Alzheimer’s Hope Part II

Does this have to be a slow, cruel death sentence or is there a solution?

There seems to be quite a few people who are concerned about developing Alzheimer’s disease and rightfully so! If you have ever witnessed a loved one start down that slippery slope of memory loss and you have seen advanced cases, then you understand that it is a long, slow process to an abysmal ending. Couple that with the fact that this whole process starts in your body 15-20 years before the first symptoms show up and it seems like a hopeless situation.

I received quite a few inquiries requesting more details and specifics on how to get started on Dr. Mary Newport’s coconut/MCT oil regime that she used to help improve her husband’s condition. I also wanted to mention more details about some of Dr. Bredesen’s specific markers that he looks for. I highly recommend you read my first newsletter if you haven’t already. In there I mention these doctor’s books along with a third book and other resources. If you want all of the information, please consider ordering their books or at least look at their websites for more information. I am just providing some highlights from their information so that you know there are some other answers out there that aren’t being discussed as viable options from the Alzheimer’s Association and the allopathic medical field who continue to offer nothing except pharmaceuticals that are not getting results. You need to do the research and find out what makes sense for you.

Is There a Solution For Alzheimer’s?

Where to Start

Dr. Mary Newport suggests starting virgin, non-refined, organic coconut oil at a rate of 1/2 – 1 teaspoons, 2 – 3 times per day. If this is well tolerated without causing stomach upset or diarrhea, increase by the same amount every 2 to 3 days. You can add it to your food, make fat bombs with it for snacks, or add it to your coffee, smoothie or oatmeal in the morning. The goal is to increase ketones in the circulation providing an alternate fuel to brain cells that are not using glucose effectively. The amount you work up to depends on whether you are preventing the disease from developing or if you have beginning symptoms or have been diagnosed officially. Dr. Newport says that most individuals work up to 3 – 6 level Tablespoons per day. Keep in mind that coconut oil contains a lot of calories. That’s great if you need to gain weight, but not if you need to lose weight. Coconut oil has 120 calories per Tablespoon.

There are other ways to get ketones into your circulatory system:

• Ketogenic and low-carb diets
• MCT oil
• Mixture of coconut and MCT oils (prepared at home)
• Commercially prepared, over-the-counter mixture of coconut and MCT oils
• Axona, an FDA-approved prescription medical food
• Ketone Esters
• Ketone Salts

Here is the article Dr. Newport wrote on the pros and cons of coconut oil, MCT oil, or a mixture of both including directions on how to make it yourself with her specially developed ratio of 4:3:

MCT143

You are able to raise ketone levels with the above methods regardless of how many carbohydrates you consume, but if you combine the low-carb diet with your chosen method above you can raise your ketone levels even more. There are other health benefits in choosing a low-carb diet including reversing diabetes, lowering triglyceride levels, and other chronic disease caused by inflammation. Also, going low-carb and consuming coconut oil, MCT oil, or a combination also curbs your appetite nicely as you adjust to that different feeling of “fullness”. It also gives you an even amount of energy all day instead of the ups and downs that the sugar spikes from carbohydrates provides.

If you need help transitioning to a low-carb diet, Dr. Mary Newport has some information in her book and on her website and you can follow my guide here:

How to Transition

Here are some delicious ways to get your daily coconut oil allotment:

Keto Fat Bombs

Here are some equivalents to 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil that Dr. Newport lists in her book:

• Coconut Butter – 1 Tablespoon
• Coconut chips – 1/4 – 1/3 cup
• Coconut flakes or grated, unsweetened – 1/4 – 1/3 cup
• Coconut milk (undiluted) – 4 1/2 Tablespoons

Axona

If you have loved ones who are not on board with anything that their doctors don’t advise and you want to help them improve or reverse their Alzheimer’s condition, you may want to gently suggest that they look into this FDA approved medical food. It will be prescribed and monitored by their personal physician, and it has successful clinical trials. The active ingredient in Axona is caprylic triglyceride, a medium-chain fatty acid usually extracted from coconut or palm kernel oil. Here is the most recent study showing the safety of this medical food listed on the coconutketones website:

Axona Clinical Study

Here is the link to many scientific articles and other important information showing the success of the above-described methods:

Scientific Research

Some of Dr. Dale Bredesen’s Health Markers for Alzheimer’s Disease

As part of Dr. Bredesen’s ReCODE program, which has successfully reversed over 200 cases of Alzheimer’s disease, he recommends the testing of 36 different markers to measure deficiencies, toxins, and imbalances. I wanted to share some of those with you today, which are markers that I have been tracking for general health and prevention of disease, along with some that I feel are important in my future annual blood screenings. If you want the full list of what Dr. Bredesen tests and all of the details of his program, please see his book, “The End of Alzheimer’s”. Below is the list of some of the tests with the optimal levels to achieve.

