Car Talk and Alzheimer's

I have been listening to Car Talk, a radio program about (and I use the term "about" loosely) cars hosted by the Magliozzi brothers, on NPR for over a decade now (the show has been a compilation of previous shows, not live, for a few years though).  I am not a huge car guy and couldn't really hold a conversation for more than a minute or two on cars if my life depended on it, but Tom and Ray kept the program entertaining and infectious.  Just last week (on the podcast) Tom and Ray expounded on the phenomenon of high velocity nose picking (nose picking while driving) in a way that cloaked the tastelessness of the subject in pure entertainment.   

Yesterday, Tom Magliozzi, died due to complications of Alzheimer's.  To read the NPR story on his passing, click here.  Although my only connection to Tom was through Car Talk (and the one time I had my car serviced at his mechanic shop), I was saddened to hear of his passing but was also surprised because I did not know he had Alzheimer's.

I am not intimately familiar with Alzheimer's Disease.  No one in my family has had it nor any of my friends.  What I do know is that Alzheimer's is a neuro-degenerative disease without a known cause and without any significant treatment.  Some of the symptoms include (1) memory loss and or the increased need for memory aids, (2) challenges in planning or solving problems, (3) difficulty completing familiar tasks, (4) confusing time or place, (5) difficulty with spatial relationships, (6) new problems with words in speaking or writing, (7) misplacing things and loosing the ability to retrace steps, (8) decreased or poor judgement, (9) withdrawal from work or social activities, and (10) changes in mood.  I cannot help but look at this list of symptoms and identify with at least five (possibly six) just before I began to experiment with alternative medicine.  Click here to read my posts on symptoms, especially the post on Brain Fog.  

Based on my own experiences and other research that I have delved into, I am optimistic that a number of theories and alternative therapies may have some bearing on neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, including but not limited to diet, supplementation, exercise, and acupuncture.  I have suggested some of these therapies to friends with loved ones with Alzheimer's - but as experience bears alternative medicine (even as a complement to western medicine) is a difficult sell.  I, in no way, am saying that there is a proven alternative method to cure Alzheimer's or other neuro-degenerative diseases.  However, the alternative therapies listed above have little if any downside (check with your doctor for any contraindications); and, if I and the other alternative medicine advocates are right, they have tremendous upside.  If you or a loved one is suffering from a neuro-degenerative disease and have questions on plausible alternative therapies, feel free to get in touch with me. 

RESOURCES

To read more on Alzheimer's Disease click here to be taken to the Alzheimer's Association's Website.

To read more from Dr. Perlmutter, a board certified neurologist, on Alzheimer's Disease, please read his book Grain Brain.

 

The Goods (Recommendation) - Grain Brain

Late one night a few months ago, as I flipped through the TV channels, I stopped at the KPBS station (San Diego's PBS affiliate) to watch a show about diet and neurological health.  The speaker was Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist, who advocated a new and revolutionary approach to neurological disease (including but not limited to Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ALS, and Autism).  His approach, which is not mainstream but is backed by a number of scientific studies, largely focuses on diet as a means to prevent, slow down, and/or treat these neurological diseases.

Intrigued, I bought Dr. Perlmutter's book, Grain Brain.  In Grain Brain, Dr. Perlmutter discusses leading theories on the causes of many neurological diseases (primarily gluten and carbohydrate related) and scientific studies on several non-mainstream therapies for these diseases.  The conclusions are simple - stop eating gluten and refined carbohydrates and start eating brain foods.

Interested to find out if Dr. Perlmutter's recommendations could help with my issues (though they were never medically identified as neurological), I experimented with most of his recommendations with noticeable success.  Most of these experiments are already or will be discussed herein at some point, so stay tuned.  But in the meantime, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Grain Brain.