Alzheimer’s & Dementia

Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Cerebrovascular Disease and other Neurodegenerative diseases are 3 of the top 10 causes of death in the United States. In my opinion if there is something we can do to reduce this risk we should do it.

That’s what this post is about. What we can do to decrease out risk of Dementia, Alzheimer’s and other Neurodegenerative diseases.

The majority of research done on Dementia and Alzheimer’s is focused primarily on one thing.

Drug research.

However, with almost all diseases, injuries and ailments there are things we can do to decrease our risk. Alzheimers, Cerebrovascular Disease and Dementia are no different.

The average time it takes for new research to reach the public is 17 years. Some of the research below came out this year and most of it has came out within the last decade. That means when you share this information with another health provider or friend they might look at you like you grew another head. If they’re really good and up to date with research they won’t but as always that’s why all the references to the research can be found below.

Here is a short synopsis of the post. The longer version will be published once it’s finished. It was going to be at the end of this post but I’m at 1600 words and I’m only about 1/5th of the way done. Rather than continuing to write and waiting to publish the article until its completely done I thought a short synopsis would be better while I finish the long article.

Here we go. 7 actionable things you can do that have showed promise in reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, Dementia, or other neurodegenterative diseases.

Sleep.

One night of sleep deprivation increases the buildup of gunk that leads to Alzheimers and Dementia, the gunk is called beta amyloid plaques. Sleep is the part of the day where your body opens special channels in your brain to allow more waste removal. Less sleep means less time for your body to clear away waste and more buildup of the gunk that leads to Alzheimer’s and Dementia. You should be getting close to 8 hours a sleep a night. If you can’t sleep, have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep 
check out this great podcast by Dr. Huberman where he interviews sleep specialist Dr. Matt Walker, Founder and Director of the Center for Sleep Science at Cal-Berkley. LINK

Eat Fish or Supplement with Omega 3’s.

Omega 3’s are crucial for our brain’s structure and function. In America we have an imbalance in our diet when it comes to Omega 3’s versus Omega 6’s. Therefore we need to eat or ingest more Omega 3’s. This can be tricky as off the shelf Omega 3s have usually expired and can cause some negative health effects. I’d steer towards brands like Nordic Naturals and Protocol for Life and away from what you get off the shelf at Costco or Walgreens as they are more likely to be rancid. If vegan or vegetarian and not wanting to there are some Algae based Omega 3 products that have been shown to be just as effective as eating fish or supplementing with Omega 3’s derived from fish.

Stop Binge Drinking or Chronic Excessive Drinking.

7 drinks in a day just once or over multiple days (acutely or chronically) negatively affects the system that clears out the waste that builds up and leads to Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Since it negatively affects this system, more waste builds up in the brain leading to a higher chance of developing dementia or Alzheimers. This system is called the Glymphatic System. Drinking in excess is bad for it. However, one drink might help the system but the research is still working to confirm that.

Exercise.

Exercise improves the functioning of the Glymphatic System. This is the system that clears the brain waste that leads to Alzheimers and Dementia. Minimum exercise for health should be 150 minutes a week. Just 30 minutes a day. Ideally we’d do some type of physical activity every day.

Confront Chronic Stress.

Chronic Stress negatively impacts the Glymphatic System. Again this system clears out the brain’s waste. Chronic stress negatively affects specific cells in the Glymphatic system that allow for the removal of the brain gunk, these cells are called astrocytes. Chronic stress also trigger the building of extra brain gunk. I’m currently working on a booklet that takes you through a step-wise process to reduce chronic stress, for now I’d recommend getting enough sleep, decrease the amount of processed foods you eat, meditate, exercises regularly, and when something stresses you out that you can’t change and your mind starts to obsess about it take a step back and focus on your breathing.

Creatine Supplementation.

Creatine is crucial for cells to be able to function. Since the brain uses 20% of our body’s energy each day creatine is especially important for our brain. Supplementing with Creatine monohydrate, I use the brand naked nutrition, has been shown to not only improve cognition but early studies show possible benefits for decreasing the risk of Alzheimers and other neurodegenerative diseases. Not enough studies have been done to show a specific benefit for an amount. Studies range anywhere from 5-20 grams a day. I personally take 20g a day because of the studies done supplementing with 20 grams shows the biggest overall improvement in thinking and brain based activities.

