Tag Archives: Alzheimer’s disease

Straight, No Chaser: Superfoods – The Battle of Antioxidants and Free Radicals

Antioxidants
People engage in a lot of fads and off the wall activity to pursue health instead of following tried and true principles of basic science. One thing that I wish didn’t fit that trend is use of supplemental antioxidants. Before talking about using antioxidants, this Straight, No Chaser will discuss why they’re necessary.
Free radicals are like the Tasmanian Devil. These molecules are byproducts of many activities that create cell damage. Think about cigarette smoke, trauma (even vigorous exercise), excessive heat and sunlight (and its radiation), to name a few examples. The process of creating and releasing these molecules is called oxidation. The key point is free radicals are unstable and too many of them lead to a process called oxidative stress. This process is implicated in the development of many illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, cataracts and other eye diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are substances that prevent or delay cell damage caused by free radicals. Antioxidants may be natural or artificial (e.g. man-made). The healthy diets we’re always asking you to eat (e.g. those high in fruits and vegetables) contain lots of antioxidants; in fact this has a lot to do with why we believe they’re good for us. Superfoods are those especially rich sources of antioxidants, as illustrated above.
Of course, now you can get many forms of antioxidants in pills. That’s where things get a little less certain. Logically, you’d think that if some antioxidants are good, a lot would be better, and they would really be effective against free radicals. Furthermore, you’d think a convenient and efficient way of doing this would be putting a lot of antioxidants in a pill. Unfortunately, medical science (including over 100,000 people studied) has shown this not to be as simplistic as our logic would have us believe. I can’t say this any simpler. Antioxidant supplements have not been shown to be helpful in preventing disease. In fact, high-dose supplementation has been shown to have harmful effects, including increasing the risks of lung and prostate cancer. In short, our body doesn’t function in as linear a manner as we would like to think.
Here’s your take home message: We have yet proven that we’re able to cheat Mother Nature. You will not find your health in a bottle. Diet and exercise remain the champions of the battle of pursuing good health. Get your antioxidants the old fashioned way – in your fruits and veggies. Here’s a nice chart for your reference.
Top-Antioxidants
 
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Copyright © 2015 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC

Straight, No Chaser: Self-Assessment for Signs of Early Dementia or Alzheimer's

Dementia Not Human

Each of us has elderly family members for whom we may be concerned about their memory or other possible signs of dementia. You don’t have to stand by powerless and let them dwindle away. Early detection of dementia gives the best chance for a higher quality during the rest of one’s life. Isn’t that how we’d all want our loved ones to spend their golden days? This Straight, No Chaser post adapts information provided by the Alzheimer’s Association. Any positive responses can suggest an issue warranting further investigation. The goal here is straightforward. If any concerns arises after completing this, you should print out the sheet, and take it to your physician, requesting an evaluation.

