On a scale of 1 being pretty dull-thinking, and 10 being sharp as a tack, where do you rate yourself?

Do you ever wonder about your brain slowing down, as you age? (Apparently 80% of people are concerned about this)

Did you know, dementia actually begins at least 10 years before you know it’s there?

According to Ocean Robbins with Food Revolution Network, Alzheimer’s is estimated to be the 3rd most deadly disease (behind heart disease and cancer). Deaths due to Alzheimer’s increased nearly 87% in the last decade.

The dollar cost of dementia is the #1 most costly disease in America.

And the emotional cost is immeasurable.

But, Do you realize there’s more good news, than bad news about our brain health?

****************************************

Most people believe that mental decline as we age is Normal.  Actually 62% of healthcare practitioners worldwide believe mental decline is a normal part of aging.

In the past, people believed our brain was completely separate from the rest of the body, in its workings.

But the real story is, through Functional Medicine, mental decline can be improved.

**************************************

What is the problem?

Dr. Dale Bredesen, a neurologist specializing in the treatment of Alzheimer’s, says it is fundamentally a “Network Insufficiency”. 

He says we have this beautiful network of about 500 trillion Synapses in our brain, and if you get exposed to:

Inflammation

Infections in your mouth

Insulin Resistance

Leaky Gut

Not enough Blood Flow

Not enough Oxygen Flow,

Reduced Mitochondria Function, among other things that can attack our brains and thinking processes,

then that network can not communicate well.

So, what about the Causes?

It seems there are specialized cells (Astrocytes) that outnumber neurons by over 5-fold.  They tile the entire central nervous system.

They are affected by Negative Changes in your brain.

Most of these Negative Changes come from:

What we eat, and

How we live.

(This information is quoting Dr. Joseph Mercola, July, 2023)

Some negative changes in your brain can be caused from:

Trauma

Infection

Stroke

Autoimmune Responses, or

Neurogenerative Diseases.

Dr. Mark Hyman, Functional Medicine Doctor, in the Ultra Mind Solution says it’s our “Inflammatory Lifestyle” that causes it.  He wrote the book on how to fix our broken brain by fixing our body first.

He says that whatever we do to our body, we’re doing to our brain; that the brain responds to everything we do—and that everything we do influences our brain…including every imbalance we have in our body (thyroid, toxins, low nutrition, overwork, overwhelm, etc.).

Dr. Bredesen says that sleep apnea is a common problem that unquestionably contributes to brain decline.  It reduces oxygen to your brain.

Dr. Mark Hyman gives the top issues causing brain disorders as:

1.     Exercise.  It’s like adding “Miracle Grow” to your brain when you exercise.  It increases brain cells, and thinking power.  Just that alone is “super critical”.

2.     Sleep.  Good Sleep is like a garbage man coming at night and taking all the garbage out of your brain.  Your brain cleans and repairs while you sleep.

3.     Stress & Chaos.  There’s so much Stress & Chaos all around us.  There are things we can practice that will help repair our brain.

a.      Yoga

b.     Meditation

c.      Cold Plunges

d.     Massage

e.      Quiet Time, Alone

4.     Diet.  What we eat, good or bad, affects our brains.  Bad food, bad fats, and additives make a difference, as they cause inflammation.  Good quality non-toxic food, lots of green, leafy vegetables and plenty of clean water help heal the inflammation in our brain.

These top “causes” contribute to the inflammation that shrinks the memory center in the brain.  A good nutritious  diet, good sleep at night, exercise every day, and having some relaxing and restorative time, all work together to reduce inflammation.

*********************************************** 

Is there a “Cure”?  A Prevention?

The Alzheimer’s International website says, “There is currently no cure for dementia.”

Dr. Robert Hedaya, working in the psychiatric field, says there is much new research, and new treatments, that make a difference.  This includes a new treatment called HYLANE and laser treatment.

He says traditional medications show to be successful in about 25% of people, but he believes that percentage is more accurately closer to 10-15% of people.

He says “partial recovery” is successful in about 50% of people.  They are better, but still depressed (with partial dementia).

He says medications are useful tools at the right time, for the right person.  But that he uses traditional medication 80% less than he did 20 years ago.

