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9 Key Strategies to Prevent Dementia and early Alzheimer’s Disease

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Fear of “Oldtimer’s”?

Last week when I was hanging out with Sarah Chun, my cool 83 years young mom, she confided in me that the #1 fear she has right now is that she may be losing her mind- she used the word Alzheimer’s!

Wait, she actually she pronounced it “Oldtimer’s” with a Korean accent, but I knew exactly what she was talking about!

Now my mother is in good health- she eats well, laughs daily watching her Korean drama shows and gets her exercise by dancing around to K-Pop. But she does have her forgetful moments of not remembering little things here and there which frustrates her terribly. Anyone who has a parent over 75 years old understands these little mishaps.

I reassured and calmed her down, told her that yes, she does have some memory issues-  but definitely not Alzheimer’s disease (AD), what is now called Type 3 Diabetes!

Having me as a daughter has some awesome perks- for years I have been advising her what she can do to stay young and rev up her brainpower but this time, she was ready to listen and follow through.

Her fears of losing her mind are the same as all of our fears, so I decided to post an article on the recommendations I gave to my mother that can help you or your family members as well.

I created a personalized step-by-step lifestyle program for her:

  • Increased her protein intake and replaced her white rice (Korean staple) for sweet potatoes, brown rice and quinoa,
  • Scheduled her night ritual so she can sleep longer and deeper hours,
  • Added some of the same brain boosting supplements I take daily to improve her memory and cognitive function
  • Eliminated all inflammatory causing foods such as sugar, dairy, gluten and yeast
  • Recommended a neck massage weekly to increase blood flow to her brain and open up her lymphatic system.

I expressed to her that we will get her mind and brain sparking in no time and that she will be with us fully functioning for a very long time. I reminded her that her own mother lived 104 years!

Then a few days ago, CNN came out with this very interesting article about reversing dementia, AD and improving the brain. What perfect timing!

The article was based on Dr. Dale Bredesen’s recent study (from my alma mater), at UCLA’s Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and it went over much of the same information I gave to my mother.

I added my own recommendations to Dr. Dale’s study and created the:

 9 Key Strategies to Prevent Dementia and early Alzheimer’s Disease:

  1. Reduce simple carbohydrates, starchy vegetables and gluten grains to reduce “leaky brain” and brain inflammation
  1. Take a daily dose of Vitamin D to modulate and improve immunity
  1. Increase your circulation and sweating mechanism by exercising vigorously, dry brushing, sitting in an infrared sauna, and hot & cold baths or showers. This will reduce toxins from deposited into the brain and cleansing them out of the body.
  1. Add polyphenols to your supplement regimen. These super antioxidants will stop oxidation and damage to DNA and nerve tissue that can lead to premature aging and brain deterioration. My favorites polyphenols include EGCg (decaffeinated), Resveratrol, and power greens!
  1. Reverse dementia and rejuvenate the brain by taking these phospholipids and essential fatty acid supplements for life: GPC (glycerophosphocholine), Phosphatidyl Serine and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Also eat more healthy fats at every meal (olive, avocado, ghee, walnut, coconut)!
  1. Wait to go to sleep at least 3 hours after dinner and fast (no food, water is fine) for 12 hours between dinner and your next meal- this may help breakdown the amyloid beta proteins that build up in the brain found in Alzheimer patients. D
  1. Eat more probiotics, prebiotics (fibrous veggies), and fermented foods like kimchi (my fav!), pickles and organic miso to improving gut health, which reduces the risk of dementia.
  1. Get 7 to 8 hours of deep uninterrupted sleep to reduce stress and inflammation and to rejuvenate the body and spirit.
  1. Reduce toxic metal exposure to mercury and aluminum, both neurotoxins that can contribute to brain deterioration. Minimize eating mercury-laden fish such as tuna and swordfish, and stop using aluminum-based products.

What I love about Dr. Dale is that his study was all about fighting dementia and Alzheimer’s by making healthy everyday lifestyle choices rather than testing some type of new drug or vaccine. He even knew about “leaky gut” and mercury toxicity- love this guy!

We all have the power to change our brain by changing our lifestyle- the way we eat, sleep and take care of our environment. A lot of the same strategies I talk about in my best selling book The 7-Day Allergy Makeover!

I can’t wait to have him on my Wellness for Life radio show. I will keep you posted once I secure him as an expert guest!

BTW- I have some really cool news coming out in a couple of weeks. Come back regularly to check to see what is coming up for 2015! Super exciting!

