Stave Alzheimers w/Vit-B

(This is welcome news and I want to share some thoughts following the article. . . Jan)

LOS ANGELES TIMES

High doses of B vitamins can reduce brain shrinkage, memory loss, study finds

September 9, 2010|

High doses of B vitamins can reduce shrinkage of the brain that is frequently a precursor of Alzheimer’s disease, British researchers reported Wednesday. In the best circumstances, the supplements reduced shrinkage by as much as 50%, and researchers hope that this may mean that the vitamins can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. A longer trial is now being planned to determine if that is the case. The results are all the more remarkable because of the widely publicized failures of many experimental Alzheimer’s treatments.

Dr. A. David Smith of the University of Oxford and his colleagues studied 168 volunteers with mild cognitive impairment, which is characterized by memory loss, language problems and other mental difficulties beyond those normally associated with aging. It generally does not significantly interfere with daily activities. An estimated 16% of people over the age of 70 have mild cognitive impairment, and about half of those proceed to Alzheimer’s disease.

The rationale for the study was simple:

• High levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood are thought to be linked to the development of Alzheimer’s.
• B vitamins are known to reduce homocysteine levels.

Smith’s group gave half the patients daily doses of a Swedish vitamin called Triobe Plus and half of them a placebo. The product, which is dispensed only by prescription, contains 0.8 milligrams folic acid, 0.5 mg cyanocobalamin and 20 mg pyridoxine hydrochloride. That is about 300 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin B12, four times the recommended dose of folate and 15 times the recommended dose of vitamin B6. “This is a drug, not a vitamin intervention,” said nutritionist Helga Refsum of the University of Oslo, a co-author.

The team also used magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain volume. Normally, the human brain shrinks by about half a percent per year. Smith and his colleagues reported in the online journal PLoS One that the brains of the patients receiving the placebo shrank by an average of about 1.08% per year, while the brains of those receiving the supplement shrank by an average of only 0.76%, a decrease of 30%. But in patients who had the highest levels of homocysteine in their blood at the beginning of the two-year study, the shrinkage was reduced by 53%. Although the study was not designed to monitor mental capacity, the patients receiving the supplements scored better on mental tests, the researchers said.

“This is a very dramatic and striking result. It’s much more than we could have predicted,” Smith said in a statement.

At a news conference, Smith warned consumers against taking the high doses on their own, even though the results were “immensely promising.” But when asked whether he would take it if he were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, he replied: “Yes, no hesitation. I would take it.”

– Thomas H. Maugh II

Los Angeles Times

A Little Background Color

Brought my mother to live with me for the last 18 or so years of her life.  Not in good health, many ills. We did however, have a good life.  Celebrated her birthdays, went out for meals every so often.  Good days.  No regrets.  She had Alzheimers which I later understood was the reason for our having different recall of shared experiences.   It helped me to learn that there was a reason for the arguments we had been having over stupid things.  So I changed my thinking  Still, sometimes stuff wasn’t easy.   I share this with you as a way of telling you, I understand about this curse of this disease.  My brilliant, creative mother changed so much.  I know what Alzheimers does to a person.

In the last two years, I was forced to put her in a home which broke my heart and was one of the hardest things I have ever done. (both in California and Ohio).  I could no longer do all that needed doing as she became more frail.  And I was still working.   She died 15 years ago at 85.

There was a time 7 or 8 years ago that I recognized many of the telltale signs in myself.  It stressed me out.  When I finally realized that I was grieving my own demise before I even died,  I began to get a bit of a grip. I did quite a bit of reading and searching on the subject and to tell the truth, just not a whole lot out there. So  I did what seemed to be logical and made a little sense.

Change of attitude was called for.  Finally learned about Abraham and the Law of Attraction.  Worked for me.  Let’s face it – I really needed to “see” a better path before me.  Looking at fear and loss was not the way to go.   Health had been a major love of mine for more than 40 years, so I wasn’t a total beginner.

I experimented with a few things;  took phosphotydal-serine  for a few years, didn’t really notice much help on that.  Had always taken the B-vitamins -  but changed to a stress formula (per old books of Adele Davis).  Heard about MSM and did like that very much and still use.  I buy it by the large 200 gram container (powder) and take a Vitamin C crystal with it as well.  (mix both in about 4 0z water). .or just put both into a morning shake, kinda ALA David Wolfe with raw cacao nibs, hemp seed,  goji berri sometimes a protein powder, or almond milk if I have made some,  coconut oil,  fresh banana, blue berries and strawberries, maybe a handful of chlorophyll tablets   Whole Foods for some things and online purchases otherwise.

