Alzheimer’s Dementia – Just Bad Luck?
Alzheimer’s Dementia and other cognitive disorders are often thought to be just bad luck, something we can’t control – if only we had better genes.
Why Alzheimer’s Dementia is not just caused by your genetics:
1) Alzheimer’s dementia are relatively rare in hunter-gather societies such as the Bolivian Tsimane tribe, who’s gene aren’t similar to the rest of us.
2) The rates of cognitive disorders have rapidly increased over the past few decades, which means these changes are too fast to be able to be explained by mere genetic changes.
These sorts of observations are telling us that our diet and lifestyle matter and significantly contribute to dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Supportive scientific evidence of these ideas are also growing, for example in this study by Zheng et al (2018) higher blood glucose levels, even ‘higher normal’, are associated with greater cognitive decline. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29368156).
Research by Dr. Dale Bredesen, Dr. Terry Wahls, and Dr. David Perlmutter also shows us the many different dietary and lifestyle mechanisms that contribute to neurological and cognitive disorders.
So there is no need to think we can’t get away from our genes, this is not the only thing that determines our fate, it is not even the major determinant. Our genes are relevant but nowhere near the degree that we seem to believe. Dr Bredesen says 80% of our risk is determined by our environment, diet and lifestyle.
You need to stay empowered to make changes that would prevent or halt the onset of cognitive conditions.
The choices we make each day are critical and vital to our cognitive and health in general.
6 Week plan to help protect your brain:
Week 1 – Eat right for your brain – whole, unprocessed foods, good fats, good protein and lots of vegies.
Week 2 – Sleep better and longer – rule out things such as sleep apnea and look at your sleep hygiene.
Week 3 – Find some form of movement you enjoy and do it daily – this builds your brain connections.
Week 4 – Train your brain – learn something new, something you are not good at or use brain training programs such as BrainHQ.
Week 5 – Clean your environment – pure air, pure water, low toxins.
Week 6 – Tune your brain with supplements – lab tests can tell you of any overt deficiencies in vitamin B12, vitamin D, zinc and selenium with other nutrients such as DHA (omega-3 fatty acid), phosphatidyl-choline and magnesium playing important structural and function roles.
Antioxidants can be useful aids as well especially vitamin E, Co-Enzyme Q-10, Vitamin C and Lipoic acid.
Herbs such as Bacopa monniera, H. erinaceus (Lion’s Mane), Resveratrol, Curcumin, Ashwagandha play roles in increasing growth factors, increasing mitochondrial function, supporting beta-amyloid clearance, improve cognitive function and modulate the immune system.
It is important to remember that your brain health is an important part of living the life you deserve and can enjoy. We all love to be active, healthy, focused and mentally strong.
So don’t let your brain get broken start making some changes!
Reversing Cognitive Decline Programs
Tim Jaeger is trained in the Bredesen Protocol and consults with clients throughout Australia and internationally including the USA.
Hi Tim,
Like your post !
You mention reduce toxins in your life style. Some interesting work coming out of UK from Dr Chris Exley, Keele University. He is a For-most expert on Aluminium poisoning specifically as a neuro toxin.
BRGS Ben
Hi Ben, yes there are many influences and aluminium certainly does contribute to toxic burdens. Another interesting thing we came across the other day is the effect glyphosate (RoundUp) has on increasing the absorption of aluminium, so there are many synergistic considerations and one plus one may well add up to much more than 2!