Tuesday 17 December 2013

I have posted a couple of comments to this article Coconut oil for Alzheimer’s – separating fact from fiction The first comment of mine stated.
Early decline in glucose transport and metabolism precedes shift to ketogenic system in female aging and Alzheimer's mouse brain It's reasonable to suppose the same happens in human brains. Therefore, it seems unnecessarily cruel to deny those whose brains have a reduced capacity for metabolising glucose, an alternative fuel source. Human milk is rich in medium chain triglyceriedes, so as we know developing brains naturally thrive on MCT rich foods. It's an established fact Ketogenic diets are safely used by children with epilepsy. It's therefore reasonable to suppose brains with damaged glucose regulation/metabolism may also improve when provided with fuel source they can use. It's simply common sense for people with the early signs of dementia or indeed diabetes in any disease where impaired glucose metabolism is a factor, to want to benefit from the potential neuroprotective potential of a ketogenic diet. Eventually there will be sufficient numbers of case history's available for the disconnect between the reality of what actually happens in practice, in real life situations, when compared to big pharma funded research to become obvious to all, except perhaps those with vested interests.
The editor then replied with the usual platitudes to which I replied
The fact there is currently little or no evidence regarding the neuroprotective potential of a ketogenic diet only reflects the current bias present medical research funded by big pharma and published in journals dependant on drug industry advertising for their revenue stream. See, Ben Goldacre's "Bad Pharma", Peter C Gøtzsche (Cochrane database director) "Deadly Medicines and Organised Crime: How big pharma has corrupted healthcare" or search for David Healy's blog or book "Pharmageddon" A relatively quick summary of methods used by big pharma to bias the evidence base is set out in this You Tube Lecture How we have been lied to by Big Pharma Given the role of Neuroinflammation and Brain Functional Disconnection in Alzheimer’s Disease we should perhaps remind readers human DNA evolved without access to grains or grain fed meats at a latitude where anti-inflammatory Vitamin D from Sunlight and anti-inflammatory melatonin (better circadian rhythm ~ no electric light) levels were higher. As the ability to naturally create Vitamin D and melatonin declines with age, it is simply common sense to ensure 25(OH)D levels are kept optimal (115nmol/l is the level of equilibrium of humans living as DNA evolved) and time-release melatonin is available. For someone with a damaged metabolism a balanced diet would have to avoid pro-inflammatory omega 6 vegetable oils and intensively produced omega 6 rich meats. Grassfed pastured meat have higher omega 3 and lower omega 6 levels. Farmed fish also may be grain fed and thus pro-inflammatory omega 6 high. The over-processed nature of the western diet results in low level chronic acidosis that leaches magnesium from our bodies. Restoring magnesium status also improves our ability to create and use vitamin D3 and adds to vitamin D3's anti-inflammatory potential, as does the omega 3 DHA which, like curcumin, is a nutritional vitamin d receptor ligand. Given the current rise in incidence of conditions related to dysfunctional glucose metabolism, (Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and dementia) it is surely time to end the disastrous low fat diet experiment and recommend diets based on those foods available throughout the evolution of human DNA. An example of current research showing how quickly Western Diet damages the brain is here Short exposure to a diet rich in both fat and sugar or sugar alone impairs place, but not object recognition memory in rats. Cakes biscuits and sweetened beverages are driving appetite and inflammation and lard from industrially produce pork will add to the inflammation. Calorie consumption reduces on a paleo style low carbohydrate diet given availability of pasture raised omega 3 rich meats. Continuing to recommend pro-inflammatory refined carbohydrates, sugars, and omega 6 vegetable seed oils to those with damaged metabolisms is surely tantamount to medical negligence.

1 comment:

  1. Neuroenhancement with Vitamin B12—Underestimated Neurological Significance
    Vitamin B12 is a cofactor of methionine synthase in the synthesis of methionine, the precursor of the universal methyl donor S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe), which is involved in different epigenomic regulatory mechanisms and especially in brain development.
    A Vitamin B12 deficiency expresses itself by a wide variety of neurological manifestations such as paraesthesias, skin numbness, coordination disorders and reduced nerve conduction velocity.
    In elderly people, a latent Vitamin B12 deficiency can be associated with a progressive brain atrophy.
    Moderately elevated concentrations of homocysteine (>10 µmol/L) have been associated with an increased risk of dementia, notably Alzheimer’s disease, in many cross-sectional and prospective studies.
    Raised plasma concentrations of homocysteine is also associated with both regional and whole brain atrophy, not only in Alzheimer’s disease but also in healthy elderly people.
    Clinician awareness should be raised to accurately diagnose and treat early Vitamin B12 deficiency to prevent irreversible structural brain damage.

    It's worth remembering that much of our B12 comes from our gut flora.
    Bacteria as vitamin suppliers to their host: a gut microbiota perspective.

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