As I get older, I am becoming more aware of the health implications of aging, both for myself and my loved ones. My parents have been experiencing memory issues and my mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. The prevailing medical consensus is that Alzheimer's Disease is an uncurable progressive disease. Having started to learn about this afflication, I see that this is the case with the standard of care based on a pharmlogicalical approach. However, there is strong evidence to suggest that Alzheimer's Disease is a metabolic condition and, like Metabolic Syndrome, the root cause is insulin resistance. This means that this disease was caused by diet and lifestyle and can be reversed with changes to diet and lifestyle.
Alzheimer's Disease is now being more commonly referred a Type 3 Diabetes, which is diabetes of the brain. The brain is an energy hog and, although it represents about 2% of the body's mass, it consumes 20% of its energy. Parts of the brain (like the hypocampus and cerebral cortex) are being starved for fuel (glucose) and this causes them to become dormant or possibly die. Reducing the brain's insulin resistance by keeping insulin low and supplying it with ketones from fat metabolism has been shown to be beneficial. Ketones burn cleaner in mitochondria (including neural mitochondria) than glucose and neural mitochondria also become healthier with fat metabolism. See Metabolic Health.
Things that increase neurogenesis
- high omega 3 foods (eg grass-feed beef, wild salmon, etc)
- sustained aerobic exercise, 40+ minutes, interval training not as good
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesperidin , peppermint, citrus fruits
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curcumin
- Protective effects of the flavonoid hesperidin methyl chalcone in inflammation and pain in mice: role of TRPV1, oxidative stress, cytokines and NF-κB
- sleep
- stimulating, loving enviroments > oxytocin
- keep brain active, life-long learning, writing, read about new topics
- SSRI - increase neurogenesis, meditation works better (mindful, devotional)
- intermittent fasting is beneficial
- travelling, explore new places > neural stimulation, life-long learning
DISCLAIMER: My background is engineering and what I have written here is from my personal interest in staying healthy. If you disagree with any of it, let know what you feel is inaccurate and include some references so I can make corrections. This is a work in progress so check back often for updates as I continue to learn. CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE MAKING DIET AND LIFESTYLE CHANGES.
