Alzheimer's Disease Part IV: Preventing and Slowing Down AD

The Princeton train conductor coming down the aisle punching the tickets of every passenger noticed the brilliant physicist, Dr. Albert Einstein frantically looking for his ticket. The conductor said, “Dr Einstein, I know who you are. I’m sure you purchased a ticket. Don’t worry about it.”

Einstein relied, “Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.”

As normal citizens we don’t know where our life is going, but there are ways to stop or slow down the Alzheimer’s train:

Stay physically fit

• In a study involving 4,600 men and women age 65 years or older those who exercised regularly reduced the chance of developing AD by 30%.
• Studies indicate that regular exercise builds brain cell synapses and improves brain blood flow. 

Reduce stress

• Stress reduction prevents cell death in the hippocampus, the memory switch of the brain. 
• Contemplative prayer, meditation, and yoga are stress reducers that can be incorporated into a daily schedule. 
• Cultivating friendships also reduces stress.

Reduce brain shrinkage with a “good fat” diet

• The risk of developing AD goes up with the number of calories in the diet. 
• Those individuals who consume the most calories double the risk of AD when compared with those who consumed a low calorie, good fat diet.

Drink 3 ½- 5 ounces of red wine each night (Baptists can eat red grapes.) 

• Resveratrol, abundant in grape seed and in red wine, is a powerful antioxidant. 
• Alcohol also dilates arteries by enhancing nitric oxide, just like Viagra.
• Viagra is dandy, but liquor is quicker
• A little wine increases desires, too much gives ceasefires

Take aspirin 

• Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen prevent brain inflammation that plays an important role in the development of AD. 
• Several studies have shown that long-term NSAID use may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease by as much as 50%.

Consider estradiol for post-menopausal women

• Estrogen docking sites—places where estrogen attaches itself to brain tissue, including the hippocampus—have been identified indicating estrogen plays a role in memory and cognitive functioning in the brain. 
• Declining levels of estrogen have a negative impact on language skills, mood, concentration and attention. 
• Parenthetically, estrogen has a major role in preventing the development of osteoporosis in women. 
• Because estrogen replacement therapy may increase the risk for heart disease and certain cancers, each woman’s personal and family history must be evaluated before estrogen is prescribed. 
• Most experts recommend the use of natural, soy-based estrogens—estradiol—for replacement therapy because estradiol is the main type of estrogen made by the ovaries.

Hydrate 

• A Big Thicket East Texas doctor once said, “Most people don’t drink enough water and their brains shrivel-up.”

Taking these vitamins will help us remember how to put on our clothes when we are 103 years old:

• B Vitamins
• An MRI study showed that a group that failed to take B vitamins had significantly greater loss of brain tissue when compared to the group which did take B vitamins. 
• Vitamin B12 helps maintain the Myelin sheath, the covering and insulating layer of nerve cells. 
• Vitamin B6 helps the body produce neurotransmitters 
• Vitamin B3 helps brain neurons repair themselves.
•  Vitamin D
• Multiple studies have shown a "clear link" between a vitamin D deficiency and a risk for Alzheimer's.
• Vitamin D stimulates nerve growth within the brain,.
• Vitamin D is one of the nutrients which our body has difficulty producing as we age
• Almost 95% of those over the age of 65 are deficient in vitamin D

•  Vitamin E

• In a United States trial, 613 individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease were assigned to take either a vitamin E supplement or a placebo. At the end of the 24 month study, researchers found that individuals taking vitamin E showed that were able to complete everyday tasks that individuals in the placebo group failed to complete.

A growing number of herbal remedies and dietary supplements are promoted as memory enhancers 

• Claims about the safety and effectiveness of these products are based largely on testimonials, rather than scientific research.
• Although some may be valid candidates controversy abounds:
• Effectiveness and safety are unknown. 
• Purity is unknown. 
• There exists no guarantee that the products contain the ingredients or amounts listed on the label. 
• Dietary supplements can have serious interactions with prescribed medications. 

Brain boosters

• Crossword puzzles
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Word scrambles (e.g. nabir = brain)
• Drawing or painting
• Playing brain games (Simon Says, Charades, Cranium, Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Scattergories, Scrabble, Outwages, etc)
• Playing a musical instrument (Einstein played the violin. Look what it did for him.)
• Learning a foreign language (Texans can learn to speak American.)
• Memory work
• Memorizing Bible verses, Shakespeare, poems
• After a movie name four or five of the main characters
• Memorize countries and capitals
• Write a one-paragraph summary of a book or magazine article

If you follow all these suggestions you won't have time to "catch" Alzheimer's.