Key Dietary Considerations for Alzheimer’s Prevention

Getting back to where we started, research25 from the Mayo Clinic has revealed that diets rich in carbohydrates are associated with an 89 percent increased risk for dementia while high-fat diets are associated with a 44 percent reduced risk. This combination of very little sugar and carbs, along with higher amounts of healthy fat is essential not only to address Alzheimer's, but diabetes and heart disease as well, since all of these conditions are rooted in insulin and leptinresistance.

Understanding this can make your life a whole lot easier. You don't need to memorize the dos and don'ts for each and every disease you seek to avoid; all you need to do is shift over to a mindset that is focused on optimizing health. Disease prevention then becomes a beneficial "side effect." My optimized nutrition plan can set you on the right path in this regard. In summary, the following four dietary instructions are key for staving off Alzheimer’s:

• Eat REAL FOOD, ideally organic. Avoid processed foods of all kinds, as they contain a number of ingredients harmful to your brain, including refined sugar, processed fructose, grains (particularly gluten), genetically engineered (GE) ingredients, and pesticides like glyphosate (an herbicide thought to be worse than DDT, and DDT has already been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s).

Ideally, you’ll want to keep your added sugar levels to a minimum and your total fructose below 25 grams per day, or as low as 15 grams per day if you already have insulin/leptin resistance or any related disorders. Opting for organic produce will help you avoid synthetic pesticides and herbicides.

It’s even more important to choose organic grass-fed meats and animal products, as animals raised in confined animal operations (CAFOs) are routinely fed GE grains contaminated with pesticides, along with a variety of drugs. Some researchers have even suggested Alzheimer’s may be a slow-acting form of mad cow disease, acquired by eating contaminated meats; and mad cow disease originated in the CAFO system, which forces herbivores to eat animal parts...

• Replace refined carbohydrates with healthy fats. Your brain does not need carbs and sugars; healthy fats such as saturated animal fats and animal-based omega-3 are FAR more critical for optimal brain function. Healthy fats to add to your diet include:

Avocados	Butter made from raw, grass-fed organic milk	Raw dairy	Organic pastured egg yolks
Coconuts and coconut oil (coconut oil actually shows promise as an effective Alzheimer's treatment in and of itself)	Unheated organic nut oils	Raw nuts, such as pecans and macadamia, which are low in protein and high in healthy fats	Grass-fed meats or pasture raised poultry

Avoid all trans fats or hydrogenated fats that have been modified in such a way to extend their longevity on the grocery store shelf. This includes margarine, vegetable oils, and various butter-like spreads.

Avoid gluten and casein (primarily wheat and pasteurized dairy, but not dairy fat, such as butter). Research shows that your blood-brain barrier is negatively affected by gluten. Gluten also makes your gut more permeable, which allows proteins to get into your bloodstream where they sensitize your immune system and promote inflammation and autoimmunity, both of which play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s.

Optimize your gut flora by avoiding processed foods (sugar, GE ingredients, pesticides, and various food additives all discourage healthy bacteria in your gut), antibiotics and antibacterial products, fluoridated and chlorinated water, and by regularly eating traditionally fermented and cultured foods, along with a high-quality probiotic if needed. Dr. David Perlmutter explores the compelling connection between the microbiome and brain health in his book, Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life, connecting it to a number of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's.

Other Alzheimer’s Prevention Strategies

Besides the key dietary instructions just mentioned, along with getting regular exercise and enough restorative sleep, the following suggestions may also be helpful for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease:

1. Intermittently fast	Ketones are mobilized when you replace carbs with coconut oil and other healthy fats. Intermittent fasting is a powerful tool to jumpstart your body into remembering how to burn fat and repair the insulin/leptin resistance that is a primary contributing factor for Alzheimer’s.
2. Improve your magnesium levels	Preliminary research strongly suggests a decrease in Alzheimer symptoms with increased levels ofmagnesium in the brain. Unfortunately most magnesium supplements do not pass the blood brain levels, but a new one, magnesium threonate, appears to and holds some promise for the future for treating this condition and may be superior to other forms.
3. Eat a nutritious diet rich in folate	Vegetables, without question, are your best form of folate, and we should all eat plenty of fresh raw veggies every day. Avoid supplements like folic acid, which is the inferior synthetic version of folate.
4. Optimize your vitamin D levels with sensible sun exposure	Sufficient vitamin D is imperative for proper functioning of your immune system to combat inflammation that is also associated with Alzheimer's. If you are unable, for whatever reason, to get enough sensible sun exposure, make sure to take daily supplemental vitamin D to make your blood level at least 40 to 50 ng/ml. This is typically about 8,000 units of vitamin D for most adults.
5. Avoid and eliminate mercury from your body	Dental amalgam fillings, which are 50 percent mercury by weight, are one of the major sources of heavy metal toxicity, however you should be healthy prior to having them removed. Once you have adjusted to following the diet described in my optimized nutrition plan, you can follow the mercury detox protocol and then find a biological dentist to have your amalgams removed.
6. Avoid and eliminate aluminum from your body	Sources of aluminum include antiperspirants, non-stick cookware, vaccine adjuvants, etc. For tips on how to detox aluminum, please see my article, “First Case Study to Show Direct Link between Alzheimer’s and Aluminum Toxicity.” There is some suggestion that certain mineral waters high in silicic acid may help your body eliminate aluminum.
7. Avoid flu vaccinations	Most flu vaccines contain both mercury and aluminum.
8. Avoid statins and anticholinergic drugs	Drugs that block acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter, have been shown to increase your risk of dementia. These drugs include certain nighttime pain relievers, antihistamines, sleep aids, certain antidepressants, medications to control incontinence, and certain narcotic pain relievers. Statin drugs are particularly problematic because they suppress the synthesis of cholesterol, deplete your brain of coenzyme Q10, vitamin K2, and neurotransmitter precursors, and prevent adequate delivery of essential fatty acids and fat-soluble antioxidants to your brain by inhibiting the production of the indispensable carrier biomolecule known as low-density lipoprotein.
9. Challenge your mind daily	Mental stimulation, especially learning something new, such as learning to play an instrument or a new language, is associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's. Researchers suspect that mental challenge helps to build up your brain, making it less susceptible to the lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease.