Growing up my father used to always say, Prevention is better than cure. Isn’t the ultimate cure a way to prevent disease from developing or advancing? Fortunately, we are expanding how we conduct and critically evaluate research. There is more focus on prevention and long-term management of illness so that we can find more effective treatments. This approach allows us to make choices on how we live and play an active part in our health outcomes. 

In this post, we will explore current research on Alzheimer’s. Existing treatments for Alzheimer’s focus on symptom management and they provide little benefit to the 6.5 million people affected by the disease. Symptoms generally start after age 60, but the disease actually starts developing a decade before that. New research by Dr. Richard Johnson proposes a hypothesis that allows us to potentially prevent and treat the disease more effectively, especially in its early stages. 

Obesity and diabetes are known risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s and there is a strong correlation (not causation) between fructose (sugar) and obesity, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. Dr. Johnson’s abstract and research summary suggest that high levels of fructose could cause degeneration of brain regions that are associated with cognitive decline related to Alzheimer’s. 

Think about your teeth: When you eat a lot of sugar, plaque builds up and deteriorates the physical enamel and functionality of your teeth. This is similar to the process that happens in your brain when too much fructose is present.

Although health education is valuable, therapeutics and medications are necessary to manage various stages of illness. Current Alzheimer’s drugs take a reactive approach, which focuses on removing plaques that have already accumulated in the brain to help alleviate symptoms or slow progression. With this new research, we have the potential to create drugs that interfere with fructose metabolism proactively. The benefits would be lower cost and higher effectiveness as compared to current treatments. 

The goal here is to minimize consumption of sugars, salt and high glycemic carbohydrates. Eliminating these foods may not be realistic financially or if you have a busy lifestyle. You can slowly substitute healthier alternatives or support your diet with foods that neutralize the effects of processed foods, when you do eat them. 

Go at your pace and create one goal out of these recommendations and try it for 14 days:

• Choose low glycemic carbohydrates over those with a high glycemic index – most fruits and vegetables, minimally processed grains and pasta, low-fat dairy foods and nuts. Maybe start by giving up white potatoes or store-bought bread only, and see how you feel. 
• Exercise allows more freedom in your diet. Each decade, you lose 8% of muscle mass. You can counteract this with strength training (start light), which improves your ability to store and use energy so that extra glucose isn’t free floating in your body.
• Take at least 500-1000mg vitamin C daily to reduce oxidative stress and increase energy.
• Don’t listen to the hype about foods that are labeled “bad” and “good” because the studies behind them don’t always account for aspects such as the sourcing of certain products and population characteristics (organic vs. non, health conditions of sample population). Pay more attention to labels, portion size and credibility of the person or company providing the information.
• Double hydrate in the morning – drink a full glass of water before your morning coffee and one full glass with it. As a bonus, drink a full glass before each meal or snack throughout the day to neutralize the effects of any high sodium meal (if something tastes good, it qualifies as a high sodium meal these days).

Which goal will you choose first? We can help!