He’s not anti-therapy; he’s anti-labeling of people as having mental illness —they have “whole body” illnesses.

With that labeling, patients have more hope, and it’s easier for them to make health changes.

Dr. Bredesen specializes in Alzheimer’s.  In a paper he published in 2014, he stated Healthy Lifestyle Choices could reverse Alzheimer’s in 9 out of 10 patients.

          Some of the 36 lifestyle parameters used included:

1.     Exercise

2.     Ketogenic Diet

3.     Increasing Sleep

4.     Meditation

5.     Eliminating Gluten, Sugar and Processed Foods

6.     Optimizing Vitamin D and other hormones.

He also adds that there are now newer blood tests which basically looks at brain changes or irregularities, and gives an early heads-up if something is amiss.  This can be done up to 10 years before symptoms set in.

He explains that those tests (related to the death of neurons) are now generally available:

Phospho-tau 181 and

Phospho-tau 217.

(Conventional thought is that the elevated tau are the cause of Alzheimer’s, but Dr. Bredesen says that’s like saying, “OK, there’s smoke there = if we blow the smoke away, the house won’t burn down.”

He says the tau and beta-amyloid are actually responses to the problems.

It’s said “there’s nothing that prevents, reverses or delays dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Bredesen, along with a host of other doctors, say that is just not true.

The Prevention and/or Treatment consist of

1.     Supporting our Energy Production (or supporting our mitochondria)

2.     Reducing Inflammation in the brain (by reducing inflammation in the rest of our body)

Dr. Hyman adds:

Avoid processed food, sugar and starch.  They cause inflammation in the brain, and in the body.

Avoid bad fats (vegetable oils, canola oil, seed oils, soybean oil)

Eat good quality food, and lots of good quality fats.

He adds, however that actual treatment is customized to each patient.

He says the ability to increase your brain function is available to everyone.

He says, if there is a problem, to alter the threats to your brain.

Make changes to your health.

Get rid of infections, stress, toxins, eat good food and get good sleep. He says as a side effect, your brain gets better.  And that this includes panic attacks, anxiety, depression, and ADHD.

**************************************************

 Making Changes.

It’s not all about the Food.

Your mindset must be that your Number 1 Priority is Changing your Lifestyle and Eating habits.

The Functional Medicine Doctors do suggest some supplements that will help (but only as you change your eating and living habits).  Everyone is different; their bodies are different, their health is different, and their lives are different, and “everything” doesn’t work the same for everyone.

Dr. Bredesen likes to use methylene blue with just about anyone to improve their health and reverse disease because it’s effective at reducing stress.

Another thing he considers important is to raise NAD+ for energy production; that his favorite is plain old niacinamide, which can help slow brain aging.

He also recommends taking a collagen supplement.

Another great resource is Dr. Jeffrey Bland, Nutritionist and Speaker.  He is a pioneer in Functional Medicine.

Dr. Jockers is also a very good resource.  He uses Keto, Magnesium, Essential oils, good fats, fasting, and good nutrition among other things.

*******************************************

 My goal with this article is to give you hope if you or your family are facing these challenges.  It doesn’t have to be a “life sentence” of brain decline.

If you would like for me to help you in setting your goals, or if you have goals in mind and would like help with finding the right path to reach them, I want you to let me help you.

If this is something you are concerned about, I hope this information is helpful to you.  If you would like to connect with a Functional Medicine Doctor, you can search on IFM.org (Institute of Functional Medicine), or I can help you find a doctor.

Thank you for reading.

Sharon J. Cole

Functional Medicine Health Coach

P.S.

Below is a list of resources I have used for this article.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s Resources:

Dr. David Perlmutter, Brain Maker (drperlmutter.com)

Dr. Mark Hyman, Ultra Mind Solution (drhyman.com)

Dr. Ocean Robbins, Food Revolution

Dr. Rick Johnson, Researcher

Dr. Dale Bredesen, The End of Alzheimer’s Program

Dr. David Jockers, DNM, DC, MS (DrJockers.com)

Dr. Jeffrey Bland, Nutritionist and Speaker (jeffreybland.com)

Dr. Robert Hedaya, Functional Medicine Doctor and Dr. of Psychiatry

Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM.org)

Alzheimers International. (ALZINT.org)