Posted on 10/22/2016 5:32:19 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, sadly, has become almost like a rite of passage in so-called developed countries. Alzheimer’s is considered the most common form of dementia, which is defined as a serious loss of cognitive function beyond what is expected from normal aging in previously unimpaired persons.
A 2006 study estimated that 26 million people throughout the world suffer from this condition, and that by 2050, the prevalence will quadruple, by which time one in 85 people worldwide will be afflicted with the disease.
Given the global extent of the problem, interest is growing in safe and effective preventive and therapeutic interventions within the conventional medical and alternative professions alike.
Try incorporating small, high-quality, culinary doses of spices like turmeric into your dietary pattern. Conventional, drug-based approaches unfortunately may amount to declaring chemical war on the problem, a mistake that may result in serious neurological harm, as evidenced by the fact that this drug class carries an alarmingly high risk of causing seizures, according to World Health Organization post-marketing surveillance statistics.
Rev Up Your Turmeric
The general public is therefore growing most responsive to using time-tested, safe, natural, and otherwise more effective therapies that rely on foods, spices, and other familiar culinary ingredients.
A remarkable study was published in the journal Ayu titiled “Effects of turmeric on Alzheimer’s disease with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.” Researchers described three patients with Alzheimer’s disease whose behavioral symptoms “improved remarkably” as a result of consuming dosages of turmeric for 12 weeks. According to the study:
“All three patients exhibited irritability, agitation, anxiety, and apathy, two patients suffer from urinary incontinence. … They were prescribed turmeric powder capsules and started recovering from these symptoms without any adverse reaction in the clinical symptom and laboratory data.”
After only three months of treatment, both the patients’ symptoms and the burden on their caregivers were significantly decreased.
The report describes the improvements :
“In one case, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was up five points, from 12/30 to 17/30. In the other two cases, no significant change was seen in the MMSE; however, they came to recognize their family within 1 year treatment. All cases have been taking turmeric for more than 1 year, re-exacerbation of BPSD was not seen.”
This study illustrates just how powerful a simple natural intervention using a time-tested culinary herb can be. Given that turmeric has been used medicinally and as a culinary ingredient for over 5,000 years in Indian culture, we should not be surprised at this result. Indeed, epidemiological studies of Indian populations reveal that they have a remarkably lower prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease relative to Western nations, and this is true for both rural and more “Westernized” urban areas of India.
Could turmeric be a major reason for this?
Other Documented Anti-Alzheimer’s Mechanisms Include:
Anti-inflammatory: Curcumin has been found to play a protective role against β-amyloid protein associated inflammation. Anti-oxidative: Curcumin may reduce damage via antioxidant properties.
Anti-cytotoxic: Curcumin appears to protect against the cell-damaging effects of β-amyloid proteins.
Anti-amyloidogenic: Turmeric contains a variety of compounds (curcumin, tetrahydrocurcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin) which may strike to the root pathological cause of Alzheimer’s disease by preventing β-amyloid protein formation.
Neurorestorative: Curcuminoids appear to rescue long-term potentiation (an indication of functional memory) impaired by amyloid peptide, and may reverse physiological damage by restoring distorted neurites and disrupting existing plaques.
Metal-chelating properties: Curcumin has a higher binding affinity for iron and copper rather than zinc, which may contribute to its protective effect in Alzheimer’s disease, as iron-mediated damage may play a pathological role.
The modern kitchen pantry contains a broad range of anti-Alzheimer’s disease items, which plenty of science now confirms. Top on the list, of course, is curcumin. Others include:
Coconut Oil: This remarkable substance contains approximately 66% medium chain triglycerides by weight, and is capable of improving symptoms of cognitive decline in those suffering from dementia by increasing brain-boosing ketone bodies, and perhaps more remarkably, within only one dose, and within only two hours.
Cocoa: A 2009 study found that cocoa procyanidins may protect against lipid peroxidation associated with neuronal cell death in a manner relevant to Alzheimer’s disease. Sage: A 2003 study found that sage extract has therapeutic value in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
Folic acid: While most of the positive research on this B vitamin has been performed on the semi-synthetic version, which may have unintended, adverse health effects, the ideal source for this B vitamin is foliage, i.e. green leafy vegetables, as only foods provide folate. Also, the entire B group of vitamins, especially including the homocysteine-modulating B6 and B12, may have the most value in Alzheimer’s disease prevention and treatment.