I don’t really like giving up time to exercise – never liked it!  I still walk – just not as far as I used to.  Still use my rebounder. . .(have a stationary bike,  a nice Pilates machine and something called a Health-rider,   I think. (if only I would use it all)

Its important to do whatever you like to do to get centered – go within.  Pray, meditate, write poetry, paint -  have joyful pursuits.  Music, the arts. . .any and all can imbue us with a higher vibration – - which in turn allows our body to heal itself.  But nothing equates to the power of “love”.  And that starts with our own self. We must love ourself deeply and completely – - then we have something to give and share with others.

I am fortunate that my nutrition is pretty good, as organic as I can manage and all made at home by me. I don’t use sugar in the house, but do have honey and stevia for the occasional circumstance. I am a devotee of Dr McDougall, but Dr Loren Cordain has pretty well taken over here by now.  I can’t handle as much lean meat as the Cavemen do,  but I manage pretty well.  Have Salmon quite often, big on vegetables and as almost everyone knows – I eat lots of fermented veggies – my biggest saving grace.  They are so loaded with all the bacteria our body needs and the B-vitamins in quantity not found anywhere else.  Plenty of EFA’a,  Ubiquinol (Co-Q-10).  Don’t take multi vitamins (for years now) or calcium.  Vit D 6K daily.  I spray Magnesium Oil on my torso once or twice daily – just the chest (no breast) and belly, upper arm and thighs.   Lastly, I tap.  If I have pain, I tap.  My feeling get hurt, I tap.

Stuff I’ve Learned that Works and is VERY Relevant

#1 Homocysteine    Loren Cordain “The Paleo Diet”

So many things are wrong in the “health-picture” of modern life.  Alzheimer’s is rampant.  Obesity, heart disease,  diabetes,  hypertension have all become commonplace.    We do not have to accept that one in four of us will have dementia – - this is NOT  a natural development of the aging process.  We can change this picture.  We just have to understand what the culprits are  then we can get home free.

The article speaks of homocysteine as a major culprit – there is too much of it in the blood levels and it is strongly linked with Alzheimer High dosage of B-vitamins will control this condition.  The American diet is really not providing enough of the B-Vitamins to people.    Page 18 of the Paleo Diet speaks of higher lean meat consumption by people demonstrating lower levels of homocysteine, a toxic substance which damages arteries and predisposes to atherosclerosis (than is the case with vegans).  Net result: high protein regimen produces beneficial changes in blood chemistry  that in turn reduce overall risks of heart disease.

Elsewhere it says Lean meats are rich sources of B6 and B12 while fresh fruits and veggies are the best food source for folate. Americans don’t eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables which is why intake of folate is low.

#2 Insulin Resistance  (Dr. Richard Johnson, The SUGAR FIX

Dr. Johnson believes the ideal range for uric acid lies between 3 to 5.5 mg per dl – - above this range your risk of developing health problems correlate quite well.   His thrust in this book is on Fructose and how damaging it is to our systems (especially HFCS).  It raises Uric Acid levels, causes heart disease, thyroid disturbances,  lowers the Omega-3 fats,  contributes to HBP which causes brain atrophy, and raises Homocysteine levels.

In the following statement, Dr. Johnson explains just how closely tied uric acid levels are to fructose consumption:

• “If you give animals fructose, they develop diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and fatty liver. And in most of these conditions, if we lower uric acid, we can prevent many of these conditions, [although] not completely.

So lowering uric acid seems to benefit some of the mechanisms by which fructose causes disease.

• A very important point is that if you take two animals and you feed one fructose and feed the other one the exact same number of calories but give it as dextrose or glucose, its only the fructose-fed animal that will develop obesity, insulin resistance, fatty liver, and high triglycerides, signs of inflammation, vascular disease, and high blood pressure.”

So please be aware, we can change all this.  Our choices are causes and in them we do have power.

Hey, I’m still over here messing around and having a ball.  How many people do you know who are up til all hours (it’s past 4 a.m. now) – so please, no one call me in the morning.. . .I’m out here.   Maybe I am sick and just don’t know it.  .  .  .  Jan

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