Move Your Head & Neck

While the majority of brain gunk is cleared out at night some of it is cleared out during the day. Guess what helps propel the fluid to clear out the brain gunk?

Movement of our head and neck. There are no protocols that have looked at specific repetitions but nodding the head up and down increases the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and all movements of the head and neck might increase cerebrospinal flow. I start my day looking up and down 10 times, looking over my shoulder to my left and right 10 times, and then bring my ear to each shoulder 10 times.

There it is. That’s the short version. Hopefully I can finish the long version by the end of the month and I’ll share it with you as soon as I do.

References
 1. β-Amyloid accumulation in the human brain after one night of sleep deprivation
Ehsan Shokri-Kojori, Gene-Jack Wang, Corinde E. Wiers, Sukru B. Demiral, Min Guo, Sung Won Kim, Elsa Lindgren, Veronica Ramirez, Amna Zehra, Clara Freeman, Gregg Miller, Peter Manza, Tansha Srivastava, Susan De Santi, Dardo Tomasi, Helene Benveniste, Nora D. Volkow
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Apr 2018, 115 (17) 4483-4488; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1721694115 

2. Jessen NA, Munk AS, Lundgaard I, Nedergaard M. The Glymphatic System: A Beginner's Guide. Neurochem Res. 2015 Dec;40(12):2583-99. doi: 10.1007/s11064-015-1581-6. Epub 2015 May 7. PMID: 25947369; PMCID: PMC4636982.

3. Arterburn LM, Oken HA, Bailey Hall E, Hamersley J, Kuratko CN, Hoffman JP. Algal-oil capsules and cooked salmon: nutritionally equivalent sources of docosahexaenoic acid. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Jul;108(7):1204-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2008.04.020. PMID: 18589030.

4. Lundgaard, I.; Wang, W.; Eberhardt, A.; Vinitsky, H.S.; Reeves, B.C.; Peng, S.; Nedergaard, M. Beneficial effects of low alcohol exposure, but adverse effects of high alcohol intake on glymphatic function. Sci. Rep. 2018, 8, 2246. [CrossRef]

5. He, X.-F.; Liu, D.-X.; Zhang, Q.; Liang, F.-Y.; Dai, G.-Y.; Zeng, J.-S.; Lan, Y. Voluntary Exercise Promotes Glymphatic Clearance of Amyloid-beta and Reduces the Activation of Astrocytes and Microglia in Aged Mice. Front. Mol. Neurosci. 2017, 10, 144.

6. Isung, J., Granqvist, M., Trepci, A., Huang, J., Schwieler, L., Kierkegaard, M., Erhardt, S., Jokinen, J., & Piehl, F. (2021). Differential effects on blood and cerebrospinal fluid immune protein markers and kynurenine pathway metabolites from aerobic physical exercise in healthy subjects. Scientific reports, 11(1), 1669. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81306-4

7. Wei, F.; Song, J.; Zhang, C.; Lin, J.; Xue, R.; Shan, L.; Wang, L. Chronic stress impairs the aquaporin-4-mediated glymphatic transport through glucocorticoid signaling. Psychopharmacology 2019, 236, 1367–1384.

8. Roschel H, Gualano B, Ostojic SM, Rawson ES. Creatine Supplementation and Brain Health. Nutrients. 2021 Feb 10;13(2):586. doi: 10.3390/nu13020586. PMID: 33578876; PMCID: PMC7916590.

9. Xu Q, Shao CX, Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Liu C, Chen YX, Wang XM, Chi YY, Yu SB, Sui HJ. Head-nodding: a driving force for the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid. Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 9;11(1):14233. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-93767-8. PMID: 34244586; PMCID: PMC8270937.

10. Xu, Q., Yu, SB., Zheng, N. et al. Head movement, an important contributor to human cerebrospinal fluid circulation. Sci Rep 6, 31787 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31787

11. β-Amyloid accumulation in the human brain after one night of sleep deprivation Ehsan Shokri-Kojori, Gene-Jack Wang, Corinde E. Wiers, Sukru B. Demiral, Min Guo, Sung Won Kim, Elsa Lindgren, Veronica Ramirez, Amna Zehra, Clara Freeman, Gregg Miller, Peter Manza, Tansha Srivastava, Susan De Santi, Dardo Tomasi, Helene Benveniste, Nora D. Volkow Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Apr 2018, 115 (17) 4483-4488; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1721694115