Avoid The Alzheimer's Disease "Recipe"

Over half a million Americans die from Alzheimer’s each year, making it the third leading cause of death in the US, right behind heart disease and cancer.

Why are there an increasing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease? The search for the answer to that question has resulted in some interesting findings over the past several years.

It seems quite clear that Alzheimer’s disease is diet as well as toxin related.

Insulin resistance, processed foods, trans fats, unhealthy omega 6:3 ratios and heavy metals seem to be the major contributing factors.

Recent research has also uncovered evidence suggesting that the disease may be the result of agricultural practices, and even more surprising, Alzheimer’s could potentially be transmitted via certain invasive medical procedures.

Five Routes to Alzheimer’s Disease From Dr. Mercola:

At present, evidence suggests there are a number of causes promoting Alzheimer’s symptoms, including the following:

1. Type 3 diabetes: Faulty insulin signaling is an underlying cause of insulin resistance, which typically leads to type 2 diabetes. However, while insulin is usually associated with its role in keeping your blood sugar levels in a healthy range, it also plays a role in brain signaling.

Researchers have found that when insulin signaling in the brain is disrupted, it results in dementia, hence the suggestion that Alzheimer’s may be a brain-related form of diabetes.

Even mild elevation of blood sugar — a level of around 105 or 110 — is associated with an elevated risk for dementia. According to neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter, if your fasting blood sugar is over 95 mg/dl, it’s time to address your diet to lower it, to protect your brain health.

2. Gut dysfunction, caused by a combination of excess sugars and processed foods; antibiotic exposure from food and medicine; genetically engineered (GE) grains, which create foreign proteins; and pesticide exposure, just to name a few well-known culprits.

3. Trans fat consumption: Trans fat is linked to a higher risk of memory impairment. It may act as a pro-oxidant, contributing to oxidative stress that causes cellular damage.

Vegetable oils oxidize when heated, and when oxidized cholesterol and trans fat enter into your LDL particles, they become destructive, contributing to arterial plaque buildup in your brain.

4. Imbalanced omega-3 to omega-6 ratio: Researchers have also found a link between Alzheimer’s and raised levels of an omega-6 fat called arachidonic acid.

They believe it interferes with the brain’s nerve cells, causing over-stimulation, and that lowering levels would allow the cells to function normally.

Most experts agree that the omega 6:3 ratio should range from 1:1 to 5:1. The sad reality is that it now ranges from 20 to 50:1 for most Americans.
Omega-6 fats are found in high concentrations in factory-farmed animals as they are typically fed grains, as well as vegetable oils such as corn, canola, soybean, and sunflower oils.

5. Slow-acting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) — the human form of Mad Cow disease, contracted either through:
a. Contaminated meat
b. Certain medical procedures, such as using human growth hormone extracted from the pituitary glands of infected human cadavers (a procedure now banned due to this contamination risk)

In my opinion, Alzheimer’s disease is also closely related to heavy metal toxicity. There is a lot of scientific evidence backing this. There have been a number of heavy metals that have been theorized to be related to contributing to Alzheimer’s disease, including, but not limited to copper, aluminum and mercury.

I consider the best way to determine if you have a toxic level of heavy metals is through hair analysis. I consider it more accurate than and much less expensive than blood testing.

Heavy metals are excreted from the body through the hair. In some instances, the body is extremely inefficient in getting rid heavy metals. In that case, a urine chelation challenge may be needed. An oral chelation supplement is taken and urine is then analyzed. If there are heavy metals found in the urine that are not found in the hair, the individual is not getting rid of the heavy metals on their own, which can be very dangerous.

This testing should only be done through a doctor specializing in this type of work. I have had advanced diagnostic training in foundational laboratory analysis through Science Based Nutrition. We analyze hair, blood and urine and then customize a nutrition, lifestyle and supplement regimen for each patient.

If you would like more information on this customized program, you can go to My Website

Read More