{"id":932,"date":"2014-08-26T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2014-08-26T11:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/?p=932"},"modified":"2014-08-25T22:12:05","modified_gmt":"2014-08-26T02:12:05","slug":"hope-alzheimers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/hope-alzheimers\/","title":{"rendered":"Is There Hope for Alzheimer’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preventing Cognitive Decline As We Age<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"alzheimer's\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

As we age nothing is more terrifying than the word Alzheimer\u2019s. For most of us the ultimate irony would be to spend a lifetime taking good care of our body, only to lose our mind. From time to time there are encouraging reports about the potential of low fat diets, diets rich in fruits and vegetables, B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, various herbs, and other natural approaches that might slow cognitive decline as we age.<\/p>\n

Inevitably, it seems, those hopes are dashed by subsequent meta-analyses supposedly showing that each of those approaches is worthless. That wouldn\u2019t be so bad if there were effective medications to slow cognitive decline and prevent Alzheimer\u2019s, but there aren\u2019t. The Alzheimer\u2019s drugs on the market today simply have not been shown to be effective.<\/p>\n

But, what if all of these studies were missing the mark by focusing on individual interventions? Perhaps we should be focusing a holistic approach instead.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Power of Holistic Approaches<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the examples of the power of a holistic approach that I love to use, because it really made an impression on me as a young scientist, occurred at an International Cancer Symposium I attended more than 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

I attended a session in which an internally renowned expert was giving his talk on colon cancer. He said, \u201cI can show you, unequivocally, that colon cancer risk is significantly decreased by a lifestyle that includes a high-fiber diet, a low-fat diet, adequate calcium, adequate B-vitamins, exercise and weight control. But I can\u2019t show you that any one of them, by themselves, is effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question that came to me as I heard him speak was: \u201cWhat\u2019s the message that a responsible scientist or responsible health professional should be giving to their patients or the people that they\u2019re advising?\u201d You\u2019ve heard experts saying: \u201cDon\u2019t worry about the fat\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t worry about calcium.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t worry about B-vitamins.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t worry about fiber.\u201d \u201cNone of them can be shown to decrease the risk of colon cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is that the message that we should be giving people? Or should we really be saying what that doctor said many years ago \u2013 a lifestyle that includes all of those things significantly decreases the risk of colon cancer?<\/p>\n

What about Alzheimer\u2019s and cognitive decline? Could a holistic approach have an impact here as well?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is There Hope For Alzheimer\u2019s?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"preventing-cognitive-decline\"<\/a>A study performed by Dr. Miia Kivipelto and colleagues at the Karolinska Insitute in Sweden and the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki, Finland suggests that a holistic approach may, in fact, be able to slow cognitive decline in older people.<\/p>\n

Previous studies had suggested that exercise, a good diet, socialization and memory training might slow cognitive decline in the elderly, but, like all other individual interventions, the benefits of these interventions were not reproducible. Dr. Kivipelto and colleagues designed a clinical study that combined all of these interventions into a single holistic approach.<\/p>\n

They started with 1,260 healthy adults aged 60-77 from Sweden and Finland and divided them into two groups. One group was enrolled in a holistic program involving exercise, a healthy diet, socialization and memory training. This group was closely monitored for compliance. The other group was just given general health advice \u2013 not unlike the advice you might expect to receive from your doctor.<\/p>\n

Each group was given a memory test at the beginning of the study and a second memory test two years later. Both groups scored about the same on the first memory test. However, the group enrolled in the holistic program did considerably better on the second memory test than the control group who had just been given general health advice.<\/p>\n

One of the lead investigators was quoted as saying: \u201cThese findings show that prevention is possible, and it may be good to start early [before the signs of cognitive decline become evident]. With so many negative trials of Alzheimer\u2019s drugs reportedly lately, it\u2019s good that we may have something that everyone can do now to lower their risk [of cognitive decline].\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Limitations of the Study<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

There are two big caveats for this study.<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The study was too short to assess the effectiveness of this approach at reducing Alzheimer\u2019s. The investigators plan to continue the study for 7 years. They hope that enough participants will have developed Alzheimer\u2019s by then so they can accurately assess whether this approach is as effective at preventing Alzheimer\u2019s as it is at preventing cognitive decline.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This study was recently presented at an Alzheimer\u2019s Association International Conference. It has not yet undergone the rigorous peer review required for publication. Once the study has been published I will give you an update.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Bottom Line<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It has been very difficult to prove that individual interventions, whether they are natural or pharmaceutical, are effective at preventing cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer\u2019s as we age.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 However, a recent study suggests that a holistic approach that includes exercise, optimal nutrition, socialization and memory training may be effective at preventing cognitive decline in older adults.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Based on previously published individual studies, optimal nutrition probably includes:<\/p>\n