Unfortunately, more and more of the population in the US is being directly or indirectly affected by Alzheimer’s. It’s good to know that there are a number of simple, all-natural products that can be used to prevent or even help reverse the condition, and two of them are great favorites of mine, coconut oil and apple cider vinegar. I’ll be posting more on both of these “miracles of Nature” in the future, but for now please read this blog post from Robert at Energy Medicine and Health. It’s an eye-opener…
According to research Alzheimer’s is now to be looked upon as a form of Diabetes of the brain. They are now beginning to classify it as Type III Diabetes.
- Type I diabetes is a condition in which the insulin producing cells of the pancreas are damaged and do not produce enough or any insulin whatsoever(usually people are born this way and so it is by default called Juvenile Diabetes).
- Type II diabetes is the condition where the pancreas produces sufficient insulin but the cells of the body have become insensitive to it and do not respond. This condition is usually caused by excessive sugar/starch in the diet of the victims.
- Type III diabetes/alzheimers then is the condition of insulin insensitivity of the brain. That is, the insulin receptor sites on neurons are not functioning correctly and cannot adsorb glucose properly and so Alzheimer’s is a disease of the energy depletion of the brain that will ultimately result in brain death unless aggressive intervention is pursued!
Neurons, unlike every other cell, lack the ability to store energy and so any interruption in energy supply quickly results in damage. A neuron at best has on hand merely a two or three minute supply of glucose. Neurons cannot be regenerated after about the age of two, so any brain cell death is tragically not reversible.
It is widely known that the only sugar a neuron is capable of using for energy is glucose, but what is not widely known is that there are two other fuel sources that neurons can utilize without depending upon the insulin response. They are the amino acid glutamate(glutamic acid) and ketones.
Most recommendations are for about 4 tablespoons a day for a maintenance level, and up to fourteen if you have issues to resolve.
An excellent source of dietary ketones is coconut oil, and in fact there appear to be many claims of reversing Alzheimer’s Disease using coconut oil. A Doctor, Mary Newport, from Florida, is among these claimants and is currently writing a book about how this food helped her husband.
Glutamate is an amino acid that the brain can also use for fuel and is readily available in capsule and bulk form supplements. It is brain fuel and also enhances brain function by removing ammonia(ever had foggy thinking?), and is the precursor to two key neurotransmitters. It is also the only way that ammonia can be removed from the brain.
Although neither is a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease (how do you restore damaged insulin receptor sites is still a mystery, if indeed it is even possible) they should both be able to reverse the symptoms if incorporated into the diet by supplying brain energy through another metabolic pathway. Simply maintaining a high protein diet will increase the amount of glutamate in the body.
In theory, if you were to provide the victim with adequate calories( replacing 2,000 calories of glucose) using ketones and glutamate, Alzheimer’s would halt and restoration of brain function would be fully complete to the exclusion of permanent damage already done to it. And so an early response will limit damage, the earlier the better, best yet to stop eating sugars, rice, potatoes, grain products, and eat only healthy foods before you develop Alzheimer’s?
Avoiding a diet high in both complex and simple carbohydrates will prevent type II and III diabetes.
But there are also two natural substances that the consumption of which improves insulin sensitivity once the damage has already been achieved.
- Vinegar
- Incorporating vinegar into your diet, especially with your salad, and it’s delicious!
- R-lipoid acid
Both of these substances are claimed to enhance insulin sensitivity, each by 30%.
With these weapons in your arsenal you should be able to greatly mediate, reverse, or avoid deterioration.
Coconut oil to supply ketones as an alternate fuel for the brain. Supplement with glutamate also as another non-insulin dependent energy source. Consume some vinegar daily (or consume a serving of alcohol if the liver is functioning well), and start supplementation of R-lipoic acid to enhance the brains insulin response, and increase the adsorption of glucose.
It is interesting that it is suggested that the insulin insensitivity of the brain in Alzheimer’s is the result of brain inflammation. If this is true, and it makes complete sense, then the receptor sites are inhibited (the shape has been altered as to be non-functional) as a result of the chemical environment of inflammation, then if you remove the inflammation the function (shape/functionality) of the receptors may be restored, and the disease may be cured? Glutamine absolutely reduces brain inflammation by neutralizing ammonia,
And it does appear that there is a strong correlation between elevated ammonia levels in the victims of Alzheimer’s. One theory is suggesting that a bacteria migrated to the brain is the cause for this. In any event, the strong anti microbial action of coconut oil, combined with the ammonia neutralizing effect of glutamate seems a very promising and possible total solution.
The Zero Carb Ketogenic Diet, as well as The Atkins Diet, are the two dietary models that will be the most useful starting point. It is also likely that a reduced carb diet of 25% may be a an advisable transition before going full out.
Glutamate(glutamic acid)
“Actually, only a small percentage of people are truly sensitive to the small doses of MSG used as a seasoning. Billions of Asians consume it daily. The Japanese also consume seaweed, the richest natural source of monosodium glutamate. This chronic long-term consumption does not seem to cause any problems. In regard to Alzheimer’s disease in particular, the Asian rates (including Japan) are a fraction of what they are in the West. It is also of interest that infusions of MSG are used in mainstream clinical practice to reduce high ammonia levels in the blood (hyper-ammonemia) by stimulating the conversion of glutamate to glutamine. Thus, both glutamate (as MSG) and glutamine are used by conventional medicine for treating several serious conditions.” Glutamate/Glutamine info and cautions
L-Glutamic acid and glutamine: Exciting molecules of clinical interest
“In the brain, glutamine is a substrate for the production of both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters (glutamate and GABA). Glutamine is also an important source of energy for the nervous system. If the brain is not receiving enough glucose, it compensates by increasing glutamine metabolism for energy, thus the popular perception of glutamine as “brain food” and its use as a pick-me-up. Glutamine users often report more energy, less fatigue and better mood”…
Check out these Self-help Health posts for more information:
https://selfhelphealth.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/preventing-alzheimers-with-exercise/
https://selfhelphealth.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/more-on-coconut-oil-reversing-alzheimers/
https://selfhelphealth.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/olive-oil-alzheimers/
https://selfhelphealth.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/coconut-oil-one-of-the-yummiest-health-aids-ever/
Salud!
p.s. Also check out my website’s To Your Health page and Evolution Made Easier blog for more self-help health tips, tools and information.
Disclaimer: Please note that any information here is provided as a guideline only, and is not meant to substitute for the advice of your physician, nutritionist, trained healthcare practitioner, and/or inner guidance system. Always consult a professional before undertaking any change to your normal health routine.
Self-help Health 
Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well written article.
I will be sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info.
Thanks for the post. I’ll definitely comeback.
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Thanks for stopping by and leaving the nice comment. The post was actually written by Robert at Energy Medicine & Health, so he gets the credit for the information being well written. If you are interested in natural ways to prevent and help treat Alzheimer’s and dementia, there are a number of other posts at Self-help Health on the subject that I hope you’ll check out. I have just now added links to them at the end of this post so that people will be able to access them more easily.
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