dementia loss

_____ 1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life. One of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s, especially in the early stages, is forgetting recently learned information. Other signs include forgetting important dates or events; asking for the same information over and over; relying on memory aids (e.g., reminder notes or electronic devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own. Typical age-related changes involve sometimes forget names or appointments, especially if you remember them later.
_____ 2. Challenges in planning or solving problems. Some people may experience changes in their ability to develop and follow a plan or work with numbers. They may have trouble following a familiar recipe or keeping track of monthly bills. They may have difficulty concentrating and take much longer to do things than they did before. Typical age-related changes include making an occasional error when balancing a checkbook.
_____ 3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure. People with Alzheimer’s often find it hard to complete daily tasks. Sometimes, people may have trouble driving to a familiar location, managing a budget at work or remembering the rules of a favorite game. Typical age-related changes include occasionally needing help to use the settings on a microwave or to record a television show.
_____ 4. Confusion with time or place. People with Alzheimer’s can lose track of dates, seasons and the passage of time. They may have trouble understanding something if it is not happening immediately. Sometimes they may forget where they are or how they got there. Typical age-related changes include occasionally getting confused about the day of the week, especially if s/he figures it out later.
_____ 5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships. For some people, having vision problems is a sign of Alzheimer’s. They may have difficulty reading, judging distance and determining color or contrast. In terms of perception, they may pass a mirror and think someone else is in the room. They may not recognize their own reflection. Typical age-related changes of vision changes are related to cataracts and do not indicate Alzheimer’s.
_____ 6. New problems with words in speaking or writing. People with Alzheimer’s may have trouble following or joining a conversation. They may stop in the middle of a conversation and have no idea how to continue or they may repeat themselves. They may struggle with vocabulary, have problems finding the right word or call things by the wrong name (e.g., calling a watch a “hand clock”). Typical age-related changes involve sometimes having trouble finding the right word.
_____ 7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may put things in unusual places. They may lose things and be unable to go back over their steps to find them again. Sometimes, they may accuse others of stealing. This may occur more frequently over time. It’s more typical to displace things from time to time, such as a pair of glasses or the remote control.
_____ 8. Decreased or poor judgment. People with Alzheimer’s may experience changes in judgment or decision-making. For example, they may use poor judgment when dealing with money, giving large amounts to telemarketers. They may pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean. It’s less concerning for anyone of any age to make a bad decision once in a while.
_____ 9. Withdrawal from work or social activities. A person with Alzheimer’s may start to remove themselves from hobbies, social activities, work projects or sports. They may have trouble keeping up with a favorite sports team or remembering how to complete a favorite hobby. They may also avoid being social because of the changes they have experienced. It’s more typical for anyone of any age to sometimes feel weary of work, family and social obligations.
_____ 10. Changes in mood and personality. The mood and personalities of people with Alzheimer’s can change. They can become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious. They may be easily upset at home, at work, with friends or in places where they are out of their comfort zone. It’s more typical for people as they age to develop very specific ways of doing things and to become irritable when a routine is disrupted.
It is worth restating: early diagnosis provides the best opportunities for treatment, support and future planning. For more information, call the Alzheimer’s Association at 800.272.3900 or your SterlingMedicalAdvice.com expert consultants.
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Straight, No Chaser: Dementia – When Brain Health Goes Bad

dementia-brain eraser

In case you didn’t pick up on it, the posts regarding brain health served two purposes. The first is to ensure you give yourself the best opportunity to live a healthy, happy mental life. The second is to stave off the point in your life when you develop dementia. In this and the next post on brain health, we focus on dementia, which occurs when the brain becomes a certain type of unhealthy. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for approximately 60-80% of cases.
Look at the below chart for a stunning illustration of the scope of dementia.

Dementia facts

As opposed to being a single disease, dementia describes a range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other mental skills. As such, it’s more helpful to describe functions lost instead of symptoms you may experience. Dementia is associated with a reduced ability to perform routine activities of daily living. It can be associated with significant impairment of other mental functions, including the following:

  • Memory
  • Communication and language.
  • Ability to focus and pay attention
  • Reasoning and judgment
  • Visual perception

Practically this could range from problems with remembering appointments or names, engaging in unnecessarily dangerous activities for no reason, or keeping track of items.

demenetia brain map

Dementia is caused by damage to brain cells. It’s the type of damage that could occur from a poor diet, age-related or other causes of poor blood circulation to the brain (e.g. a stroke). Depending on the involved area of the brain, various levels of loss of function may be seen. Based on the most common patterns and sites of brain damage, the mental deficits described above are those most likely to be seen. It is of note that the center of memory and learning (the hippocampus) is often the first area damaged, which corresponds to those deficits that define early dementia/Alzheimer’s.
My messages to you regarding dementia are pretty simple.

  • You don’t want it. Dementia is the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end. It is progressive. The symptoms will be more and more pronounced with time.
  • You need to address it. If you haven’t been forward thinking enough to engage in brain health, know the early signs, and get checked out as soon as possible. The good news is all dementia isn’t Alzheimer’s and could represent a treatable cause. Even when it doesn’t, steps to temporarily improve symptoms can be instituted.

The final post in this series on brain health will provide you with a screening tool to help you detect early dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what 844-SMA-TALK and http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2014 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress.

