Death is a part of life. We all know it will happen but what we are
most concerned about is how it will happen.
Growing old and dying from natural causes is what most people would
chose. Whereas growing old, senile,
forgetful and helpless is what most of us want to avoid and is a scary
thought. This is what happens with
Alzheimer’s, a degenerative disease in the brain. What can we do to avoid this? Well quite a few things, but first how ‘bout
a lil history and some statistics…
Up until about 100 years ago degenerative diseases
such as cardio vascular disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Multiple
Sclerosis, and Alzheimer's were rare and found mostly in modernized or
western cultures. One of the primary contributing factors involved the
drastic changes in our diet. These
changes include the rapid increase in the consumption of processed vegetable
oils, refined carbs and sugars, grains and decrease in consumption of saturated
fats, fruits and vegetables. I am sure we can list a few others such as
exposure to toxins and less exposure to sun light but we will keep it simple
for now.
Alzheimer's, which is what we will focus on, is a
degenerative disease that causes dementia and memory loss to name a few symptoms. It is commonly associated with senior citizen's but is now being found in
individuals as young as 30-40 years old and its numbers continue to
rise.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, the
deaths caused by this disease have risen more than 65% in the last decade,
pretty crazy. Here are a couple more statistics:
- One in eight older Americans has Alzheimer's
disease.
- Alzheimer's disease is the sixth-leading cause
of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10
in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, the
disease cannot be prevented or cured. Well, recent studies say
otherwise. First we have to understand what the disease is. It
occurs when the brain is no longer able to uptake or use glucose. If you
have read my previous articles the next part may be a little repetitive.
The brain uses glucose for energy, about 4-6 grams per hour. It cannot
use fat, thank goodness, because the brain is made up of primarily fat. What
is another disease where the body cannot use glucose effectively? That's
right. Diabetes. There is type-I, juvenile, and type-II, adult
onset that we develop, usually as a result of years of excessive carb
consumption. Another term for diabetes is insulin resistance. How
do we get insulin resistance? Eating too many carbs, which causes our
body to make too much insulin. So how do we fix it? Well modern the
medicine prescription is to give us more insulin, which further
increases our insulin resistance OR we can go to the root cause...carbs...and
simply reduce them.
Now back to the brain. If Alzheimer's is a
condition where the brain is not effectively utilizing glucose, isn't that a
form of diabetes? Yes, it is. Alzheimer's is also called type-III
diabetes. So it would stand to reason that by going to the source, carbs,
and reducing the load there should be improvement, right? Well,
unfortunately once damage occurs in the brain, that portion may never be able
to effectively use glucose. But wait, there is another fuel source the
brain can use. Ketones, are a type of clean burning fuel made from
fats. Yes, fats. Ketones are generally not produced in the presence
of carbs.
Anyone who has had to make weight for an event is
probably familiar with ketones or being in ketosis, a state where our body
makes and uses ketones as a primary fuel source. In this state, the body
burns fat and leans out very quickly. Ketosis is not to be confused with
ketoacidosis, a toxic state usually brought on by disease where the body is
making too many ketones that it cannot use and, as a result, the body
becomes toxic. Generally, to enter a state of ketosis, a person has to
consume less than 20g of carbs a day for several days. I describe it as
shifting gears. Feeling tired or lethargic on a low carb diet is normal,
but after a few days to two weeks the body enters ketosis. And when it
does, energy levels shoot up and it feels like the fog has been lifted and
mental clarity greatly improves. This is because ketones are a very
clean burning fuel unlike glucose, which oxidizes easily and leaves residue and
increases free radical production. Ketones are sucked up by the cells,
without the use of insulin, and burn very efficiently yielding more energy per
gram.
By using ketones we also improve our insulin
sensitivity. I compare glucose to ketones as unleaded low-octane gasoline
to unleaded high-octane gasoline. The high-octane gasoline burns more
efficiently, yielding more energy and less waste. So how does all this
relate to the brain?
Hang on, here we go. Saturated fats, such as animal
fats, comprise up to 50% of our cell membrane walls, they resist
oxidation, cannot be turned into trans fats, hold up to high heat and are
vital for hormones, brain, cancer prevention, skin, and immune function. We
have to have them to be healthy. It is when we started taking saturated
fats out and replacing them with processed vegetable oils that we, as a society,
began to have serious health problems. Saturated fats, or any other type of
fat, can still be problematic to folks who are already sick or continue to eat
high carb/high grain diets…either way, saturated fats are much healthier that
the processed, omega-6 rich vegetable oils that most consume or fry their foods
in.
One of those fatty acids is lauric acid, which is
what coconut oil is mostly comprised of, has been shown in some studies to have
a neutral effect on cholesterol but according to the Journal of Clinical
Nutrition “Comparison of Effects of Lauric acid and Palmetic Acid on Plasma
Lipids and Lipoproteins” 1992, it did show to increase cholesterol slightly.
