Alzheimer’s Disease and Insulin

Today s World’s Alzheimer’s Day!

Alzheimer’s Disease(AD) is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking and behavior. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over several years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer’s, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment.

It is a result of damage to many parts of the brain structure and function. One characteristic features of AD is development of plaques. Plaques are hard deposits of protein called beta amyloid. In a healthy brain, these fragments are broken down and eliminated, but in AD they accumulate to form plaques. These plaques go onto cause oxidative stress leading to an increase in inflammation. What an make this inflammation worse is glycation.

Glycation is abnormal reaction of glucose attaching to proteins until the protein ceases to function properly and cannot attach to its receptor. An over accumulation of this results in advanced glycation end products (AGES) which have many adverse effects on inactivation of enzymes, damaging structures and regulatory proteins, impaired immune function, and increasing he likelihood of autoimmune disease.

This I why there is a huge correlation relation between Alzheimer’s Disease and Insulin. It is known that type 2 diabetes has a 1.5 to 4-fold increase risk for AD, as well as non-Alzheimer’s dementia caused by damage o blood vessels of the brain. Elevated insulin leads to a multitude of effects on the brain such as increased pro-inflammatory metabolites, increase in oxidative stress, and increased activity of kinase that activates tau protein allowing for increased formation of neurofibrillary tangles and plaques.

Alzheimer’s is not just a disease of old age. There are approximately 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease (also known as early-onset Alzheimer’s). With the rise of poor nutritional habits, younger generations may be affected earlier on. It is important to note that dietary habits really do go a long way to help prevent not just Alzheimer’s but many other illnesses. There are many research based vitamins and minerals which help prevent and decrease current symptoms. It is best to get proper health from a Naturopathic Doctor such as Dr. Humaira. If you have any questions or would like to make an appointment, please feel free to email or call today.

Some things you can start even right now –

• Eating Green leafy vegetables at least 6 servings/wk
• Other vegetables: 6 servings/wk
• Nuts: 5 servings/wk
• Berries: 2 or more servings/wk
• Beans: At least 3 servings/wk
• Whole grains: 3 servings/day
• Fish: Once per week
• Poultry: 2 times/wk
• Avocado/light olive/coconut oil: Use as your main cooking oil
• Wine: 3 glasses/wk
• Red meat: Fewer than 3 servings/wk
• Butter & margarine: Less than 1 tbsp/day
• Cheese: Less than 1 serving/wk
• Pastries & sweets: Fewer than 3 servings/wk
• Fried or fast food: Less than 1 serving/wk