Resveratrol: this compound is mainly found in the Western diet in grapes, wine, peanuts and chocolate. There are 16 articles on our website indicating it has anti-Alzheimer’s properties.
Other potent natural therapies include:
Gingko biloba: is one of the few herbs proven to be at least as effective as the pharmaceutical drug Aricept in treating and improving symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Melissa offinalis: this herb, also known as Lemon Balm, has been found to have therapeutic effect in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
Saffron: this herb compares favorably to the drug donepezil in the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
As always, the important thing to remember is that it is our diet and environmental exposures that largely determine our risk of accelerated brain aging and associated dementia. Prevention is an infinitely better strategy, especially considering many of the therapeutic items mentioned above can be used in foods as spices. Try incorporating small, high-quality culinary doses of spices like turmeric into your dietary pattern, remembering that ‘adding it to taste,’ in a way that is truly enjoyable, may be the ultimate standard for determining what a ‘healthy dose’ is for you.
Been doing the “Bulletproof Coffee” thing in the morning only along with a vitamin regime and a strict ketogenic diet ....... best I’ve felt in a long time.
My mother’s dementia and mood have improved markedly on turmeric, two+ years now. I have her gerontologist sold on it.
Get 95% standardized curcumin and take one or two capsules.
It’s interesting to look at the map of the Americas. You get out of the high populations of Canada and the USA and go down to Mexico which is in the mid range. You travel through Central America into the northwest part of South America and it’s low, except for Costa Rica which is high. The rest of South American looks like North America.
The question is, why?
I have the ringing from Meniere’s disease as well. It seems to grow progressively worse every year.
How many mg of acetl-l-carnitine are you taking and how often.
Most chocolate that you buy in the store is not going to be helpful. Studies have shown, however, that cocoa (in moderation) has a number of health benefits, but you need to get the kind which has not been processed with alkali. Also, I recall that the proteins in dairy can bind with the polyphenols in cocao and interfere with their absorption. So it is best to drink it alone, or maybe with a little coconut or almond milk. I’ve also eaten it by mixing the powder with coconut oil and honey or maple syrup to make my own “chocolate.” That’s actually fairly tasty, but you need to experiment with it to get a decent consistency and the right level of sweetness. You can also try adding some crushed walnuts.
likely its related to diet.
What is poor little Costa Rica doing wrong that all her surrounding neighbors are doing right?
171 Singapore 0.19
Not sure of the spices, maybe it’s the number of lashes you get for punishment.
People on blood thinners should avoid turmeric. It doesn’t take a lot to kill you.
Exactly. The article says small doses but what is small? Does using it in cooking ruin the process? Heard about this before but never can nail down the amount or exactly how to use it.
Why not take tumeric curcumin to avoid blood thinners?
It’s also supposed to help prevent some cancers.
anyone on warfarin (Coumadin) or other anticoagulants should steer clear of turmeric or curcumin. Although this spice has anti-inflammatory properties, it also can magnify the effect of these anti-clotting medications.
bkmk
In many countries people die from a lot of causes at early ages that prevent them from ever contracting Alzheimer’s.
From the article “ as evidenced by the fact that this drug class carries an alarmingly high risk of causing seizures, according to World Health Organization post-marketing surveillance statistics.”
I was taking turmeric twice a day when I started seeing my neurologist for seizures. I also told her about the bad nerve pain in my leg. She told me to increase the turmeric to 3 times per day. She was very impressed with the supplements I was/am taking when my other doctors thought I was wasting my money. 3 times per day seems to have stopped the nerve pain.
I think she is more open to some supplements because she is from India and practices western medicine with a little eastern thrown in. She went to medical school in India or Pakistan. I can’t remember which country.
I have not had any increase in the number or strength of the seizures since I began taking turmeric and this is the first time I have heard of any damage of seizures. They are finally under control, I cut out the diet drinks and now only have an occasional seizure. The goal is no seizures but going from seizures a couple times a week to maybe every 2-3 months is fine with me.
I also have psoriasis. The herb/supplement is great.
My DIL is on the strongest pain meds available and she thinks the turemic helps the most. I buy her a very good brand because she can’t afford it and it seems to really help.
If I had to give up all but 5 supplements tumeric is one that I would keep.
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