Can Alzheimer’s Disease Be Reversed With Diet Changes?

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating condition that is thought to affect 30 million people in the world. 5.4 million Americans have it. It is the leading cause of cognitive decline. It is becoming more and more of a problem as the world is aging, and people are getting the disease at a younger age.

Researchers estimate that by the year 2050 there will be 13 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease. This is a massive problem for economic and social reasons, particularly since medication used for Alzheimer’s has a very poor success rate at slowing down the disease. According to conventional medicine, there is no effective way of preventing or slowing down Alzheimer’s, let alone reversing it once a person has already been diagnosed.

In fact, a woman’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease is now greater than her chance of developing breast cancer. How many people are aware of that fact?

A brand new study out of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) is causing a radical shift in how physicians are viewing Alzheimer’s disease. A new non-drug treatment has shown the ability to actually reverse the disease. There are no harmful side effects or contraindications.

The study was called Metabolic Enhancement for NeuroDegeneration and it involved 10 patients. All of them experienced memory loss and some of them had had brain scans that confirmed Alzheimer’s disease. The study participants were asked to make dramatic lifestyle changes. They had to avoid simple carbs like bread and pasta; they were put on a gluten free diet and they had to avoid processed foods. Each of them increased their fish intake, undertook yoga classes and meditated. The patients were given supplements of melatonin, vitamin B12, vitamin D and fish oil. They were also instructed to receive adequate sleep each night.

The results were nothing short of phenomenal! After six months, nine of the participants noticed a significant improvement in their memory. One patient who was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease didn’t experience an improvement. Six of the patients in the study who were forced to discontinue working were all able to return to their jobs. The researchers said that some participants were followed up two and a half years later and their memory improvements remained. There are currently plans to conduct such studies on a larger scale.

What a wonderful study! It’s so rare to see medical research incorporating diet, lifestyle and supplements. Hopefully, these dramatic benefits will encourage more of this type of research. It’s also great to see how much influence you can have over your own future brain health.

These are my recommendations for keeping your brain healthy:

• Follow the brain saving recipes, foods and supplements outlined in chapter 7 in my book Alzheimer’s – What You Must Know to Protect Your Brain.
• Try to keep your liver as healthy as possible. Your liver is the most important organ to control your metabolic rate. If you have excess weight around your torso, that is a dementia risk. If you are a type 2 diabetic or have insulin resistance, that also raises your chances of developing dementia. Your liver is the main fat burning organ in your body, and it helps stabilize your blood sugar, by storing excess carbohydrate as glycogen. Supporting your liver with a tonic like Livatone Plus will help.
• Consume more oily fish (such as salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, trout etc.) which are rich in omega 3 fats. If you don’t consume oily fish often, a fish oil supplement would help.
• Foods high in sulfur (such as eggs, onions, cabbage and garlic) help to rid the body of heavy metals. N-acetyl cysteine is a sulfur-containing protein that your body uses to make glutathione. Glutathione is your body’s most powerful detoxifier and antioxidant. NAC can be taken in supplement form.
• Increase your intake of foods high in choline, (a precursor of neurotransmitter acetylcholine), such as beef, lentils, green beans, peanuts and sunflower seeds.
• Avoid damaged fats such as those found in deep-fried foods and trans-fatty acids found in margarines and hydrogenated vegetable oils, as these fats have a deleterious effect on nerve cell membranes.
• Avoid sugar and foods that are rapidly digested into sugar, such as bread, pasta and breakfast cereals. A lot of research has shown that having higher blood sugar raises the risk of dementia.
• Increase your consumption of raw fruit and vegetables, and raw juices to provide extra folic acid and vitamin C to protect your brain cells from free radicals and to improve the cerebral circulation.
• When making your own raw juices, combine some of the following : parsley, spinach, garlic, carrot, orange or lemon, to improve the circulation and detoxify the body. Other juice recipes may be found in Raw Juices Can Save Your Life.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

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