Alzheimer’s disease
Dementia is a broad term for the deterioration of brain function
which results in loss of memory, reduced language skills and
behavioural and emotional problems.
Alzheimer’s disease is rare before the age of 60 but the risk of
developing it increases with age. Around a quarter of people
over 80 have the disease.
What causes Alzheimer’s
Nerve signals travel across the synapses with the help of
chemicals known as "neurotransmitters", including one called
acetylcholine. Doctors believe that nerve cell destruction
causes a reduction in acetylcholine, leading to impaired
transmission of nerve signals.
Other explanations of Alzheimer’s disease focus on areas of
abnormal protein in the brain called "plaques" and "tangles",
the names reflecting what these abnormalities in the brain look
like under the microscope.
Alternative Medicine
Two antioxidants in particular,
vitamins E and C, have shown promise in both the prevention and
treatment of the disease.
S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe)
SAMe is a naturally
occurring compound that increases the body's levels of
serotonin, melatonin, and dopamine. Clinical studies suggest
that people with AD and depression have depleted levels of SAMe
in their brain tissue.
Beta-carotene and Vitamin A
Vitamin B9 (Folate) and Vitamin B12
Phosphatidylserine (PS)
PS is a naturally occurring substance found in the body that
promotes cell health and boosts the activity of acetylcholine
and other brain chemicals.
Red Wine and Grape Juice
Resveratrol, a flavonoid or plant substance found in red wine
and grape juice, is an antioxidant that may benefit people with
AD.
Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
Ginkgo biloba is the mainly prescribed medicine for most
neurological disorders. It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
properties which protects brain cells from damage.
Phosphatidylserine, Huperzine A and Vinpocetine are some other
herbal remedies for Alzheimer’s disease.
Diet for Alzheimer’s
Ginkgo is widely used in Europe for treating dementia. It
improves blood flow in the brain and contains flavonoids (plant
substances) that act as antioxidants. Although many of the
clinical trials have been scientifically flawed, the evidence
that ginkgo may improve thinking, learning, and memory in people
with AD has been highly promising.
Clinical studies indicate that gingko provides the following
benefits for people with AD:
Improvements in thinking, learning, and memory
Improvements in daily living
Improvements in social behavior
Delayed onset of symptoms
Reduced symptoms of depression
Diet for Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s patient should avoid high fat and high calorie
diets. They must also abstain from salt, alcohol, cigarette
smoking, processed foods, refined carbohydrates and
environmental toxins. Inflammatory agents like anti-oxidants are
also beneficial for Alzheimer’s patients. Therefore patients
with Alzheimer’s disease must eat a diet which contains
antioxidants like vitamin A, vitamin C, green tea and so on.
Antioxidant vitamins,
such as vitamin E and carotene, may slow down or prevent AD.
Alzheimers patients have abnormally low measurable levels of
these nutrients in their bodies. This could simply be because
they dont eat well, or because the disease increases their
nutrient need, or both.
Vitamin C, folic acid and niacin, as
well as other nutrients, may also play a major role in combating
AD.
Vitamin B-12
B-12 deficiency may be mistaken for, or even cause, Alzheimers
disease. B-12 deficiency is easy to come by in the elderly: poor
diet; poor intestinal absorption (due to less intrinsic factor
being secreted by the stomach in the aging body, and possibly
due to calcium deficiency); digestive tract surgery;
pharmaceutical interference, notably from Dilantin (phenytoin);
and stress all decrease B-12. It is necessary to measure the
cerebrospinal fluid, not the blood, to get accurate B-12
readings
Calcium and Magnesium significantly slow down aluminum
absorption, and thats good.
Choline
AD patients have a deficiency of the neurotransmitter
acetylcholine because they are deficient in the enzyme, choline
acetyltransferase, needed to make it. This results in curtailed
manufacture and presence of acetylcholine in the brain. But
there is a way around this: increasing dietary choline raises
blood and brain levels of acetylcholine. Choline is readily
available in cheap, non-prescription
lecithin.
Get your Omega-3s.
According to a recent finding of the long-standing Framingham
Heart Study, people with the highest levels of the omega-3 fatty
acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) had a 40 to 50 percent lower
risk of developing Alzheimer's or any type of dementia. And a
study from Sweden noted that dietary supplements of fish oils
and their omega-3 fatty acids slowed the progression of
Alzheimer's in people with a mild form of the disease.
Mediterranean diet-a
style of eating in which small amounts of red meat are used as a
garnish while increased amounts of
vegetables, fruits, olive oil,
and fish make up most of the meal.
