Poor nutrition including "healthy" low fat diets contribute to Alzheimer's as the brain requires and thrives on healthy fats.
Normal aging cannot be stopped. However, accelerated aging can be slowed by controlling risk factors.
Opportunistic infection (when we are sick as measured by inflammation) can impact brain health and contribute to AD.
Poor nutrition including "healthy" low fat diets contribute to Alzheimer's as the brain requires and thrives on healthy fats.
Alzheimer's disease is multifactorial
Many factors contribute to the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Partial proof is provided by the efforts of the major drug companies who continue to pursue a single "target" without success. RealHealth Clinics believes that there are two available approaches to halt the Alzheimer's epidemic.
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Screening and early detection, before a person has symptoms. This process includes detailed systemic (whole body) evaluation for many of the multiple causes of the disease. Many of these causes have bona fide treatments that can slow the progression, halt, or even reverse the Alzheimer's disease process.
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Differential diagnosis process for those with symptoms of Alzheimer's. The differential diagnosis process is the "detailed systemic (whole body) evaluation described in 1. above. RealHealth Clinics believes that we can help (slow, arrest, or reverse the Alzheimer's process) in almost any patient capable of coming to our clinic under their own power.
People without Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's is known to incubate for years or even decades before a person shows clinic signs of the disease. A study from Harvard Medical School, using MRI, showed that people with Mild Cognitive Impairment, a potential precursor to Alzheimer's, have up to a 30% reduction in the mass of their brain - referred to as brain atrophy.
How do people find out if they are suffering from brain atropy? There are now two methods that are emerging for the screening and early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.
1. Brain imaging including PET scans and MRI. Both of these tests are expensive and insurance will not cover these tests based on a "concern" about future Alzheimer's.
2. Eye tests for Alzheimer's biomarkers in both the lens and the retina. Research dating back over 10 years show that the Alzheimer's "hallmark" protein, beta amyloid, appears in the eye. Importantly, this protein is detectable in the eye years before people have clinical symptoms of disease. The eye tests track very closely with the brain imaging scans but at 1/10th the costs.
What do you do if you have an Alzheimer's marker in your eyes? RealHealth Clinics has developed a protocol of advanced diagnostics that determines root causes of the disease. Often we find treatable causes that enables our patients to improve. In the case of younger, healthier people, with the earliest signs of Alzheimer's markers, we are usually able prevent the disease from progressing, thus our patients seldom develop symptoms of the disease later in life.
For more information, go to "People with Alzheimer's."
People with Alzheimer's
People with Alzheimer's are encouraged to undergo the same tests as those people without Alzheimer's disease. That is, they should first undergo imaging and/or eye testing to screen for the extent of the development of the disease.
We encourage people with disease to participate in advanced testing. RealHealth Clinics developed and uses an advanced diagnosis methodology to determine true root causes of the disease. We do not stop at a diagnosis of "Alzheimer's" as it is simply a title for a constellation of symptoms, not causes, of this devastating syndrome.
Today, modern medicine evaluates the brain of patients as they decline through Alzheimer's. We take a different approach and recognize that Alzheimer's is NOT a brain-only disease. Inflammation is common to essentially all Alzheimer's patients and the inflammation is detected in the peripheral blood, not just the brain.
Through our diagnostic process we evaluate a persons state with regard to the Major Alzheimer's risk factors that include: Immune health, organ health, inflammation status, micronutrient status, nutrient status, vitamin and mineral status, hormones, toxins, genetics, environmental, and behaviorial risk factors. With this exhaustive approach, we often find a treatable or modifiable cause that will help our patient not only improve their Alzheimer's status but also their overall health.
Seldom if ever does a person have "Alzheimer's disease" and is healthy in every other way. This disease is comorbid (overlaps) with other ailments because it has a systemic (whole body) inflammatory origin as do many other diseases.