it appears that if you protect your heart in middle age
then you are actually protecting your brain later on in later life
against the development of alzheimers
there is a saying
whats good for your heart is good for the brain
there is an amino acid called homocysteine that is associated with an
increased risk of heart disease and stroke and maybe alzheimers disease
if it is elevated that is
if the level is elevated its easily treated with folic acid and vitamin b12
mine was quite elevated
its now normal using these supplements
like a lot of things in medicine not everyone agrees with homocysteines
relationship to heart disease stroke or alzheimers disease
i personally believe in it
since
if i dont and im wrong then not correcting it can add to my risk level
for alzheimers disease
it seems so easy to fix
so i fixed it
this week i wrote this blog called 23andnotme
about the 23and me company doing these 10 genetic tests
one is for the gene that puts you at risk for
late onset alzheimers disease
the gene the apoe 4 gene
increases your chances of developing
late onset alzheimers disease
by 10-20 times if you get the homozygous apoe 4 apoe 4
by 3-5 times if you get the single apoe 4 gene
whether it does lead you to getting alzheimers disease
is determined
by how well you take care of your health
by environmental factors
by other health issues you may have
some folks with the apoe 4 gene never get alzheimers disease
so i was asked by several folks if they should get tested
i usually say no since if you dont really understand what it means
then you think you got the kiss of death if yours is positive
but
i thought about it some since i was asked
maybe just maybe
if they are positive
that it will scare the beejeevers out of them
to take real good of their health
so the risks from having the gene will be diminished
i must say it worked for me
now dont confuse this with
the dominant gene for early onset alzheimers disease
like the folks on the 60 minute show and the pbs show had
if you get this gene
you are 100% going to get alzheimers disease
at an early age like in your early 50s or younger
this gene represents less than 1% of alzheimers cases
so a recent study looked at risk factors for heart disease
in middle age
obesity lack of exercise high blood pressure high cholesterol
and diabetes
these folks were followed into their elderly years
those folks with these risk factors in middle age
had higher levels of the bad beta amyloid up in their brains
in the elderly years
which is associated with the development of alzheimers disease
so
if you do get tested for the apoe 4 gene
and or
if you are middle age
and
if you
are overweight
and or
lack exercise
and or
have high cholesterol
and or
have high blood pressure
and or have diabetes
thats not well controlled
then you are probably destined to a retirement
that you will not remember
that could be a combo thats almost as bad as having the dominant gene
so my advice to you
if you have a family history of alzheimers disease
if you want to do what you can to not get it
then
in your middle age years
do what i did aggressively at 60 when i was diagnosed
wish i had been this aggressive at 40 or younger
go on a MIND DIET or consider a vegetarian diet
my sister and brother did that and have lost over 50 lbs
and have been able to completely get off all their
blood pressure meds and cholesterol meds
well all their meds
i still have to take mine though
im ok with that
exercise regularly
maintain a normal body weight
maintain
a normal blood pressure
a normal cholesterol
a normal blood pressure
if you dont do all these
then you may be doomed
for those of you who read my blog
who are genetically kin to me
that
is you
yes
i know
new preventions and treatments are coming down the road
but
it may be 15-20 years from now
hopefully my aducanumab stuff will be one of those
as of now
thats what you need to do to slow down the disease process
thats my answer
i give to folks when they say
what i can i do
i will be doing a presentation on
clinical trials in alzheimers disease
at the
5TH ANNUAL ALZHEIMER'S SYMPOSIUM
friday april 28th
at
the mayborn convention center
temple texas
join us
its free
lunch is provided
registration is required
just
click here
the organicgreen doctor
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