--------------------------------------------------
Apple
juice consumption may actually increase the production in the
brain of the essential neurotransmitter acetylcholine, resulting
in improved memory. Neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine are
chemicals released from nerve cells that transmit messages to
other nerve cells. Such communication between nerve cells is
vital for good health, not just in the brain, but throughout the
body.
Curry
Ingredient
May Help
Fight
Alzheimer's
Curcumin,
a
component
of curry
and
turmeric,
seems to
help the
immune
system
get rid
of
amyloid
beta --
the
protein
that
builds
up to
form
damaging
plaques
in the
brains
of
Alzheimer's
patients
Ginkgo
extract
October
22,
1997.
Results
of a
multicenter
study
published
in the
most
recent
issue of
the
Journal
of the
American
Medical
Association
(JAMA)
indicate
that
Ginkgo
biloba
extract
can be
of
significant
benefit
in the
treatment
of
dementia
associated
with
Alzheimer
disease
and
multi-infarct
dementia
(LeBars
PL, Katz
MM,
Berman
N, et
al. A
placebo-controlled,
double-blind,
randomized
trial of
an
extract
of
Ginkgo
biloba
for
dementia.
JAMA
1997;278:1327-1332.).
The
authors
asserted
that the
improvement
seen in
patients
with
Alzheimer
could be
equated
with "a
six-month
delay in
the
progression
of the
disease."
These
results
are
particularly
promising
in light
of the
fact
that no
satisfactory
treatments
currently
exist
for the
management
of this
common
and
devastating
condition.
Bananas
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school
were helped
through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast,
break, and
lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown
that the
potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more
alert.
GETTING THE BODY TO
MANUFACTURE NEUROTRANSMITTERS
"The composition of each meal could have a direct effect on the
production of chemical signals in the brain." (The New York Times,
January 9, 1979) Rather than give a synthetic drug to block or mimic
the body's chemical nerve messengers (neurotransmitters), it is
possible nutritionally to encourage the body to make its own natural
ones.If we are what we eat, then our nerves also depend on what they
are fed. Here is tremendous potential for the alleviation of
depression, anxiety, neuroses, panic attacks and sleep disorders.
Cup of tea may help boost memory
Drinking regular cups of tea could
help improve your memory, research suggests. A team from Newcastle
University found green and black tea inhibited the activity of key
enzymes in the brain associated with memory.The researchers hope their findings, published in Phytotherapy
Research, may lead to the development of a new treatment for
Alzheimer's Disease.
Pomegranate
juice
may cut
Alzheimer’s
risk
A daily
glass of
antioxidant-rich
pomegranate
juice
could
halve
the
build-up
of
harmful
proteins
linked
to
Alzheimer’s
disease,
says a
new
animal
study
from the
USA.
Although
the
mechanism
of
Alzheimer's
is not
clear,
more
support
is
gathering
for the
build-up
of
plaque
from
beta-amyloid
deposits.
The
deposits
are
associated
with an
increase
in brain
cell
damage
and
death
from
oxidative
stress.
It is
against
the
oxidative
stress
that the
polyphenols
appear
to offer
protection.
Study
shows
why
exercise
boosts
brainpower
WASHINGTON
(Reuters)
--
Exercise
boosts
brainpower
by
building
new
brain
cells in
a brain
region
linked
with
memory
and
memory
loss,
U.S.
researchers
reported
Monday.Tests
on mice
showed
they
grew new
brain
cells in
a brain
region
called
the
dentate
gyrus, a
part of
the
hippocampus
that is
known to
be
affected
in the
age-related
memory
decline
that
begins
around
age 30
for most
humans.The
researchers
used
magnetic
resonance
imaging
scans to
help
document
the
process
in mice
-- and
then
used
MRIs to
look at
the
brains
of
people
before
and
after
exercise.They
found
the same
patterns,
which
suggests
that
people
also
grow new
brain
cells
when
they
exercise."No
previous
research
has
systematically
examined
the
different
regions
of the
hippocampus
and
identified
which
region
is most
affected
by
exercise,"
Dr.
Scott
Small, a
neurologist
at
Columbia
University
Medical
Center
in New
York who
led the
study,
said in
a
statement.
Working
out
fights
memory
loss
Researchers
have
found
over the
years
that
exercise
can help
fight
the
natural
loss of
memory
which
comes
with
aging. A
new
research
explains
that
working
out may
stimulate
the
growth
of
neurons
in a
part of
the
brain
associated
with
memory
loss.
Exercise
targets
a region
of the
brain
within
the
hippocampus,
known as
the
dentate
gyrus,
which
underlies
normal
age-related
memory
decline
that
begins
around
age 30
for most
adults.
