I received a question about Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and early onset dementia. The person asked if Apex Energetics Acetyl-CH would be helpful for her with the early onset dementia and for her grandfather with Alzheimer’s. You can imagine that a brief reply to such a complex question would not be that simple.
But first, the short answer. Products like Acetyl-CH or NeuroScience Avipaxin can certainly be helpful and these are products I take myself to help keep brain problems at bay. The active ingredients, Alpha GPC, Acetyl L-carnitine and Huperzia extract have all shown favorable effects on brain function. I would recommend that anyone with any level of brain fog or faulty cognition to experiment with these products. Another product we can recommend is Metagenics Ceriva that helps remove beta amyloid plaques. That being said, treating brain issues is more involved than a single remedy or treatment.
I am impressed with what I have heard from Dr. Dale Bredesen, who has been working for some time on a multi-faceted approach to helping with AD. It is his opinion that just solving one facet won’t be successful. Millions of dollars and hundreds of studies have explored remedies for treating beta amyloid protein build-up. Although we do see beta amyloid protein plaques in people with AD, we also see them in some other people who have no cognitive decline.
The only study I have seen that shows a nice reversal of AD was a Bredesen study that addressed a wide range of conditions that tend to lead to cognitive decline including: beta amyloid proteins, tau tangles, metabolic issues, inflammation, toxicity, trophic factor insufficiency, hormone imbalance, gut health, genetic errors, nutrient deficiencies, cognitive stimulation and other lifestyle factors including sleep, stress, exercise and dietary factors like gluten and sugar.
The point is that to increase your chances of success at keeping the symptoms at bay, you won’t be able to rely on a magic pill or treatment take care of everything. Brain health is affected by such a wide range of factors that you will most likely need some help navigating this maze. You will need to take a few supplements like fish oil and maybe something like Acetyl-CH, from companies like Apex Energetics. You will need to learn how to meditate both the increase your ability to focus and also to help with stress relief. You will need to address your sleep by learning what factors might be interrupting good sleep and potentially take some supplements to help reduce cortisol, increase levels of GABA and lower levels of glutamate. You will need to learn which foods are beneficial and which are contributing to cognitive decline. Common offenders are grains and especially grains with a high gluten content like wheat, rye and barley. You will need to exercise and that will probably include a few types of exercise like walking, yoga and maybe some light weight workout.
So where does a person start with so many factors to consider? Every case will be a little different but I think we can at least make some general comments. You might get lucky and find a doctor in your town that can help guide you. If not, you can always give us a call and we will do our best to offer the benefit of our experience.
If you can’t find assistance, you can look at your life needs with regard to things like diet, exercise and sleep. If you aren’t getting some basic exercise at least 5 days a week, that would be a good place to start. Walking, taking a swim class or a basic yoga class would begin to make a positive impact. Can’t walk? Use an exercise bike. You can find one at just about any garage sale or on Craig’s List for cheap.
Sleep is vital for a healthy brain. We can often help sleep patterns with some targeted supplements like NeuroScience Kavinace, Travacor, Calm PRT or some of our popular valerian formulas like Dee Cee Labs Formula 303 or Karuna Sleep Formula.
Diet is more complex and if your budget allows, we can suggest some antibody tests that will help you decide which foods are likely to be causing inflammation. We know the connection between the gut and brain is highly important so the better you treat your gut health, the better your brain will work. I also suggest reading the Grain Brain by Perlmutter. It is a great overview of the problems of brain health and how grains can be involved.
You can see that this is a lot different than just adding a magic supplement. The news is that many people can make a positive impact on their brain health if you are willing to work at it. What more important thing do you have to take care of today than your brain?
