Imagine your brain covered with plaques made of proteins and your neurons destroyed by tangles of proteins. This is not some apocalyptic disease. This is Alzheimer's disease! In a few patients, Alzheimer's is genetic and triggered by genes called: Apo e2, e3 and e4 which transcribe the proteins that entangle the brain. But in 95 % of patients, Alzheimer's is a sporadic disease meaning that it is self occurring and random where genetics have no role to play. In other words, while Apo genes are responsible for this increased likelihood to get the disease, we can't fully blame it on our genetic code.
So, there are other factors that increase the disease occurrence. What about diet? Our body is a dynamic system that is in constant need for nutrient. Paracelsus, a pioneer in toxicology, once stated "Anything could be a poison depending on its dose and its nature".An extensive research was conducted in Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This study showed that reduced caloric intake activates SIRT 1: an enzyme that protects against age associated brain impairments. According to Tsai "We not only observed a delay in the onset of neurodegeneration in the calorie restricted mice, but the animals were spared the learning and memory deficits of mice that did not consume reduced-calorie diet."
It is important to realize that balanced diet play a crucial role in maintaining a normal body functioning. Moreover, doctors realized that coconut oil has a very positive role for patients with Alzheimer's. Some were miraculously cured using this substance, but these are only observations and no study was made to assess how can an oil be able to slow down the progression of the formation of the plaques.
Restricting food intake does not really kill your cells but stimulate them to be younger!
References:
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-caloric-intake-nerve-cell-loss.html
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/factsheet/405/
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/health/local-doctor-says-coconut-oil-helps-reduce-symptoms-of-alzheimers-disease
References:
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-caloric-intake-nerve-cell-loss.html
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/factsheet/405/
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/health/local-doctor-says-coconut-oil-helps-reduce-symptoms-of-alzheimers-disease
One thing needs to be fixed very badly here. You have obviously used a number of sources. You haven't cited any. Who is Tsai? Please either add links (I can help you do that) or at the very least cite the appropriate papers and/or urls at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that. I had this in mind but I wasn't aware that I didn't include it. It is now fixed and updated.
ReplyDeletehttp://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-caloric-intake-nerve-cell-loss.html http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/factsheet/405/
Nice. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog post. I like that you acknowledged that one's environment and one's genetic make up can play a role in the development of some diseases, such as Alzheimer's. This is something that I am always trying to explain to my family and friends so I will definitely show them this post!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ashley! although our genetic code define what we are, it is not always the case. some other environmental factors come into play as well. Some genes won't be triggered unless you do or eat something, meanwhile they will remain dormant. So why give the chance for "bad genes" to manifest ?
DeleteI appreciate your blog! I am always trying to help my mother understand that a healthy diet is crucial for your health but as you question in the previous comment, why give the chance for bad genes to manifest?, that I do not have an answer to except for stubbornness. My mom being an example. I really wish she would listen and take my advice about many things but without medical insurance it seems that she has lost hope. Where is the cure for stubbornness that the deters one's ability to care about personal health? She's already suffered from many "bad" genes that shouldn't have been turned on and all because of the lack of discipline. I will definitely share this with her! Thank you!
DeleteYea it is hard to explain this to the old generation. Many diseases appear due to this neglect and the notion of " it could never happen to me!". I wish they listen to the voice of science! Science is never wrong. Did you know, It is illegal to be fat in Japan that's how you make people stick to healthy diets!
Deletewow!!! I definitely didn't now that it was illegal to be fat in Japan! Wish that was some kind of statue here in the US! lol jk but yes thank you for the insight!
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome Jessica :)
ReplyDelete