(It’s SAD for a reason…ha pun.)
There’s nothing more frightening to so many of us as the threat of losing brain function. While I avoid dwelling on what “could happen” in regards to my cognition, I definitely examine the risk factors for Alzheimer’s and strongly guard against them.
Currently, more than 46 million people have Alzheimer’s disease and the number is expected to hit 130 million over the next three decades. A person is diagnosed every 3 seconds!
Chilling facts about this epidemic…
- Neurodegenerative disease is not a normal part of the aging process. Alzheimer’s is not being a bit forgetful, it is the systematic destruction of your brain function.
- Currently, the United States lists Alzheimer’s as the 6th most common cause of death.
- Early onset cases of Alzheimer’s account for approximately 5% of cases and strikes people under the age of 65 – often as young as in their thirties.
- Most patients live less than ten years after they are diagnosed. With ongoing damage to the brain, simple skills such as eating, talking, and breathing become a struggle.
- Alzheimer’s patients often wander away from a safe environment and are unable to find their way back. This contributes to higher risk of death.
The Talking Heads Know Nothing (By Their Own Admission)
The pharmaceutical industry offers several drugs to alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s but they’re proven to be effective for less than a year and are completely ineffective to many patients from the start.
Doctors uniformly insist that nothing can “stop or slow” disease progression. I always find it interesting when the medical or scientific industries shout about the “danger” or “quack science” of holistic or alternative treatments while outright admitting they can do nothing to help patients.
It’s well known that researchers have yet to identify the root cause of Alzheimer’s or other devastating neurodegenerative diseases. They don’t how to slow or stop it and can barely help alleviate deterioration of language skills, memory, and mood.
Despite this complete lack of anything useful, the conventional medical industry “is certain” that vaccinations, heavy metal poisoning, and chemical toxins aren’t the culprits.
Then they acknowledge that lifestyle, environment, genetics, and diet could play a part. Their ignorance and duplicity is incredibly frustrating.
Don’t Believe the Hype
There is much you can do – right now – to lower your personal Alzheimer’s risk factors. If I was diagnosed with a disease of my brain, I’d try every natural treatment imaginable rather than just suffer the increasing symptoms or wait to die.
Doctors who blithely suggest you do the opposite are negligent. How dare they dismiss even a glimmer of hope for patients essentially given a death sentence that will drag on for years, causing the patient and their loved ones horrific pain and stress.
I refuse to be so arrogant or close-minded.
If a holistic treatment helps even a little bit without side effects, what is the harm? If alternative modalities ease even a bit of the agony caused by slowly losing control of your own mind, why cast them aside with such disdain?
And what of prevention? Does this figure nowhere in their grand decrees?
Lowering Alzheimer’s Risk Factors – Naturally
First, let’s talk about the Standard American Diet (SAD) – an apt acronym if I ever saw one!
This is the diet known to include exorbitant amounts of sugar, unhealthy fats, few vegetables (and even those are generally over-processed), junk food laden with chemical additives, fast food restaurants on every corner, artificial sweeteners, genetically modified foods (GMO), and antibiotics in our cattle products.
There are so many things wrong with the SAD that it’s impossible to list them all. However, if you track the hijacking of our food supply, you’ll see the substantial climb of our worst diseases and conditions.
Heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disease, obesity, neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, and so much more can be laid at the feet of our garbage diet and the deplorable devolving condition of our environment.
The introduction of thousands of chemicals to our food supply, destructive cleaning products, personal care items with known carcinogens, and the rampant pollution of our soil, air, and water have devastated our immune systems and re-written our body chemistry.
If you want to lower your risk factors for Alzheimer’s and other diseases, the prevention playbook is pretty simple. Each of these factors have been studied by researchers around the world and determined to have a hand in our declining health.
You can choose (or not) to follow these common sense suggestions in your daily life. I promise you – as a doctor and a man in excellent health – there’s nothing here to harm you, only help! These are things you can incorporate now, for little or no money, to improve the way your mind and body function.
The Alternative Doctor’s Tips to Prevention
1. Strip down your entire diet. You don’t need or want the Standard American Diet in your life. Not now, not ever. All it’s done is make people sick. Choose whole foods and opt for organic options if you have them (especially in regards to animal products). Get rid of foods in bags or boxes. Kick out all artificial sweeteners. Avoid those fast food joints. A truly healthy diet consists of proteins, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables, and very few (or none) refined sugars and carbs. Drink half an ounce of water for every pound of body weight every day and don’t stop!
2. You must get more sleep. There have been hundreds of studies that confirm the massive toll sleep deprivation takes on your body and mind. Without enough sleep, you’re unable to get “downtime” to store memories and repair damaged cells. Starving humans of sleep is a known method of torture. It increases your risk of every major disease.
3. Clean out your house. Discard the chemical cleaners, toxic personal care products, and use natural substances wherever you can. Never use antibacterial products (you get far too many unwanted antibiotics as it is). If you live in an old house, make sure you check for mold and lead paint. Mold must be remediated (that’s some dangerous stuff) but lead paint can be sealed behind fresh coats of paint if you’re unable to have it fully removed. Get rid of very old room carpeting and always filter your tap water with a quality carbon filter.
4. Purge negativity in your inner self. Your emotional and mental state directly impacts your physical health. Ongoing depression, anxiety, and stress raises inflammation that is a listed root cause of every modern disease. No matter where your turmoil originates, you can take back control. Remove toxic people, evaluate what you need for yourself, and let go of what you can’t change. Holding onto past fears, guilt, and sadness will never allow you to be happy. There’s no room for true peace if all the available space is taken up with negativity.
5. You need activity in your daily life. Even mild to moderate exercise has an extraordinary impact on your overall mental and physical health. Yoga, tai chi, swimming, or a walk will give you movement and boost your emotional state. As important as physical activity is, keeping your brain active is crucial to keeping your neurons firing properly well into oldest age. By pushing even an elderly mind to engage socially, work on puzzles, or read, it “flexes” the basic cognitive functions and makes them stronger. Never stop learning and never stop moving.
Naturally, there are some obvious steps you can take such as quitting tobacco, limiting alcohol, and avoiding burning your skin but I wanted to talk more about the areas that seem hardest for people to implement.
You don’t have to be a super human. You simply have to care about what you eat, what you put on your body, and make a concerted effort to love that only home you’re ever going to have.
Can you do all these things and still get sick?
Unfortunately. Even otherwise healthy people can be diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. However, I guarantee that these steps absolutely lower your risk factors for Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, and more. That’s a fact.
It’s not a bulletproof plan but it’s a better plan than convention medicine shrugging their shoulders and telling you, “Sorry, nothing can be done.”
Take an active role in your own life. Start these prevention measures now.