Alzheimer's Question
I received a question about Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and early onset dementia. The person wondered whether a product like NeuroScience Avipaxin would be helpful for her with the early onset dementia and for her grandfather with Alzheimer's. You can imagine that a brief reply to such a complex question would not be that simple.
The Short Answer
But first, the short answer. Products like NeuroScience Avipaxin can certainly be helpful, and these are products I take myself to help keep brain problems at bay. The active ingredients, Alpha GPC, Acetyl L-carnitine and Huperzia extract have all shown favorable effects on brain function. I would recommend that anyone with any level of brain fog or faulty cognition to experiment with these products. Another product we can recommend is Percepta by Cognitive Clarity that helps remove beta amyloid plaques. That being said, treating brain issues is just more involved than a single remedy or treatment.
Check Bredesen's Work
I am impressed with what I have heard from Dr. Dale Bredesen. He has been working for some time with a multi-faceted approach to helping with AD. It is his opinion that like many conditions just solving one facet won't be successful. Millions of dollars and hundreds of studies have explored remedies for treating beta amyloid protein build-up. Although we do see beta amyloid protein plaques in people with AD, we also see them in some other people who have no cognitive decline. Treatments to deal with this beta amyloid buildup have been a colossal failure.
The only study I have seen that shows a nice reversal of AD was a Bredesen study that addressed a wide range of conditions that tend to lead to cognitive decline including: beta amyloid proteins, tau tangles, metabolic issues, inflammation, toxicity, trophic factor insufficiency, hormone imbalance, gut health, genetic errors, nutrient deficiencies, cognitive stimulation and other lifestyle factors including sleep, stress, exercise and dietary factors like gluten and sugar.
Find What Your Brain Needs to Begin Healing
The point is that to increase your chances of success at keeping your marbles, you won't be able to rely on a magic pill or treatment to address just one area of health. Brain health is affected by such a wide range of factors that you will most likely need some help navigating this maze. You will be taking a few supplements like fish oil and maybe something like Avipaxin, you will have to learn how to meditate both the increase your ability to focus and also to help with stress relief. Your sleep will be addressed meaning learning what factors might be interrupting good sleep and maybe taking some supplements to help reduce cortisol and increase levels of GABA and lower levels of glutamate. You will learn which foods are beneficial and which are contributing to cognitive decline. Common offenders are grains and especially grains with a high gluten content like wheat, rye and barley. You will need to exercise and that will probably include a few types of exercise like walking, yoga and maybe some lightweight workout.
So where does a person start with so many factors to consider? Every case will be a little different, but I think we can at least make some general comments. You might get lucky and find a doctor in your town that can help guide you. If not, you can always give us a call and we will do our best to offer the benefit of our experience.
In the following link you will find a nice guide to different brain health factors. Bredesen's research has shown that people with high functioning brains might have 3 or 4 problem areas out of the 35 or so factors. People having problems often have 10 or more areas that need work. The key is to find the areas that need some help before the situation is too advanced and you should begin to notice changes in a few weeks.
Bredesen Protocol
If you can't find some help, you can look at your life needs with regard to things like diet, exercise and sleep. If you aren't getting some basic exercise at least 5 days a week, that would be a good place to start. Walking, a swim class or a basic yoga class would begin to make a positive impact. Can't walk? Use an exercise bike. You can find one at just about any garage sale or on Craig's list for cheap.
Sleep Can Be Key
Sleep is vital for a healthy brain. We often can help sleep patterns with some targeted supplements like NeuroScience Kavinace, Travacor, Calm PRT and/or some of our popular valerian formulas like Dee Cee Labs Formula 303 or Karuna Sleep Formula.
Diet is more complex and if your budget allows, we can suggest some antibody tests that will help you decide which foods are likely to be causing inflammation. We know the connection between the gut and brain is ever more important so the better you treat your gut health, the better your brain will work. I will mention gluten again. This is so often a factor in brain decline.
I can suggest the Grain Brain by Perlmutter. It is a great overview of the problems of brain health and how grains can be involved.
So you see this is a lot different than just adding a magic supplement. The news is that many people can make a positive impact on their brain health if you are willing to work at it. What more important thing do you have to take care of today than your brain?
