One of the keywords we read in health news is the word "Alzheimers." Almost weekly, I receive an article regarding this debilitating and threatening disease that is affecting countless people no matter what their social standing or education level may be.

What concerns me is that I have yet to have an article come across my desk regarding a cure or preventative measures we can take. As a health coach, this is disturbing. The media is always quick to reveal anything negative and to instill in our minds that there is no cure.

However, there is a lot of information available on prevention of the disease and how to feed the brain proper nutrients and keep it stimulated in an effort to keep it healthy. I will share some of that research in this post.

I will not address the obvious suggestions on how to stay healthy as we age, including diet, exercise, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Common sense tells us the earlier we take control of our health, the longer we will remain healthy. We are also encouraged to take vitamins to supplement what we do not get from our food.

There has been extensive research which is often squelched by the pharmaceutical industry for the usual and obvious reason: greed. Although many vitamin brands are produced by pharmaceutical companies which generally promote trust, I have recently been posting a series called the World's Greatest Con Job in an effort to bring awareness to what is actually in the vitamins we consume. Vitamins are supposed to aid you in realizing optimum health, not cause more problems because of the way they are processed or the petroleum-based raw product often used. Don't take ANYONE'S word for it -- whether it is your doctor, nutritionist, or health care provider. Research your own products as outlined below:

For your health's sake......have a look here

Does it really matter what you take?

Can your mind be sharp at 96?

The U S National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health have submitted their research asking the question - Is there a plausible link between aluminum intake and Alzheimer's disease. The conclusion: The hypothesis that aluminum (AL) significantly contributes to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is built upon very solid experimental evidence and should not be dismissed. Immediate steps should be taken to lessen human exposure to AL, which may be the single most aggravating and avoidable factor related to AD.

For more than three decades, I have ONLY offered kosher products to my clients where extra care is taken to ensure their purity and quality. This includes cleaning products safe enough to eat and deodorants sans aluminum. We must also consider the amount of aluminum in vaccines. We are living in an age of nutrient deprivation not only caused by over processed, toxic food but also the rapid decline of necessary nutrients no longer found in our soil.

It was discovered many years ago that rotating crops gave the earth time to replenish its nutrient content. (Kosher grown food requires the fields rest for two years after seven years of growth)

It was discovered that bugs dying in the soil decays and restores nutrients to the soil.

It was discovered that manure from cows was great for fertilizing the land.

BUT.......SCIENCE HAD A DIFFERENT PLAN:

Science says: You do not need to rotate crops any longer if you soak the earth with the right commercial pesticides and herbicides. And the bonus is when these bugs die, they poison the earth with the compounds of toxic chemicals harmful to humans.

Zinc and B vitamins are crucial to our health and the prevention of disease. They have virtually disappeared from our soil and consequently cannot get into our food. Autopsies done on Alzheimer's disease patients often reveal the low levels of zinc found in the brain. People who are aware of this substitute their diet with food supplements but then discover their supplements are often MANUFACTURED and not natural as the labels suggest. By law, a vitamin only has to be 10% natural to be promoted as a "natural" product.

EXCITING NEWS - ONE OF MANY

The following article was taken from page 46 of the July 2004 edition of Canadian Living magazine.

Vitamin Combo May Halt Alzheimer’s

A combination of vitamins E and C supplements may prevent Alzheimer’s disease according to a study in the Archives of Neurology. The study, carried out by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, examined the supplement habits of 4,740 people aged 65 and older and found that those who took vitamins E and C together- but not just one of them- had a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. One possible explanation for this result is that vitamin C enhances the effect of vitamin E in destroying free radicals that have been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s.

The results of this observational study are so strong that Dr. Jack Diamond, a medical researcher in the department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences at McMaster University Medical Centre in Hamilton and scientific director of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, says a larger clinical trial should now be conducted. Diamond is already so convinced on the benefits of vitamins E and C that he takes the supplements for his own health.

Other studies have highlighted the potential benefits of vitamin E in stalling Alzheimer’s. A study published last year in the journal Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders suggested that combining vitamin E with donepezil (a drug already prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients) may slow the progression of the disease.

Revealing article in London Newspaper

Possible cause of Alzheimer’'s found

LONDON — Researchers have uncovered compelling evidence of a possible cause of Alzheimer'’s disease, the degenerative brain condition.

Scientists have shown a link between high levels of homocysteine, a molecule in the blood, with shrinkage of the brain in middle age, which can later lead to Alzheimer'’s.

The discovery raises the possibility that a simple course of vitamins might be all that is needed to prevent millions of people succumbing to the illness.

There is already strong evidence linking homocysteine with heart disease, deep-vein thrombosis and stroke. The discovery that it might also play a role in dementia is causing widespread interest among specialists because an individual can lower his or her homocysteine level simply by taking folic acid (one of the B vitamins) supplements.

David Smith, a British authority on Alzheimer'’s disease, said yesterday that a study was now needed to establish whether a course of vitamins could safely combat the condition. Smith, a professor of pharmacology at Oxford University and director of the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing, said as many as 15 per cent of all dementia cases might be due to homocysteine: Reducing high levels in the blood could therefore prevent hundreds of thousands of cases.

“That is of major significance not only because they and their families benefit, but also because enormous sums could be saved,” he said.

The latest research will be announced at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Hawaii next month. It suggests that homocysteine is having an effect on the brain decades before people develop obvious signs of dementia.

Philip Wolf, a professor of neurology at Boston University, said the findings were based on MRI scans on more than 1,000 apparently healthy individuals aged between 50 and 70.

“It turned out that those who had the higher homocysteine levels six or eight years ago had the smaller brain volumes and performed less well in tests,” he said.

The results add to previous findings suggesting that homocysteine may play an important part in mental as well as physical ageing. “Either the homocysteine produces changes in the arteries and so affects the brain or there is a toxic effect,” Wolf said.

You do not have to look far to find information on how to prevent this disease or how to keep it from rapidly progressing, once diagnosed.

If there is any truth to these findings, why would anyone take the risk of ignoring it?

I am thrilled and proud to have been an influence to hundreds of people over the years to:

Take time for your health today so you have health for your time tomorrow.

It is not difficult to determine how safe your food supplements/vitamins are and I am happy to help you. Take a look at the articles posted here on the World's Greatest Con Job and drop me a line. I'll assist in any way I can.

—Photo courtesy of thrivemg.com