been mentioned.

I need to do more research on the history of Alzheimer’s. I have the impression that this is a growing problem in the same sense that autism is – relatively unknown some time ago, but growing worse now. If you have a reference that answers that, please let me know; I would appreciate the support.

Are we doomed to Alzheimer’s? Are certain individuals destined to be affected as they grow older and others sure to be kept free? I doubt that anyone can answer that question now; certainly I can not. But I can share my opinion that Alzheimer’s is a form of unwellness. Although I can not diagnose nor treat – much less heal – disease, I can do much to maintain my personal wellness.

One of my sources, The Alzheimer's Association, lists a number of actions that one can take to minimize the risk factors for the disease. Details are available at http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_causes_risk_factors.asp,
with specific steps to support Brain Health at http://www.alz.org/we_can_help_brain_health_maintain_your_brain.asp

I consider prevention of Alzheimer’s to fall within the general heading of maintenance of wellness. If I do all that I know to do to guard against diabetes, obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and other bodily ailments, I believe that I am also doing much to guard against Alzheimer’s disease as well. Wellness is wellness; if I am truly well, then I do not have disease of any type, whether brain, bone, or blood. Some basics of my approach to wellness are listed in The Wheel of Wellness. (available at http://wellnessismyconcern.blogspot.com/2007/10/wheel-of-wellness.html) I welcome inquiries as to the details of my personal wellness plan, from recovery from cancer to successful aging.

Some helpful references:

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/alzheimers-disease/risk-factors.html

http://alzheimers.about.com/od/diagnosisissues/a/alz_risk_factor.htm

http://www.alzinfo.org/alzheimers-research-causes.asp

Wellness is more than the absence of symptoms

Some guidelines toward wellness

Following are some of the conclusions I have formed from the variety of sources I have discovered. Although they do not all agree with medical industry practice, there are many medical doctors who concur – they are my primary source of information.

I welcome your challenge to these observations. But rather than just disagree, please provide evidence to support the challenge. I am still learning and intend to do so as long as the Lord gives me breath.

POSITIVES:

First and foremost, nourish your body as it was designed to be fed. As Hippocrates said, “Let your food be your medicine and your medicine your food”

Learn to eat for wellness rather than for taste.

Unless you have found a garden plot that is fully supplied with all the vital trace minerals (I haven’t), supplement your diet to be sure that you have all the essentials that you need for wellness. Some commonly missing nutrients are vitamin A (mixed carotenoids), vitamin E (mixed tocopherols), Vitamin D (sunshine is the best natural source), and omega 3 oils (such as DHA). Among the minerals depleted from our farmland is selenium, and it is critical to wellness.

Include generous servings of fresh, raw, preferably organic produce in your daily diet.

Buy local when possible. It will be more nutritious because there is less need for green harvest.

Include variety in your diet. The combination of a variety of plant sources will supply all the nutrition you need for wellness.

Prepare meals from pure ingredients, using organic when possible. Processing and preservatives do not support wellness.

Drink water as your most common beverage, preferably Wellness Water. (Ask me.)

If you can’t get Wellness Water, at least use purified water. Distilled or reverse osmosis water is OK for short term use (cleansing), but leaches minerals over the long term.

Feed infants as they were designed to be fed – mother’s milk is their primary food. Cow’s milk has been linked to ear infections, excess mucus production, and much more. Other infant formula is no better; only mother’s milk is properly suited to the needs of an infant.

Take beta glucan to boost your immune system. Ask me for a specific product.

Remove the heavy metals from your body – mercury from old fillings and a lifetime of immunizations; aluminum from food (baking powder!) and a lifetime of deodorants. Ask me for a product to accomplish that.

NEGATIVES:

Avoid, or at least minimize, all consumption of animal products, especially those considered “unclean” in the Old Testament dietary rules. They are all hazardous to your health.

Avoid prepared meals, sauces, soups, canned food, and the like. The processing destroys food value, and most have poisonous additives.

Avoid chlorinated or fluoridated water. Those are poisons to you as well as to microbes.

Avoid omega 6 oils – they suppress your immune system. Examples: corn, safflower, sunflower, peanut, canola, and soy oils.

Minimize consumption of sugar – it suppresses your immune system.

Skip your flu shot; instead, work on boosting your immune system.

Absolutely avoid aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal). Besides the well documented link to cancer (esp. brain cancer), headaches, seizures, depression, obesity – it also has been demonstrated in lab animals to shrink testicles.

Avoid all forms of glutamate (e.g., MSG). Studies dating back to 1969 have demonstrated that it destroys the part of the brain that limits development of fat cells, so leads to gross obesity. Most glutamate is disguised or not even listed on food ingredients. Examples: most food bars and many “health” supplements have soy protein isolate as the first ingredient; that is glutamate.

Don’t eat commercial turkey – use only organic or range fed. The commercially available fowl has been soaked or injected with some form of glutamate.

Mothers-to-be: especially avoid MSG. The effect on the baby is disastrous; the effect is magnified in the small developing body.

Avoid childhood immunizations, but rather, provide the nutrition that makes such injections unnecessary. Too many studies have linked immunizations to autism and other similar conditions.

If you can’t find a way to avoid immunizations, at least space them out so the child has time to recover fully between them. Multiple injections or too-closely-spaced injections do not allow the immune system to respond as it should.