The End is Near!!
Hear Ye Hear Ye!!
Pay Attention! This is Important!!!
Alzheimer’s is in my face every day. My nerves get frazzled as I repeat the answer to the same question over and over again. Mom doesn’t remember that she asked the question in her last breath. She doesn’t understand why I get stressed out. Why I need space. Why I close my door and seek solitude.
It’s not because she’s bugging me, or the constant repetition, or the fact that we never got along when I was a teenager. (We’re so different.) No… that’s not it. It’s something else… it’s the fact that I’m looking at her and see me in the future… see where I’m going… and it tears me apart.
You’ve probably said it yourself, “I’m having a Senior moment” when you can’t remember something. You say you were never good remembering names or faces, or were never good at math. But suddenly you can’t remember 6 x 7, or you try to introduce your sister and you can’t pull up her name. Or you wonder who that woman was whom you just spoke with who was so friendly and you can’t imagine why then later you realize she’s the woman you spent an hour talking to at the last parent’s social… you just forgot… OUCH.
Me and Mom. Thanks Pamela for the great shot!
The fear of Alzheimer’s haunts me, wakes me up at night, follows me around when I try to remember my grocery list. Ronald Reagan, Robin Williams, Iris Murdock, Charles Bronson, Jimmy Stewart, David Cassidy (my 8th-grade crush), …So many people… Everyone knows someone who’s died of Alzheimer’s.
Frightening.
The diagnosis was the kiss of death. No cure, only slowing down the process of decline.
But TODAY there is HOPE. The End of Alzheimer’s, by Dr. Dale E. Bredesen, has just been published. I got my copy while the ink was still drying.
And the news is good. The program is doable. There’s suddenly hope. Bredesen has seen over 200 people not only stop the process of decline but actually come back.
My favorite quote in the book is the opening quote from R. Buckminster Fuller:
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
That is what Bredesen has done. All the other Alzheimer’s research was searching for the silver bullet that would cure the disease. Bredesen says this disease is like having a roof with 36 holes in it. One little pill is not going to fix it. You can fill one hole or two maybe, but that still leaves all the others.
Bredesen explained that the problem is “Alzheimer’s” comes in three types, creatively named type 1, 2 and 3. It’s brought on by inflammation, or low levels of specific nutrients, or from toxic exposure. Since they are brought on differently, they need to be treated differently. He recommends people get a “cognoscopy” after age 45. This is a full battery of tests for vitamins, fasting glucose, thyroid levels, hormone levels, toxins, and more. Everyone’s results are personal to them and need to be evaluated by a professional, but Bredesen provides ranges in the book so you can be prepared to help analyze the results. (Knowledge is power.) The problem is regular doctors say, “your results are in the range of acceptable”, but that is not necessarily acceptable for you. If you have leaky gut or reflux, or sleep apnea, all these bring on other issues and need to be weighed and considered.
Overall Bredesen emphasizes what you already know: DESS. DIET-EXERCISE-SLEEP-STRESS. The Big Four factors you all need to pay attention to. He recommends a low glycemic diet (hello Mediterranean diet), cardio and strength training exercise for at least 45-60 minutes 4-5 times a week, at least 8 hours of sound sleep (a night, not the total for the week…), and stress reduction-à la meditation and yoga. It’s essential to keep your brain working and he recommends specific training. He emphasizes the need to conquer inflammation, leaky gut, hormone balancing, toxin elimination. His program is called ReCODE because you are recoding your brain cells.
Prior to this, once you received the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, it was a one-way ticket into the fog. What was interesting is his report of people who had lost functioning and came back. They could report how it felt and it was extreme brain fog.
The big message from me here today is for you to take control over your health because ain’t nobody else gonna care like you care. You don’t want a one-way ticket issued by the grim reaper. Get the book, understand what is going on, talk to a functional medicine specialist, get the tests, and overall: TAKE ACTION TODAY!!!!
I look at this EVERY DAY and it’s not pleasant. I’ve seen friends suffering the same way for YEARS. Locking away those who suffer with this miserable disease is not an answer (unless they are becoming violent, which does happen). Out of sight is NOT out of mind. Since there is positive news, TAKE ACTION.
One of the big issues Bredeson noted in the toxins chapter are those silver fillings…. Mom is off to the dentist to get those replaced ASAP. I had mine replaced and I hated it… It took months to feel normal again (actually, I wanted my teeth not to feel… I mean who goes around thinking about their teeth all the time unless it’s a cavity?… or new fillings… arg.)
The book is not beach reading, but beach season is over anyway. It does get a bit technical when he goes into the science of it all, but Bredesen has a funny sense of humor which helps with the denser parts of the book.
If you haven’t noticed by now, I am VERY excited about this ray of sunshine in what was darkness.
Here is the link to Amazon if you want to check it out. https://smile.amazon.com/End-Alzheimers-Program-Prevent-Cognitive/dp/0735216207/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503897475&sr=8-1&keywords=the+end+of+alzheimer%27s
Remember, have a great week!!