President Ronald Reagan designated November as Alzheimer’s Awareness Month back in 1983. Not much progress was made in our treatment of this devastating disease until very recently. What is very exciting about these recent breakthroughs is that they do not require expensive drugs or dangerous surgeries. It simply requires dietary changes, lifestyle interventions and key nutrient supplementation protocols. This means we can all do more to protect our brains!
Fix the Leaky Holes
Dr. Dale Bredesen is the one that discovered the protocol that has shown exciting promise in preventing and reversing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). He published his findings in a scientific article in 2014. He has recently published a brand new book entitled, The End of Alzheimer’s. In many of his lectures he has used the analogy of a roof with 36 holes. Patching just one hole will not fix the problem, nor reverse the damage in the house. If you have 36 holes in the roof…it requires patching all the holes.
This is what is found when dealing with brain degeneration, as seen in AD. We cannot expect to have a single “magic bullet” that will take care of everything. It is simply not possible. However, fixing as many things as you can with diet, lifestyle and supplements can make significant changes in your brain health.
What Can You Fix?
Let’s review some of the factors he outlines in his protocol:
- Optimize diet and minimize simple carbohydrates to reduce inflammation.
- Enhance ketogenesis by fasting 12 hours each night, including 3 hours prior to bedtime.
- Reduce stress.
- Optimize sleep for 8 hours sleep per night and use melatonin if needed to improve sleep.
- Exercise 30-60 minutes for 4-6 days per week.
- Stimulate your brain with learning activities.
- Know these lab values: homocysteine, serum B12, hsCRP, fasting insulin, hemoglobin A1c, vitamin D, zinc and copper levels
- Optimize your hormones (thyroid, estrogen and testosterone)
- Improve gut health and use probiotics to reduce inflammation.
- Use key nutrients such as curcumin, ashwagandha, bacopa, and antioxidants to protect mitochondria and brain function.
- Reduce toxic burden in the body and reduce the burden of heavy metals accumulating in the body and brain.
- Use medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil for their brain effects
Start Caring for Your Brain…Right Now!
The information shared by Dr. Bredesen empowers each of us to make the necessary changes to truly have optimal brain function. We don’t have to be worried and afraid of the degeneration we see in those around us.
Start now by protecting your brain with simple lifestyle changes.
Eat Right – choose organic produce, grass-fed beef and wild-caught fish whenever possible. Supplement with the Foundational Five nutrients (multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D, probiotic and plant nutrients).
Drink Right – drink 1/2 your weight in ounces of water. Avoid high sugar beverages and stop using artificial sweeteners.
Move Right – start doing 1-2 sessions of a 4 minute high-intensity interval training workout to stimulate your hormones and your brain.