Click on the link below to read the entire CNN article:
https://drsusanne.com/reversedementia

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CHOLESTEROL MYTHOLOGY: 8 Great Myths (and Truths) About Cholesterol

Great Cholesterol Myth

Guest Blog

By Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, and Stephen Sinatra, MD, FACN

Cholesterol is a very misunderstood molecule.

And though many people might not be aware of it, there has long been a vocal minority of doctors, researchers and health professionals who believe that cholesterol and fat have been wrongly convicted as the primary promoters of heart disease. Along with many of our fellow health professionals, we believe that this emphasis on cholesterol has caused us to take our attention off what we believe to be the true promoters of heart diseases – inflammation, oxidative damage, stress and sugar.

We believe the evidence against cholesterol as a causal factor in heart disease is much weaker than was previously believed, and we make our case in our new book, The Great Cholesterol Myth, complete with hundreds of medical references from peer-reviewed journals. We also believe that the statin drugs given to lower cholesterol are being over-prescribed, and are not without significant side effects.

Cholesterol is needed for life. It’s the parent molecule for all the major sex hormones, including estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. It’s needed for the immune system, and it’s needed for the brain. (In fact, one of the most serious side effects of cholesterol-lowering medication is memory loss.)

As we stated on the Dr. Oz Show: “Trying to prevent heart disease by lowering cholesterol is like trying to reduce calories by taking the lettuce off your double cheeseburger. It’s not that the lettuce doesn’t have any calories – it’s that it’s the wrong target.

And cholesterol is the wrong target if you’re trying to prevent heart disease.

We fervently believe that neither cholesterol nor fat is the major villain in the American diet – sugar is. We also believe that the case against cholesterol, which was made nearly 30 years ago, was based on faulty evidence. The case needs to be re-opened and the evidence needs to be re-examined.

Belief in the “Great Cholesterol Myth” has caused us to neglect the real causes of heart disease while obsessively focused on an innocuous molecule that’s essential for life and that we believe has only a minor role in heart disease.

Here are executive summaries of eight of out favorite myths about cholesterol and heart disease.

 

MYTH: High cholesterol is the cause of heart disease.

FACT: Cholesterol is a fairly insignificant player in heart disease.

 

MYTH: High cholesterol is a good predictor of heart attacks.

FACT: High cholesterol is a lousy predictor of heart attacks. Half the people admitted to hospitals with heart disease have normal cholesterol, and plenty of people with elevated cholesterol have perfectly healthy hearts.

 

MYTH: Lowering cholesterol with statin drugs will prolong your life.

FACT: There is no data showing statins have any impact on longevity.

 

MYTH: Statin drugs are perfectly safe.

FACT: Statin drugs have significant side effects, including loss of memory and libido, muscle pain and fatigue, and approximately 65% of doctors don’t report those side effects. (1)

 

MYTH: Statin drugs are appropriate for men, women, children and the elderly.

FACT: The only group in which statins have been shown to have even a modest effect is in middle-aged men who’ve already had a heart attack. If you’re not in that group, you’ve got no business on a statin drug. (2)

 

MYTH: Saturated fat is dangerous.

FACT: Saturated fat is mostly neutral and may even have some health benefits. Recent peer-reviewed studies have shown no association of saturated fat with heart disease. (3)

 

MYTH: The higher your cholesterol, the shorter your lifespan.

FACT: In the Framingham Study, the people who actually lived the longest had the highest cholesterol. (4)

 

MYTH: A high carbohydrate diet protects you from heart disease.

FACT: Diets that substitute carbohydrates for saturated fat actually increase the risk for heart disease. (5)

 

Cardiologist Stephen Sinatra and I have just co-authored “The Great Cholesterol Myth”, a book which blows cholesterol mythology out of the water, complete with over 200 scientific references. In it you’ll learn:

1)     The real causes of heart disease (and what to do about them)

2)     The real dietary culprits in heart disease (and saturated fat isn’t one of them)

3)     Why the current cholesterol tests for “good” and “bad” cholesterol are completely out-of-date

4)     The enormous dangers of statin drugs (and why they are under-reported by doctors)

5)     A drug-free program for preventing heart disease

For that and much, much more, check out our new book, “The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Cholesterol Won’t Prevent Heart Disease and the Statin-Free Plan that Will”.

For more information about Jonny Bowden, please visit his website: www.jonnybowden.com.

 

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