Perhaps the attempt to eliminate the amyloid plaque by medication is not the answer it was hoped to be.
There is a growing body of evidence that by using an alternative fuel source for the brain, this disease can be stabilized if not reversed. And a theory that the beta-amyloid plaque and neuron-strangling tangles present in those with Alzheimer’s disease may actually be a protective response from three metabolic and toxic threats, which also comes with a successful solution.
The primary fuel source for the brain is glucose for those following the Standard American Diet (SAD). Foods high in refined carbohydrates, added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and additives can drive insulin levels to a point where the body can no longer regulate them, causing insulin resistance. These packaged foods are also low in nutrients and fiber and contribute to increased inflammation in the body. There are two things wrong with this inflamed state. The body never has a chance to come back to a normal state of function because it is too busy putting out fires and it is not getting the nutrients it needs to function. This is how Diabetes Type II & III can develop as well as other chronic disease.
The other concern is that our bodies were designed to alternate between glucose and ketone fuels and when we are constantly fueling with one source for years and years, it is difficult to reduce the carbohydrate intake enough to activate the ketones into becoming the primary fuel. In this modern age of living, most of us have more than enough food to eat and do not go through stages of starvation unless we fast intentionally for religious practice or health reasons. Back in the Hunter & Gatherer days the human body naturally had periods of feasting and famine. When there was food to eat the body had glucose as a fuel and when there was no food the body switched to ketones for its primary fuel. Our bodies were designed to function this way, but modern society with abundance of food, the new low fat, high carb diet and the poorly designed Food Pyramid began the cascade of increase in chronic disease, especially Diabetes, Cancer & Alzheimer’s.
Ketosis
There are two ways to get your body in a state of ketosis; by intentionally cutting your carbohydrate intake to less than 40 grams a day for most or by doing a water fast. You can also consume coconut oil, MCT (medium chain triglyceride) oil or ketone esters to produce ketones. By cutting out most of the carbohydrates and sugars and increasing your “good” fats, your body will start producing and using ketones as its primary fuel source.
This is a difficult adjustment for most people. We are just so used to eating bread, chips, rice and pasta. These are our go to easy, quick meals. When I tried this 7 years ago after eating a high carb, low fat diet for 50 plus years, it took me three attempts to get into ketosis. It is not easy! Once I lost the weight and got my cholesterol levels down, I started ketosis cycling, which consisted of 5 low carb and 2 higher carb days. I maintained my weight and health this way for many years.
I followed Dr. Joseph Mercola’s Mitochondrial Metabolic Therapy (MMT) from his book,” Fat for Fuel”, which focuses on optimizing cellular health with whole food sources. It focused on keeping insulin and leptin receptors from becoming resistant, but also on limiting protein intake in order not to activate the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) pathway. He theorized from his studies that most chronic disease develops from defective metabolic processes in the mitochondria, which is due to insulin and leptin receptor resistance from too many carbs and activation of the mTOR pathway from too much protein. If the mTOR pathway is stimulated from too much protein, it prevents the all-important job of cellular and DNA cleanup, which can lead to disease. You can purchase his book or find him on substack here:
Hope for Healing
There are two books on the subject of Alzheimer’s that have fascinated me. The first one is written by a pediatric neonatologist, Mary Newport, M.D. She helped to improve her husband, Steve’s quality of life and give them more good years together after he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 51.
With Mary’s medical background, she immediately began looking for solutions to help her husband. She tried the Mediterranean diet which was a good step away from their usual fast food and frozen dinners, because she had heard that Alzheimer victims lived an average of four years longer eating this diet of abundant, colorful veggies, lean protein, nuts, avocados, olives and olive oil. It didn’t help Steve, but Mary lost a lot of weight, reversed her pre-diabetic condition and learned about nutrition’s positive effects on health that she had not been taught in medical school.
Mary searched for clinical trials to enroll Steve in, hoping they could cure his disease with one of the drugs coming out to target the removal of the beta-amyloid plaques that are present in the brains of these patients. Unfortunately, he didn’t qualify for most since he was suffering from depression also. During her research, she came across a press release about three promising treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Two of those treatments involved the alternative fuel of ketones for the brain that could no longer up take glucose. One was a patent-pending drug, Ketasyn (20 grams/4 teaspoons of MCT oil), and the other was using MCT oil. Mary was familiar with MCT oil being used for premature newborns to help them grow faster. MCT oil is extracted from coconut oil and palm kernel oil. MCT oil is added to premature baby formula to mimic the 10 to 17 percent medium-chain triglycerides in human breast milk.
Mary started her husband right away on coconut oil, noting that it is very important to use non-hydrogenated coconut oil, which does not produce the Trans fats and to increase dosage slowly to prevent stomach upset. Within a short period of time, she started seeing improvements in many areas of his cognition. They continued this protocol and saw improvement in areas of conversation, completing tasks, and enhanced mood as his brain was getting this alternative fuel!