Another study showed that Lauric acid increases primarily HDL. Study showing Lauric acid elevates
HDL. Additionally, Lauric acid is converted to
Monolaurin, which is a potent antimicrobial and immune system supporter. Lauric
acid is a medium chain triglyceride (MCT). Coconut oil is loaded with
lauric acid and other MCT's. What is unique about MCT’s are they up regulate
mitochondrial activity in our cells enabling them to burn fat at a higher rate.
Mitochondria are the “powerhouse” or “motors” of the cells. Any of you who
attended any of my classes will forever remember what mitochondria are.
Mitochondria love MCT's. Normally fatty acids
need a substance called carnitine to transport them across the membrane.
Not with MCT's, they are absorbed right across the membrane of the
mitochondria. If there is an abundant supply of MCT's and we are not engaged
in high intensity aerobic activity, the Krebs cycle (process in our cells by
which fat is converted to energy) can't keep up with this influx of MCT's and
has to do something with them. So what does it do? It converts the MCT's
into ketones. Even with the presence of carbohydrates.
Amazing. This means, without going on a long-term low carb diet, the body
can make ketones in the presence of carbohydrates.
Now back to the brain...remember I mentioned how
the brain can use ketones for energy in addition to glucose? To be more
specific, the brain could work just fine utilizing 75% ketones and 25% glucose
for its energy! Ketones do not require insulin to be absorbed by the cells
in the brain. So if someone has insulin resistance in the brain
(Alzheimer's), their brain can use ketones, which do not require insulin.
How do we do this without drastically reducing carbs? Add coconut
oil. Extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil, not the refined or processed
crap.
It is the very diets high in carbs and low in
cholesterol that are linked to insulin resistance, Alzheimer's, in the
brain. The whole cholesterol myth really irritates me. I have
written about it several times, so I won't go into too much in this
article. But we have to remember that it is cholesterol that is essential
for the growth and repair of the myelin sheath, which is the insulation of all
the "wiring" in our brain and nervous system. When people start
consuming too many carbs and eliminating cholesterol, the building block of all
hormones, we are welcoming diseases just like Alzheimer's. I'm
rambling...again. Back to the article.
This is an incredible revelation for those who
suffer from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia or knows someone who
does. Some of the people leading this research is Dr. Mary Newport and
Dr. Mary Enig. According to Dr. Newport, who's husband suffers from
Alzheimer's, the optimal dose is about 4-6 tablespoons of coconut oil per
day. Here is an article written by Dr. Newport about coconut oil curing Alzheimer's.
In the article, Dr. Newport chronicles her experiences with her husband
and the improvements he made. By using therapeutic
doses of coconut oil, Dr. Newport was able to bring her husband back from
advanced stages of Alzheimer’s to living a productive and normal life. Pretty cool. The picture below is Dr. Newport and her husband and pictures of a clock her husband drew before treatment then and 14 and 37 days into treatment.
Another proponent of the uses of coconut oil is Dr.
Mary Enig, who has been around for quite a while and still gives lectures at
major universities around the country. She has done a lot of research on
coconut oil, and fats in general, and believes we should all consume about 3
tablespoons per day.
Does a person have to be suffering from Alzheimer's
to get the benefits of coconut oil? Absolutely not. Remember, our
cells love ketones, we just need to supply them.
The ketone benefit from coconut oil is just one of
many of the benefits of coconut oil. Coconut oil is among the most stable
of all oils, it's slow to oxidize and thus resistant to rancidity. In
comparison to most oils, coconut oil has a long shelf life (up to 3 years),
which is due to its natural ability to be unaffected by fluctuating
temperatures and oxidation. Coconut oil is also a potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and is great for the skin.
The evidence supporting the use of coconut oil to treat
Alzheimer's is so strong, pharmaceutical companies have already started
clinical trials using "prescription" coconut oil to treat patients!!
Yes, that is right, prescription coconut oil!!!
If you don't want to eat coconut oil by the tablespoon, don't worry. It is great to cook with or mix into oatmeal, smoothies and just about any meal!
So to sum it up, there are many health benefits of
coconut oil. One just happens to be that coconut oil is full of MCT's
which make ketones even if we are eating carbs. And those ketones provide
our body, and more importantly, our brain, with a clean burning fuel
source. It is this ability to make ketones that can help those suffering
from Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, and according to some research
even stop and reverse the symptoms.
Here is an article by Dr. Mary
Enig on coconut oil listing even more benefits of coconut
oil. Coconut oil is getting easier to find in stores now. I usually
order mine from Tropical Traditions or get it from Costco.
Well that's a lot to think about, so if your brain hurts go have some coconut
oil...until next time, be sure to get some sprints in and pick up something
heavy.
