Some Natural Solutions to Keep Your Brain From Baking

 

Published July 24, 2004 in the North Island Weekender

 

The health of the brain is one of my patients’ biggest concerns. They don’t seem to mind the thought of having heart disease or diabetes. Perhaps in their mind they understand that prescription drugs can “fix” those ailments. With Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) or Dementia there are no fixes and people don’t want to lose their minds!

When Linda, age 46, wanted help with her memory it was for short-term memory and her ability to function at work. She was postmenopausal and often the “mental pause” of menopause does pass but in her case she wanted more help. I prescribed for her a formula that is known to act as an anti-inflammatory to the brain, increase circulation of blood to the brain and act as key nutrients for the mitochondria of the cell, which are the key energy sources for all cells in the body. Mitochondrial dysfunction is the basis for many neurological diseases and syndromes including chronic fatigue and Parkinson’s Disease. They are much more susceptible to oxidative damage than any other part of the cell and inflammation causes oxidative damage.

 After taking one per day for only a matter of days Linda noticed significant improvement in recall for addresses and phone numbers, an integral part of her job. She was thrilled and found that 2-3 per day worked even better.

How can your brain health be measured? The simplest test is homocysteine, a protein found in the blood that, if elevated indicates a deficiency of B12, B6 and folic acid. AD is associated with high levels of homocysteine, with a level of 14 doubling your chances of developing AD. According to Dr. Mark Houston M.D. Cardiologist, optimal levels of homocysteine are 5-6. Another test is C Reactive Protein which measures a level of inflammation in the body. Inflammation is cause for many chronic diseases of aging including heart disease, diabetes, and AD. Levels should be below 1.0.

Another test is measuring hemoglobin A1C or glycated hemoglobin. The glycated protein gives a level of sugar your body had been exposed to over the last three months and should be 4.0-5.0. Most patients I measure are well above this indicating a diet too high in sugar or carbohydrate.  Advanced glycosylated end products (AGE) are glycated protein molecules just as glycated hemoglobin is, that accumulate in the body and the body doesn’t know what to do with them. In the case of the diabetic these end products cause damage to the endothelium of any body system leading to the complications of diabetes such as blindness, vascular insufficiency and poor kidney function. The incidence of AD is greatly increased in diabetics as these AGE accumulate in the brain causing a browning of the brain tissues. When you bake a loaf of bread the crust is a glycated protein end product. This same process occurs in the brain triggering an inflammatory cascade. Dr. Perlmutter M.D. author of BrainRecovery.com calls this “the brain on fire”. This inflammation triggers the immune system of the brain to kick in creating reactive microglyia which leads to loss of function of the brain. In other words glucose is toxic to the brain!

The ideal is to prevent neurodegenerative diseases rather than to try and treat them. This is done with lifestyle changes involving avoiding neurotoxins such as sugar, artificial sweeteners and exposure to chemicals such as pesticides all of which damage the mitochondria. Stress will increase cortisol production in the body, this in turn increases sugar production and sugar damages the hippocampus of the brain, the most important part of the brain for short-term memory and emotional responses. To lower inflammation in the brain DHA and EPA omega 3 essential fatty acids are crucial for optimal function and have been proven to be more effective than the omega 3 essential fats obtained from flax oil. N-Acetyl Cysteine is also important for disrupting this inflammation cascade and may be more important than the new drug Namenda which also blocks this pathway, but with more side effects including dizziness, confusion, headache and constipation. The drug used up until now for AD, Aricept, has been shown to have no effect at all, and to cause side effects including dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

Other key brain nutrients include folic acid and B12 which lower homocysteine and improve brain function especially in Dementia.  Acetyl- L-Carnitine increases neurotransmittors in the brain as well as being a key nutrient for the mitochondria. Any brain health formula will also contain anti-oxidants to prevent oxidative damage of the mitochondria. This includes vitamin E, best taken with every meal to quench the anti-oxidants that are generated by eating.

Some key things to look out for in AD is the loss of the sense of taste and smell, the emptiness of your brain when trying to retrieve a memory and family history. If the onset of AD can be postponed for as little as 5 years, people will die of something else.

There is much to do to prevent neurodegeneration rather than waiting to find out when it is too late.

 

Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com