Friday 20 December 2013

Readers here may want to read How to avoid dementia DR. MALCOLM KENDRICK The paper Dr Kendrick is discussing is available online
HERE

It may also be worth pointing out B vitamins (along with some other vitamins) are made for us by our gut microbiota.

Bacteria as vitamin suppliers to their host: a gut microbiota perspective

Diet-Microbiota Interactions and Their Implications for Healthy Living

We should all be making more effort to restore our natural gut flora particularly after using antibiotics. We should also be aware that older people who may be on a restricted diet and may be vulnerable to repeat UTI infections may require and alternative source of B Vitamins if their gut microbia is subject to regular antibiotic exposures. There are plenty of B Vitamin complex supplements to choose from I use Thorne Research, B-Complex #12, 60 Veggie Caps If you use this code WAB666 you can get an introductory discount at IHERB.

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.