Alzheimer’s Disease

This terribly sad disease, where a person’s mind slowly fades into oblivion, has become increasingly common and the incidence continues to rise. The cause is not known; some suspect that infections, toxins or poisons, heavy metals such as mercury from teeth or free radical damage may be precipitating factors. Doctors can do nothing to this disease.

What you can do – Lifestyle

While it has not been shown to slow the progression of the disease, keeping the mind active with enjoyable tasks seems a logical approach to take. Regular exercise (walking) is also valuable.

Nutritional Supplements

Good nutrition is essential for the mind to stay healthy.

• A good multivitamin/multimineral: to ensure that brain tissues have all the nutrients and minerals required to function perfectly
• Omega 3 fish oils, 1-2 grams daily, are very important for good brain function. (children whose mothers had high fish oil intake during pregnancy had higher IQs). In Alzheimer’s disease a high omega 3 intake can be very beneficial
• Calcium and magnesium, 800-1,000mg/day, especially the magnesium, have a very calming effect, help with sleep and enable people to cope better
• Ginkgo Biloba: this ancient Chinese herb has for centuries been used to help mental function in people all over the world. In a study in the USA involving 309 Alzheimer’s patients, 20% had a mild improvement in their symptoms and mental function tests did not change, while those on the dummy tablets became significantly worse
• Antioxidant vitamins: because free radical damage is believed to be a cause of Alzheimer’s, high doses of antioxidant vitamins should help. In one study, elderly people who regularly took high doses of vitamin C (500mg) and vitamin E (400mg) had 78% less cases of Alzheimer’s disease.

Everybody, in addition to eating a diet as good and varied as possible, should regularly take a number of nutritional supplements:

• A good multivitamin/multimineral: to make sure that the body’s cells have all the nutrients and minerals required to stay healthy and fight and recover from disease. (In some countries this will also include selenium).
• Omega 3 fish oils: 1-2 grams daily. These improve the elasticity and strength of tissues, have beneficial effects on brain and nerve function and help with heart health, mental function, joints and skin.
• Calcium and magnesium: 800-1,000mg/day. Calcium is essential for bone health, and both nerve and muscle function. Magnesium is also essential for nerve and muscle function, especially relaxation. Without magnesium it is more difficult to absorb calcium.