Prevention basics: The #2 Alzheimer's Prevention Strategy is your Diet

If you want to decrease your chances of contracting Alzheimer's, then it's critical that you eat a well-balanced, low -to no- sugar, diet that pulls mainly from whole foods (meaning not processed like, say a frozen meal).  Fruits and Vegies, which are high in fiber, should be a focal point of every meal, along with reasonable portions of lean meat and fish - or legumes and nuts for those choosing a more vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.  

Back in 2015 (so not too long ago!) a researcher in the fields of nutrition and epidemiology came up with a diet that brings all this together.  Called the MIND diet, which is short for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurogenerative Delay diet, this approach to nutritious eating basically combined the best aspects of the Mediterranean diet with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.  Intended to slow the cognitive decline that comes with aging, the MIND diet continues to rise to the top as the best diet for preventing and slowing Alzheimer's Disease.  The MIND diet is a unique version of the Mediterranean diet protects the brain and can help in preventing Alzheimer's Disease. 

Our Alzheimer's Foundation plans to publish a blog post that delves further into the reasons this diet is so popular amongst the research and medical community, as well as what foods to make sure to include and what foods are to be avoided at all cost.  Look for that post soon.  

We aren't talking complete elimination of all sugar, but being aware of your intake and reducing unnecessary sugar intake helps reduce inflammation and over all acidity - both of which are a benefits of our Alzheimer's Prevention Strategy.  Read product labels - you don't need sugar in your ketchup.  You don't need sugar in your bread.  Use healthier alternatives like honey when possible (which is a natural antibiotic).  Over time, you'll crave sweets less and eventually you will actually begin to prefer savory foods over goodies like cake and ice cream.  

Another part of our Alzheimer's Prevention Strategy is the deliberate incorporation of good bacteria into your diet.  And If we could buy stock in this company, we would.  This particular Probiotic, called Kefir, which is found in the yogurt section of most grocery stores, has the single best pro-biotic to fight Alzheimer's Disease - Lactobacillus Planetarium.  We discovered Kefir when we looked at the variety of Mediterranean Diets out there to see if any version stood out with better outcomes.  After a lengthy review, we discovered that the regions that incorporate Kefir in their diet had the lowest Alzheimer's incidence - hands down.  Looking deeper into why this is the case, we discovered that L. Planetarium eats up the food source for all the bad bacteria that can possibly cause Alzheimer's - which is a natural way to defend yourself.  

For those of us who cannot tolerate dairy, Gut Belly  makes a dairy free pill option:  https://shop.goodbelly.com/mango-juicedrink-32-oz

Another great Alzheimer's Prevention Strategy that's very easy to incorporate into your diet is substituting butter and margarine with Olive Oil when possible.  In fact, across the board, all researchers agree that the Olive Oil found in the Medi-diet is a crucial ingredient to great brain health and placidity.  As with everything, moderation is key. 

And our final Alzheimer's Prevention Strategy to consider adding to your diet is Fish.  As with olive oil, fish provides a great protection for our brains.  Eating fish at least twice a week as your protein is not only brain smart, but belly beneficial.  Try Tuna in the can, or Salmon, Cod or Tilapia, Shrimp, Scallops - the good-for-you options are so vast and exciting!   

Here are the supplements we think you should discuss with your medical doctor about taking  to prevent Alzheimer's Disease:

• Vitamin E - this vitamin is key to brain health. When you speak to people in the industry who diagnose Alzheimer's -- this is the one supplement they ALL take themselves

• Vitamin B2  B12   B16 - the B vitamin's support memory and are also great for brain health. As Alzheimer's is initially discovered by observed memory loss, why wouldn't you take something proven to help in this department?

• Vitamin D - most of us are deficient in vitamin D and this helps boost our immunity and ability to naturally fight off bacteria...like those that cause Alzheimer's. Researchers recently published a study that indicates taking Vitamin D regularly can reduce your Alzheimer's Risk by up to 40%. 

• Vitamin C - also a hella-immune booster.  Easy to get through a diet high in fruits and veggies, but it doesn't hurt to top it off with a tasty chewable pill in the morning!

Here are the Minerals to take:

• Calcium - a high percentage of people with Alzheimer's have Osteoporosis (we will write an article on this soon).  This is due to a wonderful fall back system the body uses when acidosis is detected.  If the body becomes acidic, it goes directly to bone to harvest calcium in order to return to a basic PH state.  

• And so to stop this from happening, you can supplement your diet with free Calcium as a proactive PH balancer.  

• Magnesium - as above.  In addition, Magnesium is a great mineral for brain function and gut health.  A must for literally everyone.

Additional supplements:

• Fish Oil - the Omega 3 fats have been proven to help brain function.

• Lecithin
• L-Arginine
• L-Lysine

And finally, how about some herbs?

• Basil has been proven to reduce Amyloid plaques in our brains - why is that?  it's because the herb basil (which is often used in the Mediterranean Diet) is a proven anti-microbial.  And if what you eat kills bacteria, then the brain doesn't need to call in it's own army soldiers (beta amyloid).    So lay it on thick the next time you cook!