One of the most amazing early successes with the addition of the coconut oil came with the improvement of Steve’s ability to draw a clock. This is the caption on a photo showing his improved artwork in an article in the St. Pete Times: “After two weeks of taking coconut oil, Steve Newport’s results in an early onset Alzheimer’s test gradually improved says his wife, Dr. Mary Newport. Before treatment, Steve could barely remember how to draw a clock. Two weeks after adding coconut oil to his diet, his drawing improved. After 37 days, Steve’s drawing gained even more clarity. The oil seemed to “lift the fog,” his wife says” Click on the link to see the full story: Doctor says an oil lessened Alzheimer’s effects on her husband (coconutketones.com)
You can read the fabulous overview of the whole healing journey along with specific instructions here:
A good place to start is with Mary’s case study written on July 22, 2008
Steve finally qualified for one clinical trial and actually started declining in his cognitive abilities. Most of the Alzheimer’s medications are targeted to slow or reduce the plaque buildup in the brain instead of giving an alternate fuel source that can be used to help the brain function like MCT oil.
Sadly, Mary was so excited to share this wonderful information with major news outlets, the Alzheimer’s Association, and politicians and she got no response. She even booked a table in the exhibit hall at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference hoping to distribute her article called, “What if There Was a Cure for Alzheimer’s and No One Knew”. Three days before the conference, Mary received an email that she could not have the table even though she had already paid for it and she was not allowed to pass out any of her articles if she did come to the conference.
Considering the fact that 15,000,000 people in the United States will have Alzheimer’s Disease by the year 2050 and the process of the plaque buildup and tangles developing in the brain starts 15-20 years before the symptoms appear, you may want to share this information with your loved ones already afflicted by this disease, but take the steps needed for prevention for yourself immediately. A good resource is Mary’s newest book available for presale purchase coming in November, Clearly Keto: Mary Newport MD Bio and Books | Coconut Ketones
Beta-amyloid Plaque as a Protective Response
Dale Bredesen wrote a book in 2017 entitled, “The End of Alzheimer’s”. The generally accepted dogma is that amyloid plaque present in the brain is a result of having AD. Dr. Bredesen argues that this is actually a protective response to three different processes: inflammation, suboptimal levels of nutrients and toxic exposures. He has developed an individualized treatment plan called ReCODE that has successfully treated over 200 cases of AD! There have only been a handful of pharmaceuticals approved for treatment of AD and they may help lessen symptoms, but only for a short amount of time. Maybe this is because these drugs are focusing on removing the plaque instead of finding what is causing the plaque to form in the first place.
What causes the protective plaque to form and how do you avoid it from forming in the first place?
- Inflammation from infection, diet, or other cause
- Decline and shortage of supportive nutrients, hormones, and other brain- supporting molecules
- Toxic substances such as metals or biotoxins
Similar to what Dr. Mary Newport discovered with her husband, adapting a healthier, whole-foods nutrition approach, producing ketones as alternative fuel through a lower carbohydrate eating lifestyle and adding coconut and/or MCT oil, Dr. Bredesen does this as well as identifies the root of the triggers through individual testing. Through the testing of 36 different markers, the deficiencies, imbalances and toxins can be identified.
His program identifies the cause and then an individualized correction plan is implemented. It basically consists of the six pillars of health: Whole-food, plant heavy nutrition that is also low in carbohydrates to avoid insulin resistance, good quality 7-8 hours of sleep, stress reduction and management, optimizing hormones and nutrients, reducing and/or eliminating toxins, and regular movement and exercise.
It appears that this is the basis of good health overall, whether we are talking about brain health, cancer, or any other chronic disease. What you feed your body and how you treat it matters.
Drs. Dean & Ayesha Sherzai duplicate these same guidelines in their book, “The Alzheimer’s Solution”. They add the importance of challenging yourself to learn new things and creating joyful social interactions to the importance of good nutrition, sleep and stress reduction.
One of the best practices that helps me to reduce stress is to give my problems and concerns to God. Having a personal relationship with Jesus is paramount to stress relief for me. I know that God is in control and He will never leave me or forsake me. Wow! That is powerful assurance! I also know that He will not give me anything that I can’t handle and that any hardship I endure is for good. I may not understand the good at the time, but I have learned through experience, that sometimes I find out later why it was good. If you haven’t committed your life to Jesus, I urge you to today. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”.
If you are not following the six pillars of health listed above, get started today. You don’t have to implement all of them at once, just start with one at a time. If you want to avoid chronic disease of all kinds or reverse the ones you already have, this is a universal plan of healing them all. If you need help getting started on the right path, see my previous post:
Grace, Peace & Good Health,
Kathie
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