• HS CRP (High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein) <.9mg/L
• Homocysteine < 7 micromolar
• B6 60-100 mcg/L
• B9 (Folate) 10-25 ng/ml
• B12 500-1500 pg/ml
• Fasting glucose < 90
• Fasting insulin < 4.5
• A1C < 5.6%
• Vitamin D 50-80 ng/ml
• Omega 6:3 ratio .5-3.0
• Cholesterol > 150 (this is not a mistake – yes, greater than 150!)
• HDL >50
• LDL <150
• Waist size < 35 inches for females, < 40 inches for males
• BMI 18-25

Cholesterol Greater than 150 and Why it Matters

Dr. Bredesen explains that low rather than high cholesterol is associated with cognitive decline. Cholesterol is a key part of cell membranes. Since the pharmaceutical companies have developed statins to artificially lower cholesterol levels, the rate of Alzheimer’s has risen dramatically. Not only do statins change your cellular structure, but it can also cause brain shrinkage due to insufficient cholesterol. What we do want to avoid is damaged cholesterol. The total cholesterol number doesn’t matter as significantly as the type of LDL that is present. What you want to measure is the oxidized LDL, small dense LDL, or LDL particle number, along with the degree of inflammation through the hs-CRP test.

Goal: LDL-p (LDL particle number) = 700-1000; OR sdLDL (small dense LDL) < 20 mg/dL or < 20% of LDL; OR oxidized LDL < 60 U/l; total cholesterol > 150.

The Homocysteine and B Vitamin Connection

The normal range on the B12 vitamin test is stated as 200 – 900 picograms per milliliter (pg/ml) on a standard blood test, but often in the notes it will state that levels between 200 – 350 may be related with B12 vitamin deficiency disease such as anemia and dementia! This is why Dr. Bredesen sets his optimal ranges at minimum 500 pg/ml.

I had my B12 levels checked for the first time this year and when I read this, I checked the level again. Mine was low at 417 pg/ml according to Dr. Bredesen’s standards to avoid a risk of developing Alzheimer’s. I will be adjusting that up! I have found that many of the standard ranges are suboptimal and downright dangerous. Many markers that should be a part of the normal blood panel are not even checked. We could catch many diseases in their early stages by checking all of these markers mentioned above and more.

Homocysteine is a marker of inflammation and loss of synapse-supporting factors, which can be increased when nutritional support is suboptimal. Homocysteine comes from eating foods with the amino acid methionine. The conversion requires vitamin B12, B6, folate, and betaine. If these levels are low, your homocysteine will build up, damaging your blood vessels and brain. This is why it is important to have all 3 of the B levels checked.

Dr. Stephanie Seneff’s book, “Toxic Legacy How the Weedkiller Glyphosate is Destroying our Health and the Environment”, makes the connection of vitamin B12 deficiency with dementia as well. She spoke of an emergency room nurse of 27 years, Sally Pacholok, who after years of observation made the connection of vitamin B12 deficiency as an epidemic in the United States due to the broad use of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Round UP), which negatively affects the B12 we get from our food. Simply by treating patients with vitamin B12, she and her colleague, Dr. Jeffrey Stuart were able to reverse dementia in some cases.

Wrap Up & a Message of Hope

It seems overwhelming when we, as mere citizens, must become knowledgeable about medical conditions and read information designed for physicians. If you have awakened like I have to the fact that outside of emergency medicine, our “health care” system is fatally flawed and influenced by Big Pharma and there are very few doctors who have the freedom to explore the cause of disease and find a solution. Most are tethered with large education debt, which taught only pharmaceutical solutions and are beholden to the rules of the hospital or clinic system that they work for as well as the insurance companies who pay their services, which are all run to produce profit not patient wellness and survival through vitamins and nutrition solutions.

There is hope if you take charge of your health, educate yourself, and listen to your instincts. Make better choices everyday toward claiming your health. If you take medication, try to get off of it and find natural solutions to control your cholesterol, high blood pressure or high blood sugar. Eat mostly whole foods (fruits and vegetables), reduce your grains and sugar, drink plenty of water, eat only non-GMO verified and/or organic foods, reduce and/or eliminate meat and dairy, and take your coconut oil.

No time for your health today, will result in no health for your time tomorrow. ~ Irish Proverb.

We live in a fallen world, full of sin, hatred, and injustice. Our world leaders continue to become more corrupt, self-serving, and evil over time. One thing I can be sure of is that God created a body that can heal itself. There are so many examples of this in all of the resources I shared in my first newsletter. Have faith and hope and you will attain grace and peace.

Cancer/Chronic Disease Hope

Grace, Peace & Health,

Kathie