Reversing Alzheimer’s: Step 1 in the 10-Step Guide to a Healthier Brain Series

At 6 feet, 3 inches tall, 295 pounds of jiggly fat, Teddy is our larger than life, gregarious, fun patient. Everything he does is big. His hands are big, his shoes are big, a size 13. He drives a big old 1978 Lincoln Continental and man can he eat. A side of beef to Teddy is a snack. 

Two weeks ago, at midnight, Teddy called in a panic. He’d miscalculated the depth of his garage and drove the Lincoln through the back wall into the kitchen. When I got there, Teddy was pacing back and forth trampling over electric wires exposed from where the ormerly built in oven resided. He was disheveled and glassy eyed. 

“How?, How?, How?,” Teddy asked over and over. 

“Drinking,” I asked. 

Teddy shook his head no. From this I knew. In our 25 year association, I’d never seen Teddy even look at anything alcoholic. Teddy was (rightly so) visibly upset. 

“Hurt?,” I asked. “Don’t worry about this,” I said pointing to the tangled mess of bricks, hood ornament, and wrecked appliances. “This is fixable.” 

Teddy shook his head, pointing to his brain. 

“I’ve got a screw loose,” he said. 

“This is news,” I asked. “You’ve always been a bit of a fashlepta crank, crazy person.” 

“You don’t understand,” he said. “Last week I put the car keys in the freezer. I went to the market and ended up way out in the desert. I don’t even know how I got there. I dumped coffee grounds in the washing machine.” 

I opened the freezer door and peered in. 

“No keys in here, “ I said. “Just this.” 

I pulled out three plastic cups filled with a straw colored liquid. 

“Iced tea,” Teddy said. He took a hammer out of a drawer and smashed one cup on the counter, and slurped the melting tea out of the broken plastic container. 

“You are a little crazy,” I said, regretting it immediately.

Teddy began to cry. 

“I’m losing it,” he said. “I have Old Timer’s Disease, don’t I?” 

“Alzheimer’s,” I said. “Maybe. Or just a little dementia. Happens to all of us.” “What’s the difference?” 

“Dementia affects memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning.(1) Are you experiencing any of these?:” 

1. Subtle short-term memory changes. 
2. Difficulty finding the right words. 
3. Mood changes. 
4. Apathy. 
5. Difficulty in completing routine tasks. 
6. Difficulty in following storylines. 
7. Confusion. A failing sense of direction. 

“Some,” he said,” “And Old Timer’s?” 

“Alzheimer’s,” I corrected him, “is a type of dementia leading to memory, thinking and behavioral issues. Alzheimer’s is progressive and unfortunately, fatal. Any of this sound like you?”(2) 

1. Memory loss that disrupts day to day living. May misplace everyday items. 
2. Planning and problem-solving difficulties. Concentration issues. 
3. An inability to complete simple tasks. The patient withdraws from activities. 
4. Confusion as to time and place. New onset of poor judgment. 
5. The difficulty with visual images, reading comprehension, or judging distances. 
6. New difficulties following or joining conversations. 

“How do I know if it’s just old age-related issues,” Teddy asked. (3)

Alzheimer’s Age-Related Changes

Poor judgment and decision-making. Make a bad decision once in awhile.

Misplace items, inability to retrace steps Occasional loss of articles with the ability to retrieve same.

Inability to manage a budget, missing an occasional payment.

Losing track of the date or season. Forgetting, then remembering later the date.

Difficulty with most or all conversions. Sometimes forgetting a word.

“What can I do?,” Teddy asked. 

“At least ten things,” I said. 

“Only ten,” Teddy asked. 

“I’ll throw in an extra,“ I said. 

Here are your 10 Steps to a Healthy Brain

1. Keep Your Blood Sugar Balanced 
2. Eat Healthy Fats 
3. Get Adequate and Restful Sleep 
4. Enough (but not too much) Vitamin D3 is Essential for the Brain to Function Properly 
5. Get Your Gut In Order 
6. Maintain Adequate Methylation 
7. Balance Your Hormones 
8. Apply the 6 Fixes for A Healthy Heart 
9. Exercise 
10. Lifetime Learning 

“I gotta go Doc,“ Teddy said. 

“Let’s talk about the first one,” I replied. “Next month, we will talk some more.” 

1. Keep Your Blood Sugar Balanced
   Previously, we made the case that, just as the presence of the police is not the cause, but the effect of burglaries, high blood sugar is not the cause, but the effect of poorly functioning insulin.(4) Known as insulin resistance, like an alcoholic who needs more and more booze to get the same “high,” when we bombard our body with too much sugar, in the form of sugar itself, or simple carbohydrates, we develop an immunity of sorts to insulin’s effect. The result is persistent hyperglycemia or diabetes.The downstream effect of “insulin” resistance is brain “starvation. “ The brain atrophies, resulting in impaired function, memory, speech, movement, and personality loss. Continually feeding refined foods yields increased glucose levels becoming the norm. Elevated glucose levels damage blood vessels (atherosclerosis) and decrease neurotransmitter function. Moodiness and anxiety is the result.

Action Steps:

1. Replace refined carbohydrates with: Quinoa, brown rice, oats, buckwheat, millet, whole meal bread and wholemeal pasta. 
2. Avoid high sugar foods like white bread, white pasta and white rice, pastries, confectionery, and sugary fizzy drinks. 
3. Avoid stimulants like coffee and alcohol which raise our blood sugar levels.
4. Normalize blood sugar with our Mini-Fast with Bone Broth Diet(5) or a whole-foods, low-glycemic diet.(6) 

Stay tuned for Part II of “10 Steps to a Healthy Brain. In our next article we continue our discussion of what you can do to preserve save your brain and possibly delay or reverse Alzheimer’s disease.

References

1. DeMarco, B., What is the Difference Between Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease?,” The Alzheimer’s Reading Room, Jan. 24, 2017, http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2014/08/difference-between-alzheimers-and-dem entia.html
2. Alzheimer’s Association, “Know the 10 Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease,” http://www.alz.org/10-signs-symptoms-alzheimers-dementia.asp
3. Clearfield, W., “Patient Mysteries; Can Diabetes Be Reversed?,” Healthy Beginnings Magazine, May 2, 2017;  http://hbmag.com/part-4-patient-mysteries-can-diabetes-reversed/
4. Clearfield, W., “Patient Mysteries; Can Diabetes Be Reversed?,” Healthy Beginnings Magazine, April 4, 2017.  http://hbmag.com/can-diabetes-reversed-mini-fast-bone-broth-exercise-diet/
5. Hyman, M., Alzheimer’s=Type 3 Diabetes, drhyman.com/blog/2016/02/12/why-alzheimers-is-now-considered-type-3-diabetes

For more information, call us at the Clearfield Medical Group at 775-359-1222 or visit www.DrClearfield.net.