The Truth About Alzheimer's Disease

[Tania Chin]

Excerpt of Article The Truth About Alzheimer's Disease
Source: November 2008 VitaJournal Pg 22

The devastation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects millions of families throughout North America. Unfortunately, you'll find a certain amount of misinformation about this horrific epidemic on TV, the Internet, newspapers and magazines. By having the facts you can better protect yourself against the onset of Alzheimer's or help your loved ones who are already suffering from the disease.

Myth: We see more people with Alzheimer's disease because of media attention

Truth: The number of people with AD is increasing every year and the percentage of people with AD in North America is increasing, though the lifespan is getting shorter.

The number of people with Alzheimer's disease is increasing at an alarming rate. There is no cure. Currently, over 500 clinical trials are being conducted just to find a way to slow down the runaway epidemic of AD. But trying to reverse the damage of AD once the disease has progressed is like trying to hold back the tide with your bare hands: there is little hope of success. Prevention and slowing the progress of AD are the only hopes we currently have.

Myth: Alzheimer's disease is genetic; there is nothing we can do about it.

Truth: AD is the accumulation of many years of damage to your brain, causing plaque to build up and nerves to tangle. There are prevention strategies that work to help reduce the damage to our brain and to reduce the chances of AD. The chances of being diagnosed with AD increase as we age. AD affects about half of people age 85 and older. A gene defect that predisposes a person to AD is called the MTHFR defect. It is common in about 40% of people. This gene pumps out HCY in very high amounts. What is the solution for elevated HCY? Foods and food supplements rich in B vitamins. While there are definite genetic markers to help us determine our AD risk, there are also proven strategies to help us protect against the damage that may lead to AD. Reduce your risk by reducing toxic, inflammatory, brain-destroying levels of homocysteine.

Myth: Only drugs are powerful enough to stop Alzheimer's disease

Truth: AD prevention depends to a large extent on the choices we make every day. According to the National Institutes of Health, the majority of AD prevention strategies rest in our own hands. And, while experimental drugs and vaccines offer some hope of prevention, proven strategies exist that you can use today.

For the complete article see TriVita's VitaJournal Pg 22.

[Tania Chin]

The way I understand it homocysteine is a chemical reaction, a building block of sorts of protein/amino acids and is produced by the body. There isn't one food or types of food to stay away from. Based on your diet and genetics you may want to find out from your doctor just how much your body is producing this normal temporary and chemically reactive reaction product that can be measured in your blood.

Although my topic here was Alzheimer's disease, elevated HCY levels also contribute to other debilitating conditions such as strokes, heart attack, diabetes and others. See my blog on "Are You At Risk? What’s Your Homocysteine Level?" for more information.

Like cholesterol, homocysteine is needed by the body to function properly but the problem arises when the body is producing too much of it. There is no home test you can do and you cannot feel dangerous elevated HCY levels. You will know when you have a heart attack or stroke and they are running all the tests in the hospital to find out what caused your attack (that is if you survive it).

Your best guard is to know before hand what your body is producing, protect your self now by eating more fruits and vegetables (especially leafy green vegetables) can help lower your homocysteine level by increasing how much folate you get in your diet. And if that is not enough you may also need to take a vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12 supplement. There is also a HCY Guard dietary supplement available from TriVita for this purpose.

For TriVita's HCY Guard click here.

I hope you will find this response useful.

Tania

[Marianne Bilello]

Hi Tania,

This is a very interesting article. I have a question and I hope you can answer. Can you tell us which foods are high in this chemical HCY, homocysteine? It would be good to know in order to avoid it.

Thanks,
Marianne