Exercise and Diet Weigh in on Alzheimer's

I think it's important at this time for the fat man stay on task. One of the things that is always interested me are the big battles that we face with our common enemies that take our life. With today's topic I do like learning new things. Sometimes our hopes can be dashed. It is good to see what we have learned even in failure to move ahead. 

I have often reported that our biggest enemies are Cardiovascular diseases that include both a heart and the brain, cancer, and diabetes. At number six affecting more than five and a half million Americans is Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. There was an article in the Chicago Tribune today, Alzheimer's Cure Elusive by Melissa Bailey.

Setbacks in clinical trials of medicines developed have producing 99% failure rate. This hasn't been because of lack of money or energy to who try to find treatments for those who are suffering. It is believed that will take many different angles to treat the disease, At least that is the hope moving forward. 

From what I've been able to read there is no cure for any of these diseases. There is hope to slow down or put into a state of remission our problems with the heart, arteries, cancer and diabetes. 

With dementia, lifestyle changes have helped to slow down the disease with some people, but finding drugs to help has proven to be a little more difficult. Since Alzheimer's was identified at the turn of the 20th Century we have been able to discover some of the physical changes that occur in the brain with that disease. 

In an interview with Rudolph Tanzi he states, “In Alzheimer’s disease, there are three pillars of pathology. There’s the plaque, the tangles, and inflammation.” 

Under the microscope

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE 

His explanation talks of inflammation being the fuel that increases the genetic possibilities for plaque and tangles which destroys cells in the brain. We have not been able to find medicines to help with these conditions, so for now making good lifestyle changes give us our best hope of dealing with this. 

• Eliminating junk food and processed food will help with inflammation and whenever we are genetically with dementia, This will give us our best outcome. 
• Exercise he says, “You induce the production of enzymes in the brain that clear is the amyloid, that eat it up - enzymes and actually attacked and chew up the amyloid…
• Also during exercise you make new nerve cells - a process called neurogenesis - in the hippocampus, the area affected by the Alzheimer’s.” Exercise is in and of itself anti-inflammatory. 

Tanzi also recommends a diet rich in fruits and vegetables which is anti-inflammatory. 

My take on all this is that in my lifetime we will have to go through 50% of us been affected by dementia by the time we're our 80s. We are unraveling ways too cope a little better but I think we need to spend some time learning what to expect and how to care for those that go through this. Lifestyle right now gives us our best numbers. Choosing to get active and eat well can make a big difference in all these aging diseases. Family caregivers have a need to get inform and support. 

Despite our investment, medical science has its limits. That's sort of sucks but combating disease has never been easy. Keep up the fight, and walk.