The next
step
would be
to
identify
an
exercise
regimen
that is
most
beneficial
to
improve
cognition
and
reduce
memory
loss.
Benefits
of Apple
Juice on
Neurotransmitter
Affecting
Memory
Animal
research
from the
University
of
Massachusetts
Lowell (UML)
indicates
that
apple
juice
consumption
may
actually
increase
the
production
in the
brain of
the
essential
neurotransmitter
acetylcholine,
resulting
in
improved
memory.
Neurotransmitters
such as
acetylcholine
are
chemicals
released
from
nerve
cells
that
transmit
messages
to other
nerve
cells.
Such
communication
between
nerve
cells is
vital
for good
health,
not just
in the
brain,
but
throughout
the
body.
Resveratrol
tackles
Alzheimer's
plaques
Resveratrol,
a
compound
found in
grapes
and red
wine,
lowers
levels
of the
amyloid-beta
peptides
that
cause
the
plaques
in the
brain
leading
to
Alzheimer's
disease,
shows
new
research.It
could
help to
explain
the
large
body of
epidemiological
evidence
linking
wine
consumption
to lower
risk of
dementia.Writing
in the
11
November
issue of
the
Journal
of
Biological
Chemistry,
Philippe
Marambaud
and his
colleagues
at the
Litwin-Zucker
Research
Center
for the
Study of
Alzheimers
Disease
and
Memory
Disorders
in
Manhasset,
New
York,
describe
adding
resveratrol
to cells
which
produce
human
amyloid-beta.They
found
that
levels
of
amyloid-beta
in the
treated
cells
were
much
lower
than
those in
untreated
cells.The
deposition
of
amyloid-beta
peptides
in the
brain is
one of
the
characteristic
features
of
Alzheimer's
disease.
JAMA
study
announces
positive
results
in
Alzheimer
disease
with
Ginkgo
extract
October
22,
1997.
Results
of a
multicenter
study
published
in the
most
recent
issue of
the
Journal
of the
American
Medical
Association
(JAMA)
indicate
that
Ginkgo
biloba
extract
can be
of
significant
benefit
in the
treatment
of
dementia
associated
with
Alzheimer
disease
and
multi-infarct
dementia
(LeBars
PL, Katz
MM,
Berman
N, et
al. A
placebo-controlled,
double-blind,
randomized
trial of
an
extract
of
Ginkgo
biloba
for
dementia.
JAMA
1997;278:1327-1332.).
The
authors
asserted
that the
improvement
seen in
patients
with
Alzheimer
could be
equated
with "a
six-month
delay in
the
progression
of the
disease."
These
results
are
particularly
promising
in light
of the
fact
that no
satisfactory
treatments
currently
exist
for the
management
of this
common
and
devastating
condition.
Omega-3
again
linked
to
Alzheimers
protection
22/06/2007
-
Supplements
of
omega-3
fatty
acids
may help
combat
the
depression
and
agitation
symptoms
associated
with
Alzheimer's
disease,
says a
new
clinical
trial.The
randomised,
double-blind,
placebo-controlled
clinical
trial,
published
in the
International
Journal
of
Geriatric
Psychiatry,
with 174
patients
with
Alzheimers
is yet
another
positive
result
for the
fatty
acids in
relation
to
cognitive
function.
Last
year the
same
researchers
reported
omega-
may slow
mental
decline
in
people
with
very
mild
Alzheimer's
disease
(Archives
of
Neurology,
Vol. 63,
pp.
1402-1408).
Curry
Ingredient
May Help
Fight
Alzheimer's
FRIDAY,
Oct. 27
(HealthDay
News) --
Curcumin,
a
component
of curry
and
turmeric,
seems to
help the
immune
system
get rid
of
amyloid
beta --
the
protein
that
builds
up to
form
damaging
plaques
in the
brains
of
Alzheimer's
patients.The
findings
build on
previous
research
linking
curry
consumption
to
reduced
Alzheimer's
risk,
including
one
study
that
found
that
only 1
percent
of
elderly
Indians
developed
the
disease
-- a
quarter
of the
rate
seen in
the
United
States.Now,
preliminary
findings
from the
University
of
California,
Los
Angeles,
suggest
that
curcumin
comes to
the aid
of
immune
system
cells
called
macrophages
to clear
away
amyloid
beta.
If you use herbs, do so
responsibly. Consult your doctor about your health conditions and use of
herbal supplements. Herbs may be harmful if taken for the wrong
conditions, used in excessive amounts, combined with prescription drugs
or alcohol, or used by persons who don't know what they are doing. Just
because an herbal remedy is natural, does not mean it is safe! There are
herbs that are poisonous such as Poison Hemlock, Jimson weed, and many
more.
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