Clearly, the best “treatment” for Alzheimer’s disease is prevention, not drugs. And, although science is now starting to catch up and providing the actual scientific evidence to support my advice, my top three recommendations for Alzheimer’s prevention are identical to those for combating insulin resistance, and have been for some time. This is because the single most important physical factor that is responsible for accelerating nearly every chronic disease known to man is to normalize your insulin and leptin levels. Interestingly, this normalization will typically lower insulin and leptin levels in your body while raising your production of brain insulin.
The following seven guidelines can help you prevent Alzheimer’s disease and keep your mind sharp as you age:
- Avoid sugars and grains, particularly fructose. Eating a nutritious diet that is low in fructose, added sugars and grains, and high in fresh vegetables (which are high in folate), is one of the best things you can do to prevent diabetes, dementia, and a variety of other chronic diseases. Ideally you’ll want to devise a nutritional plan geared to your specific nutritional type to maximize the health benefits.
- Take a high quality animal-based omega-3 fat. I recommend consuming high quality krill oil to meet the optimal amount of omega-3 fats needed to achieve good health and fight Alzheimer's.
- Increase your intake of antioxidants. Wild blueberries, for example, have high anthocyanin and antioxidant content that are known to guard against Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.
- Exercise. We all know that exercise is good for our cardiovascular system, but studies have found that exercise can also protect your brain, thereby warding off Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. According to one study, the odds of developing Alzheimer's were nearly quadrupled in people who were less active during their leisure time, between the ages of 20 and 60, compared with their peers. Similar to a healthy diet, regular physical activity is one of those things that can significantly improve many aspects of your physical and emotional health. For the elderly, simple activities such as walking and light weight training would likely provide benefits. For those who are younger, more strenuous exercise may heighten the benefits.
- Avoid and remove mercury from your body. Even trace amounts of mercury can cause the type of damage to nerves that is characteristic of the damage found in Alzheimer's disease.
Dental amalgam fillings are one of the major sources of mercury, however you should be healthy prior to having them removed. Once you have adjusted to your improved diet, you can follow my mercury detox protocol and then find a biological dentist to have your amalgams removed. Other sources of mercury include most seafood, thimerosal-containing vaccinations and flu shots, which contain both mercury and aluminum. - Avoid aluminum. Aluminum has been widely associated with Alzheimer's disease. Your main sources of exposure are likely through drinking water and antiperspirants.
Aluminum cookware may also be a source of exposure. Although aluminum pots are probably less problematic than the sources mentioned above, I personally would not use aluminum cookware. - Challenge your mind. Mental stimulation, such as traveling, learning to play an instrument or doing crossword puzzles, is associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's. Researchers suspect that mental challenge helps to build up your brain, making it less susceptible to the lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease.
