Alzheimer's Research
Alzheimer's is one of the major causes of dementia. It begins slowly with loss of memory indicated by the forgetting of names and appointments, impaired thinking and inability to make decisions. Although these symptoms can indicate Alzheimer's, they do not positively indicate Alzheimer's because other conditions of dementia have similar symptoms. Alzheimer's can only be positively confirmed by an autopsy and an examination of the brain. Causes of this disease are not known and there is no cure, but some drugs as directed by your doctor may be beneficial in slowing the progress of the disease. Although there have been many food supplements and drugs that have been presented as helpful, most have been worthless.
Just because you have the above symptoms does not mean that you have Alzheimer's because anyone with advancing age may have problems remembering names and faces, and even if you have Alzheimer's recent research indicates there are many things that can be done to prevent the disease or halt its progress. Only recently have researchers been able to identify early warning signs which are called Mild Cognitive Impairment or MCI. A Mayo Clinic study revealed 15 percent of people with MCI will have the disease within one year compared to up to 2 percent of people without MCI; fifty percent of people with MCI will have the disease within four or five years and after five years, up to 90 percent.
Recent research shows that a healthy lifestyle of physical exercise, mental exercise and proper nutrition will be extremely beneficial in preventing Alzheimer's or slowing its progress. For example, in a study in 2004 at John Hopkins, people who took 500 to 1000 milligrams daily of vitamin C or up to l000 IU of vitamin E had a 78 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's than the ones who had not taken the vitamins. In a Dutch study, people who had each day taken more than 23 IU's of vitamin E had a 43 percent lower risk of getting the disease compared to the ones who had not taken vitamin E. This Dutch study indicated all vitamin E was from food and not supplements. In a Rush University study people who had 800 IU's each day of vitamin E had protection of 60 percent compared to the ones not taking the vitamins. Many other studies have also indicated that reducing the total intake of calories not only adds years to life, it also protects the body from many serious diseases and complications.
The proper nutrition program means to eat no refined glucose or carbohydrates, to eat fruits, vegetables, grains, cold water fish two or three times per week, lean beef once a week, and broiled, or baked chicken up to three times per week. Every day eat two tablespoons of ground flax seed mixed with water, soy milk or fruit juice since flax seed is an almost miraculous food that has an abundance of Omega 3 fatty acid, has fiber, will lower triglycerides and cholesterol and has a wealth of anti-oxidants that build up the immune system. Food supplements that are important are multivitamins and turmeric. Men should limit calories to 2000 per day and women should limit calories to 1800 per day. Also, be sure to eat up to nine fruits and vegetables a day with emphasis on plenty of raw plant food but keep portions low.
The physical exercise program should be thirty minutes three to six times per week, but if needed the thirty minutes could be split up into five or ten minute segments. It is not necessary to join a club or have any special equipment because one of the best exercises is a brisk thirty minute walk in the neighborhood. Almost any kind of exercise will help.
The mental exercise could be working difficult cross word puzzles, reading books or articles that require concentration, studying a new subject or anything that makes you concentrate or think. Your mind is similar to other parts of your body: If you quit exercising your legs or quit walking by sitting in a wheel chair, it wouldn't be long before your legs would be useless.
Your social life and interaction with family and friends will also be beneficial to a healthy lifestyle program for prevention of Alzheimer's. If you already have Alzheimer's, then you can develop a program for halting or slowing the progression of the disease. Before starting this program consult with your doctor or health provider.
