Toxic Alzheimer's
In my last blog I talked about Dr. Dale Bredesen’s first book “The End of Alzheimer’s “. Now his new book has been released, “The End of Alzheimer’s Program”. It is full of useful, practical information for all of us, whether you are dealing with cognitive decline in yourself or a loved one. And especially if you want to know how to prevent cognitive decline. There is no one size fits all plan for dementia and in fact Dr Bredesen describes several types of Alzheimer’s, each with different causative factors and different therapeutic approaches. In my last blog I described types 1-3. Today I will update the list and describe the other types that Dr. Bredesen details in his new book.
Type 1- Inflammatory or hot: evidence of systemic inflammation
Type 1.5- Glycotoxic or sweet: high blood sugar, high fasting insulin
Type 2- Atrophic or cold: suboptimal levels of nutrients and hormones
Type 3- Toxic or vile: exposure to mercury, toluene, mycotoxins( such as molds)
Type 4- Vascular or pale: associated with cardiovascular disease and strokes
Type 5- Traumatic or dazed: history of head trauma in the past
There are also mixed types that show characteristics of more than one of the types listed.
Today I am focusing on type 3 or toxic Alzheimer’s. Toxic exposures are all around us. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the products we apply to our skin can all contain toxins that can harm us on a cellular level. Some of us have a genetic makeup that allows for strong detoxification activity. When we are exposed to toxins, our body cleans it up and eliminates it. But some of us have genetic SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) that don’t allow the clean up process to be as effective.
The strategy is to eliminate exposure as much as possible and then support the body’s ability to clean up what we are exposed to. I think we are all familiar with the word carcinogen- toxins that are thought to cause cancer. A new word to me is dementogen- toxins related to the cause of dementia. Not surprisingly both lists have many toxins in common.
Three groups of dementogen toxins (poisons) are: metals and inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals like toluene and pesticides (glycophosphate or Roundup), and biotoxins which are toxins produced by living organisms like black mold.
So where are these toxins coming from and how do they get into your brain? What is your individual exposure? If you don’t know how you are being exposed, you won’t know how to eliminate those toxins.
Mercury is a heavy metal and can come from dental amalgams (inorganic mercury) and seafood especially large long-lived fish such as tuna, swordfish, and shark (organic mercury). Arsenic can also be found in seafood. People who were exposed to the World Trade Center cloud had multiple toxic exposures. To check your metal exposure requires a test like the one offered by Quicksilver or Doctor’s Data to measure the presence of heavy metals in your system. Some test hair, or blood and urine.
Organic toxins can include glycophosphate, toluene, and many others. Glycophosphate is a very common herbicide used to kill weeds. The World Health Organization has designated it as a probable carcinogen. It is suspected that it is also a neurotoxin but it has not been officially designated as one. Food that is genetically modified like corn, soybeans, canola and sugar beets have significant glycophosphate levels. Apparently even food that is non GMO and labeled organic can have glycophosphate sprayed on it as a desiccant before harvest. It helps to know your farmer! The large majority of us have been exposed to glycophosphate in the air we breathe and the food we eat. A lab called Great Plains Laboratories is able to test you for toxin exposure including glycophosphate.
I learned something new about the source of toluene! It is released when you burn paraffin candles! Paraffin wax comes from petroleum, coal or shale oil. It’s hard to know if a significant amount of toluene is released, but since there are alternatives, like beeswax candles, that may be a better way to go if you are someone who is chemically sensitive. A great source to research toxins in food or products is the Environmental Working Group. www.ewg.org. They evaluate ingredients in skin care products and recommend nontoxic choices.
Biotoxins include mold exposure. A large percentage of the population has mold exposure because of water damage in our homes from floods and hurricanes and because of mold in schools and workplaces. I clearly remember my daughter’s dorm room at college where the heating/ air conditioning vents were all gunked up with black fuzzy stuff that looked like mold and who knows when they were cleaned last. Or even major hospital systems who had to close down operating rooms recently because of the presence of aspergillus mold in the ventilation system that sickened vulnerable patients including some who died. Mycotoxins are everywhere! Some of us are more sensitive to the harmful effects of living in a moldy environment, but it is not healthy for anyone. Tests for biotoxin exposure can be performed by way of a urine sample. Two tests are GPL urinary mycotoxins and RealTime Labs urinary mycotoxin test. There is also a test online called visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) that tests how well you can distinguish fine shades of gray. https://www.vcstest.com. This test is not diagnostic but if positive it may indicate the need for further investigation.
So what can you do if you are living in this toxic soup? How can you minimize exposure to dementogens?
Air: HEPA air filter, avoid smoking and second hand smoke, avoid air pollution as much as possible, check your ERMI score in your house- it should be less than 2. An ERMI score is the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index. An average home should have a score of 0, and it is considered high if over 2, possibly needing remediation. The ERMI panel includes 26 mold species that thrive in water damaged homes and 10 species found in all homes. The samples are taken from dust in your living room and bedroom.
Water: Use a water filter or have your tap water evaluated for the presence of chemicals and biotoxins. I recently used a company called National Testing Laboratories, LTD that offers a variety of tests for your tap water. The results were ok, not perfect, but not dangerous. There are many choices for filters- both below the sink, above the sink, counter top and whole house systems and many opinions about which is best! I liked having a filter under the sink so it was out of the way and I had a spigot for clean drinking water. The filter only had to be changed once per year. The brand I used was by Multipure. (I have no financial interest). Drink out of stainless steel or glass bottles rather than plastic to avoid BPA and BPS.
Food: Eat organic fruits and vegetables. Avoid the Dirty Dozen listed on the EWG site which are more heavily sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. (2020 list: strawberries, spinach, kale, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes) So if you eat these, aim for organic. They also list the clean 15 that are safer to eat in the nonorganic variety.
Skin: Avoid toxins in soaps, topical lotions, shampoo, toothpaste, sunscreen, lipstick, scented laundry detergent etc. There is an app called Think Dirty that helps you evaluate ingredients and of course the environmental working group has an extensive data base.
Whew! That is a lot to think about, especially if thinking about the toxins around you is new territory for you. In my next blog, I will discuss ways to support your body to detoxify what you are exposed to. It is impossible to totally avoid all the above mentioned toxins, so finding things you can do to help make your body’s detoxification systems stronger is super helpful.
If you want to learn more detail about toxins, there are two books that Dr. Bredesen recommends, that I have not yet read.
“The Toxin Solution: How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health-And What We Can Do To Fix It” by Dr. Joseph Pizzorno
“Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness” by Neil Nathan, MD
Thanks for reading and stay well!
This blog is meant for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.