Here’s how you can protect yourself—naturally
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia continue to baffle big pharma and its mainstream medical minions.
But these terrible diseases wouldn’t be so puzzling if the mainstream would keep up with the science. Because the fact is, convincing research has uncovered numerous factors that increase AD and dementia risk—beyond the plaques and tangles and other “usual suspects” the mainstream continues to cling to. But perhaps even more importantly, science has also revealed a number of natural approaches to prevent and reverse these devastating diseases.
In fact, one new, noteworthy study shows that when it comes to an AD cure, big pharma shouldn’t put its money where its mouth is…so to speak. I’ll explain more in a moment.
Another intriguing new study illustrates the importance of diet and some specific foods for brain health—something I’ve revealed to you before (but that big pharma continues to ignore).
Other new research links hormone replacement drugs with AD. (Which I don’t recommend anyway.)
And finally, there’s more evidence that vitamin D is good for brain function—despite some misleading headlines.
I think the most exciting thing about all of this new research is that you can easily apply the findings to your daily life to lower—or even erase—your risk of AD and dementia.
So without further ado, here’s what you need to know…
Gum health is linked to brain health
It’s already well known that gum disease puts you at risk for other complications. In fact, research has shown that people with gum disease may be two to three times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke.1 But now, a new study links gum disease with AD.2
This groundbreaking study was presented at the American Association of Anatomists’ annual meeting in April. Researchers at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry reported that the bacteria associated with periodontitis—the most serious form of gum disease—may actually find its way from the mouth to the brain.
And once this bacteria is in the brain, researchers presented convincing evidence that it may actually cause AD.
The researchers looked at brain samples from deceased people and found that the periodontitis bacteria was more common in people who had AD at the time of their death.
From there, the researchers did subsequent studies on mice and found that periodontitis bacteria can migrate from the gums to the brain.
In fact, once periodontitis has escalated, all it takes is a simple act like brushing your teeth or chewing your food to release the bacteria into your bloodstream, where it can then cross into your brain.
Of course, big pharma wants to develop an antibiotic to target this bacteria. But, as the researchers pointed out, throwing more antibiotics at the problem can make matters worse by disrupting the normal gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome.
This is key because increasing evidence shows the importance of the gut-brain axis (the signaling that takes place between the GI tract and the central nervous system)—especially for AD and dementia. Not to mention, the oral cavity is the entryway into the GI tract.
So it makes sense that the entire GI tract—including the mouth—is connected to AD and dementia.
And that’s yet another reason why proper oral hygiene is so important—not only for your teeth and gums, but also for your brain and GI tract.
The natural solution: You can substantially reduce your risk of gum disease and keep the growth of oral bacteria under control by brushing and flossing twice a day, and visiting your dentist regularly.
And forget about commercial mouthwashes as they disrupt your normal oral microbiome. If you have irritation of your gums or in the lining of your mouth, rinse daily with either a hydrogen peroxide solution (2:1 water to peroxide) or salt water.
It’s also important to have a healthy, balanced, properly nourished immune system, which helps your body handle the occasional oral bacteria that does get into your blood.
One of the best ways to strengthen your immune system is to avoid inflammatory foods like sugar, white flour, and processed foods.
In other words, stick to a diet that’s rich in nutritious, whole foods such as cheese, eggs, fruit, meat, milk, whole grains, and yogurt—like the Mediterranean-style diet.
A different type of magic mushroom
Speaking of balanced diets, make sure to incorporate mushrooms—nature’s nutritional powerhouses—into your meals to ward off diseases like AD and dementia.
A new study found that older adults who consume just a 1.5 cups of mushrooms per week can reduce their risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by 50 percent.3
MCI is considered a precursor to AD and dementia, which makes this discovery especially striking. People with MCI typically display some form of memory loss, and may also have trouble with attention, language, and visual-spatial abilities.
The study included more than 600 men and women, ages 60 and older. Researchers conducted extensive neuropsychological evaluations and dementia ratings on all study participants from 2011 to 2017.
They discovered that the people who ate 1.5 cups of mushrooms every week slashed their MCI risk in half. Even as little as 3/4 cup of mushrooms per week was protective against MCI.
Researchers think the brain benefits of mushrooms may be due to a “magic bullet” ingredient called ergothioneine (ET). This is based on their prior study that found older adults with MCI had lower blood levels of ET.
But it may be a little early to “phone home” about ET as the “magic mushroom” ingredient. ET is present in a variety of foods—but mushrooms also contain other compounds that promote brain health.
The natural solution: Any type of mushroom is a nutritious, brain-healthy addition to your balanced diet—including oyster, cremini, shitake, portabella, and white button varieties.
It also doesn’t matter how the mushrooms are prepared. In fact, the above study showed you can get brain benefits from raw, cooked, dried, or canned mushrooms.
Cooked mushrooms make a delicious addition to soups and stews, and as a garnish on top of beef. You can also stuff big portabella mushrooms with spinach and cheese and bake them. Or cover them in Bolognese sauce, like Italians do. And of course, sliced, fresh mushrooms make a great addition to any green salad.
Another reason to avoid hormone replacement therapy
For years, mainstream medicine claimed that the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs given to premenopausal and postmenopausal women were supposed to reduce the risk of AD, based on “studies” that weren’t even placebo-controlled.
