8 Ways to Combat a Mind-Robbing Disease.
Someone develops Alzheimer’s disease (AD) every 70 seconds. Already more than 5 million Americans live with this memory-destroying disease—frustrating for them, tragic for those who love them.
A slow, progressive brain disease, Alzheimer’s impairs language, perception, planning skills, and reasoning as well as memory. Forgetting where you put your glasses doesn’t mean you have AD, but not realizing that you wear glasses does!
The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease doubles every 20 years. Women are more likely to develop AD—and not just because they outlive men. Recent studies suggest that estrogen contributes to this disease.
Other risks include cardiovascular disease, concussion or brain injury (even if you don’t play for the NFL), environmental toxins, gene mutations, high blood pressure, infections, mental or neurological problems, thyroid dysfunction, substance abuse, and major surgery.
Being overweight compounds the risk. While everyone loses some brain tissue with aging, overweight individuals have 4% less than those who maintain a healthy weight, and obese people have 8% less—in areas of the brain responsible for decision-making and memory.
Diabetes and other metabolic problems—newly coined “Type 3″ diabetes—can also cause Alzheimer’s. “AD represents a form of diabetes that selectively involves the brain,” find researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School.
Dr. Ann Louise’s Take:
If someone I loved showed symptoms of Alzheimer’s, here’s what I’d recommend for them.
1. Check drug side effects. Many anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, and incontinence drugs can cause cognitive impairment, especially in the elderly.
2. Get a thorough medical examination to rule out heart disease and stroke. Women concerned about memory loss should test for anemia, hormone levels, and thyroid function.
3. Watch what you put in your mouth—it can end up in your brain. Don’t drink tap water, which contains aluminum, and never cook in aluminum pans. Autopsies of people with AD reveal aluminum in the cerebral cortex of their brains, and findings are similar for mercury, which comprises at least half of dental amalgams.
4. Whatever your age, watch your weight. Maintaining a healthy weight from middle age on is especially important in fighting Type 3 diabetes and protecting brain function.
5. Feed your brain anti-inflammatory fats (extra-virgin olive oil or walnut oils for cooking and flaxseed oil to drizzle on salads), antioxidant-rich vegetables, and lean protein. Avoid fried, refined, and sugary foods.
6. Use it, don’t lose it. Surf the ‘net (it helps prevent cognitive loss)! Enjoy games with friends and family. Learn a new language, do crosswords and Sudoku, take a tai chi or yoga class, or play a musical instrument.
7. Stay social. Invite friends in for a glass of wine before dinner (moderate alcohol consumption protects against AD). Put off retirement or volunteer if you’re not working.
8. Use brain-boosting herbs and spices. Curcumin, which gives curry its golden color, is a safe anti-inflammatory that inhibits the formation of protein fragments in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years, curcumin may help explain why India has one of the world’s lowest rates of AD.
The antioxidant ginkgo slows the onset of Alzheimer’s, helping to stabilize and even improve brain function. That’s one reason UNI KEY includes this circulatory herb in Ultra H-3, the only anti-aging formula I’ve ever endorsed.
Sources:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19885299
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19883522
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19703213
Visionary, health guru, diet/detox expert, author, spokesperson, role model, and natural foods icon, Ann Louise Gittleman has always been a trendsetter. 
Isn’t the estrogen/AD connection very complicated? My mom was on HRT for years. When the NIH study came out, her doctor took her off of it within about 2-4 weeks. We noticed almost immediately after that that she was having significant memory issues. She was in fantastic shape (mentally and physically) on the HRT, despite being significantly older than is currently recommended for taking it.
Thanks Dr. Ann so much for keeping us informed.
In Dr. Wright October 2009 Nutrition & Healing Newsletter, he also mentions exercise, healthy organic eating, and using turmeric. But that one will need help from a skilled and knowledgeable physician in natural medicine in regard to: chelation, supplementing with lithium,niacinamide, thyroid and BHRT.
thanks again.
#1 I need a person with health knowledge in the central Texas area to guide me on these health issues.
#2 I also want to futher my formal education in order to pursue this as a career.
I’ve already got a head start-as I’ve studied nutrition, health, prevention of disease, hormones, anti-aging, obesity, thyroid, healthy weight loss for quite awhile. Please reply a.s.a.p. Thanks!
Why do people have to use shortcuts? What is HRT and NIH. I get so bummned when people use shortcuts. Its not that hard to type. Why not print out what you mean? I get so disgusted.
estrogen/AD. What is that?
what is BHRT?
HRT – Hormone Replacement Therapy
NIH — National Institutes of Health
oh and estrogen/AD is estrogen/Alzheimer’s Disease
Kim: Check into Clayton if you are looking for online courses. There is a link on my site under Resources, I believe (Links in drop-down menu)
Dear Friends:
I would love to answer each and every single one of your queries, as I have done to the best of my ability, in the past. The popularity of this Blog has grown to the extent that I can no longer provide that service but I am in the planning stages of an Internet – TV show where you can call in and get those questions answered by me in person! Please stay tuned for this exciting development. I first must complete a new manuscript and then will make some exciting announcements. In the interim, may I suggest that if you have questions about products, call UNI KEY at 1-800-888-4353. The folks there are helpful and will direct you accordingly. If you are concerned about a particular health condition, then by all means check out the Testing Kits on my site which will help you to determine underlying causes. Please don’t let this dissuade you from posting. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and interest!
Alzheimer’s Disease is a terrible disease that slowly takes our loved ones. It is imperative that we take a united stand against his terrible brain disease and come up with a cure.
Alzheimer’s Disease Support Canada