Straight, No Chaser: In The News – Beating Alzheimer’s and Dementia?

 Alzheimers Concept Horizontal

It’s important to stay abreast of innovations in medical care. Scientists are constantly looking to push the frontier of human capabilities and lifespan. Straight, No Chaser has previously looked at gene therapy and stem cell research, which likely will be important considerations in eradicating disease. However, what about quality of life considerations? What good is a longer lifespan without the ability to have a functioning brain. Alzheimer’s and dementia have befuddled us for as long as we’ve known the diagnosis.
alzheirmers-disease
Think about some of the inconsistencies of Alzheimer’s disease for a second.

  • People seem to develop it only with aging (i.e., only the elderly are affected).
  • Only some people are affected. Others live into well into age 90 and over 100 without being affected.
  • Some individuals are mildly affected, and others are severely affected.

Harvard researchers have recently discovered a protein in the brain that could lead to modification (if not an overhaul) of our treatments for Alzheimer’s and dementia. In short, the protein, known as REST (short for RE1-Silencing Transcription factor) works to protect aging nerve cells from brain toxins and other stressors that progress aging and malfunctioning of the brain, symptoms of which we recognize as dementia. It appears that this protein is absent from critical areas of the brain in individuals affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia.

 Patient Care

Given the combination of the absence of REST and sufficient stressors to the brain that produces the debilitating symptoms, further research will look at the effects and the timing of replacing REST in those susceptible and affected by dementia at various stages. If this discovery provides even a few years of retained high mental and physical capabilities, it would provide a welcome advance in science and relief to the over five million affected in just the U.S. alone.
Stay tuned for further developments.
Post-script: Speaking of REST, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that research also shows failure to obtain adequate sleep throughout your life seems to accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s. Don’t sleep on that fact …

This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK (844-762-8255) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd. Please like and share our blog with your family and friends. We’re here for you 24/7 with immediate, personalized information and advice. Call your Personal Healthcare Consultant at 1-844-SMA-TALK or login to http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com.

Copyright © 2014 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: The Battle of Antioxidants and Free Radicals

Antioxidants
We engage in a lot of fads and off the wall activity to pursue health instead of following tried and true principles of basic science. One thing that I wish didn’t fit that trend is use of supplemental antioxidants. Before talking about using antioxidants, allow me to discuss why they’re necessary.
Free radicals are like the Tasmanian Devil. These molecules are byproducts of many activities that create cell damage. Think about cigarette smoke, trauma (even vigorous exercise), excessive heat and sunlight (and its radiation), to name a few examples. The process of creating and releasing these molecules is called oxidation. The key point is free radicals are unstable and too many of them lead to a process called oxidative stress. This process is implicated in the development of many illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, cataracts and other eye diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.
Antioxidants are substances that prevent or delay cell damage caused by free radicals. Antioxidants may be natural or artificial (e.g. man-made). The healthy diets we’re always asking you to eat (e.g. those high in fruits and vegetables) contain lots of antioxidants; in fact this has a lot to do with why we believe they’re good for us. Of course, now you can get many forms of antioxidants in pills. That’s where things get a little less certain.
Logically, you’d think that if some antioxidants are good, a lot would be better, and they would really be effective against free radicals. Furthermore, you’d think a convenient and efficient way of doing this would be putting a lot of antioxidants in a pill. Unfortunately, medical science (including over 100,000 people studied) has shown this not to be as simplistic as our logic would have us believe. I can’t say this any simpler. Antioxidant supplements have not been shown to be helpful in preventing disease. In fact, high-dose supplementation has been shown to have harmful effects, including increasing the risks of lung and prostate cancer. In short, our body doesn’t function in as linear a manner as we would like to think.
Here’s your take home message: We have yet proven that we’re able to cheat Mother Nature. You will not find your health in a bottle. Diet and exercise remain the champions of the battle of pursuing good health. Get your antioxidants the old fashioned way – in your fruits and veggies. Here’s a nice chart for your reference.
Top-Antioxidants

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