Thankfully that faulty theory was debunked by the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study in the late 1990s. (I helped initiate the forerunner of this study back in the mid-1980s.)
Instead, researchers actually found that postmenopausal women who took HRT drugs suffered increased risk of impaired cognitive function and, potentially, dementia.
And now, a new Finnish study has found a clear link between postmenopausal HRT use and increased risk of AD.4
Researchers identified nearly 85,000 postmenopausal women who were diagnosed with AD between 1999 and 2013. The majority of these women didn’t use HRT drugs, such as estrogen, progestin, or estradiol. Eighteen percent took some sort of HRT, and 13 percent used topical estradiol.
Researchers found that the women who took an estradiol HRT drug had a 9 percent greater risk of developing AD. Women who took estrogen or progestin HRT had a 17 percent higher risk. And there was no increased risk associated with the use of topical estradiol only.
Overall, researchers estimated that for every 10,000 women between the ages of 70 to 80 who took HRT drugs, nine to 18 would be diagnosed with AD every year.
That doesn’t sound like much, but why take that chance? Especially when there are effective, natural options to ease menopause symptoms—without taking dangerous HRT drugs.
The natural solution: I first discussed this effective, drug-free treatment for hot flashes in my June 2015 issue (“Forget useless bone scans! Two common menopause symptoms signal serious osteoporosis risk”).
Researchers found that postmenopausal women who learned a technique called “applied relaxation” were able to prevent an average of five hot flashes daily.5 Basically, this includes consciously focusing on relaxing your muscles and practicing sustained, deep breathing.
Hot flashes occur when blood suddenly flushes a particular region of the body due to rapid shifts in blood vessel tone—so it makes sense that this technique can help. Plus, research shows that the mind influences blood flow by communicating with the small muscles in arteries and adjusting the blood vessels’ tone, size, and flow.
Learn all of the natural ways to prevent and reverse AD
Four years ago, UCLA researchers found that a dozen natural and nutritional approaches could actually reverse AD in nine out of 10 people. Although 10 cases isn’t a lot, a 90 percent cure rate is a big deal.
As I reported recently in my Daily Dispatch e-letter, that UCLA study has expanded to 100 people around the country. Some of the new cases come from the George Washington University Center for Integrative Medicine in Washington, D.C. (My friend, the founding director of the center, is now retired near our home in Sarasota, Florida, and we keep in touch with the current director for all the “insider” information.)
I’ve learned that it’s difficult to get a spot for yourself, or a loved one, in the George Washington clinical program or the UCLA case studies. And if you do get admitted, it can cost you up to $40,000 per year!
Luckily, you don’t have to go through the trouble—or expense—of trying to claim a spot in these programs. Instead, you can follow my own online learning protocol: The Complete Alzheimer’s Cure.
It goes even further than the UCLA study, showing you how to apply natural medicine’s most cutting-edge treatments for AD and complete brain recovery. Plus, you can follow my protocol from the comfort of your own home—without any inconvenient visits to university clinics.
Simply call 1-866-747-9421 and ask for order code GOV3V700 to enroll today, or simply click here!
Good news for postmenopausal women
I recently came across a significantly flawed study that looked at vitamin D’s cognitive benefits for postmenopausal women. Most vitamin D clinical trials in older women tend to concentrate on bone health, so I was thrilled to finally see research focused on brain health.
The study was performed on postmenopausal women with an average age of 58.6 All study participants were obese (which can interfere with the availability of vitamin D in the body) and had very low vitamin D blood levels.
The women were randomly divided into groups and given either 600, 2,000, or 4,000 IU of vitamin D daily for one year. Then, researchers analyzed the women’s vitamin D levels at the beginning and end of the study, but only administered cognitive function tests at the study’s conclusion. So unfortunately, there was no before-and-after cognitive comparison.
However, the researchers still found cognitive benefits for higher vitamin D consumption. Results showed that the 2,000 IU group performed significantly better in learning and memory tests compared with the 600 IU group.
In addition, all of the groups boosted their vitamin D blood levels. But again, the increase was dose-dependent.
At the start of the study, the women averaged 27 ng/mL in serum vitamin D. At the end of the study, the 600 IU group’s levels increased to 30 ng/mL, the 2,000 IU group rose to 36 ng/mL, and the 4,000 IU group hit 41 ng/mL. But none of the women were able to achieve the optimal 50 to 60 ng/mL levels.
This is likely because the vitamin D doses used in the study were significantly lower than the daily 10,000 IU I recommend—a dose that’s backed by several studies. (For more about D doses, see page 8.) So just imagine what these researchers (and women) could have found with the right, optimal doses!
Sources:
1https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/gum-disease-and-heart-disease-the-common-thread
2Experimental Biology. “Gum bacteria implicated in Alzheimer’s and other diseases: Scientists trace path of bacterial toxins from the mouth to the brain and other tissues.”
3“The Association between Mushroom Consumption and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Singapore.” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 197-203, 2019.
4“Use of postmenopausal hormone therapy and risk of Alzheimer’s disease in Finland: nationwide case-control study.” BMJ 2019;364:1665.
5“Effects of applied relaxation on vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial,” Menopause. 2013; 20(4): 401-408.
6“Three Doses of Vitamin D and Cognitive Outcomes in Older Women: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.” J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2019 Feb 14.