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.

 

Dr. Perlmutter on Parkinson's Disease

Researching Dr. Perlmutter's approach to Parkinson's Disease for a friend, I came across a blog post called What I Wish Everyone Knew About Parkinson's Disease by Dr. Perlmutter.  Click here for the blog post.

The Alternative Road - Diet

One of the major elements that has helped to manage my chronic illness is diet.  I began dieting back in 2006, when my father (also a physician) suggested that I might have Celiac Disease.  After eliminating gluten from my diet, I felt noticeable improvement but not complete relief - so my experiments with diet expanded.  After eight years, I have come to the conclusion that two specific diet modifications are worthy of attention for anyone traveling the alternative road.  The first modification entails eliminating any foods that caused inflammatory symptoms.  The second modification entails increasing the consumption of foods known to help the body deal with inflammation.      

REDUCING INFLAMMATION

Since 2006, I have dabbled in a number of fad diets and food restrictions. The fad diets included a Paleo Diet, a Vegan Diet, a Vegetarian Diet, a Raw Foods Diet, a Candida Diet, and the Grain Brain Diet.  Each of these diets have merit.  However, none of these diets eliminated all of the foods that I now consider inflammatory - in fact most of these diets emphasized many of the foods that I consider inflammatory.

The most useful tool in reducing inflammatory foods was a series of food restrictions that can be adequately described as an elimination diet - a modification of food habits with the intent of identifying foods that trigger inflammatory symptoms (headaches, night sweats, blurry eyes, brain fog, fatigue, etc.).  My elimination diet took eight years to develop, partly because I did not have a template to follow and partly because I didn't want to give up foods that I enjoyed eating.  It took years of ill-health to steer me away from some of my beloved foods.  Ultimately, my decision to minimize exposure to inflammatory foods opened my eyes to a world of food alternatives that are just as satisfying. 

INCREASING FOODS THAT FIGHT INFLAMMATION

To function properly, the human body needs vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fiber, and other items historically provided by food.  However, the modern western diet is largely a high-calorie, low nutrient diet, potentially resulting in nutrient and vitamin deficiency.  For thirty years, I was guilty of consuming many more simple carbohydrates and sugars than high nutrient foods like whole fruits and vegetables.  The result was a body ill-equipped to deal with inflammation.  Increasing consumption of whole fruits and vegetables is recommended by virtually every health care professional that I consulted with on my road.  And though I personally was unable to attribute specific improvement of symptoms to this modification, I do believe that my general level of health (energy level and ability to focus) improved as a result.          

IF YOU ARE SUFFERING

If you are suffering from symptoms that are attributed to inflammation (including headaches, night sweats, blurry eyes, brain fog, fatigue, etc.), I can't more highly recommend trying an elimination diet and increasing your consumption of whole fruits and vegetables.  Specifically, if you have any autoimmune disease (or symptoms that correlate to an autoimmune disease), I am confident that this diet will help alleviate some of the symptoms.  And I also believe (largely through anecdotal evidence - though in the case of neurological and heart disease there is scientific evidence) that this diet has the potential to help those suffering from other ailments that currently do not have a cure through western medicine including but not limited to Autism, Alzheimer, Dementia, ALS, Cancer, heart disease, and obesity.  I do not intend to imply diet can cure these items, only help alleviate some of the symptoms. I will provide guidance in a future post for those considering an elimination diet; and I will provide recipes and recommendations of resources in a series of future posts to help you feel satisfied while on the diet and beyond.

WHAT THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY SAYS

Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation

 

Fruitful Absence

I've been away from this blog for a long time. A new house, major renovations, the birth of two kids, and a new business left little time for writing. My lack of significant progress toward explaining my illness and/or healing from it left little inspiration. However I continued to experiment, explore, and evolve my thoughts in that time. My absence, though not intentional, has been fruitful - the results worth sharing. Five years ago, when I began looking for an alternative road to health, I had not a clue what it looked like. Now, however, I have a much better idea...

My Alternative Road

The four aspects to my alternative road:

(1) Exercise
(2) Diet
(3) Fasting
(4) Acupuncture

More to come on these...