Avoiding Dementia Similar To Heart Disease – Lifestyle Changes Important

March 14, 2012

CNN

By David Martin

“This is pretty much common sense. Change your unhealthy lifestyle and get healthy. Duh!” –KTRN

Late-life dementia has a lot in common with heart disease – and many of the same causes, according to an article published Tuesday in Nature Reviews Neurology.

Like heart disease, the cognitive impairment that accompanies aging is usually the result of a combination of lifestyle and other factors, the article says. Diabetes, obesity, untreated hypertension, sedentary lifestyle and stress are all linked to both heart disease and dementia.

Other factors linked to dementia: untreated obstructive sleep apnea, clinical depression, bipolar disorder, vitamin B12 deficiency, post traumatic stress disorder, head trauma, brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen, and the ApoE, or Alzheimer’s, gene.

Lead author Dr. Majd Fotuhi says the latest research shows dementia can be delayed, stopped and sometimes even reversed with lifestyle changes.

Fotuhi, an assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says this is empowering news for anyone worried about dementia or confronting mental decline.

“All of a sudden you can be in charge,” says Fotuhi, who is also chairman of the Neurology Institute for Brain Research and Fitness. He estimates only a fifth of late-life dementia is Alzheimer’s.

Fotuhi and his colleagues reviewed factors that alter the size of the hippocampus. The hippocampus, a pair of almost thumb-sized structures on either side of the brain, is critical for the formation of new memories.

Click here for the full report.

Ubiquitous Nature of Aluminum Leading To Increased Exposure

March 7, 2012

Natural Society

By Mike Barrett

“If you are still using underarm deodorant with aluminum, you should stop.  Not only is it dangerous for your health, but you really don’t even need it if you eat healthy food.”  –KTRN

Aluminum, which is used in a large majority of food packaging and even household supplies, is an established neurotoxin at high levels. Although touted to reside at safe levels in nearly all products and in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency, this health-ruining toxin is being ingested at levels we simply don’t know are safe.

Chris Exley, a world-renowned expert on aluminum and professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Keele University, has been researching aluminum for 25 years. He has researched the massive daily exposure to aluminum, the dangers of aluminum in antiperspirants and sunscreen, aluminum found in vaccines and infant formula, and much more.

“It is in cosmetics, sunscreens and antiperspirants, as well as being used as a buffering agent in medications like aspirin and antacids. It is even used in vaccines. We know aluminium can be toxic, yet there is no legislation to govern how much of it is present in anything, apart from drinking water”, he says.

The massive amount of exposure to aluminum has led to numerous health complications and is especially problematic for infants as they are prone to absorbing it and rid themselves of the metal less efficiently. Exley’s research has pinpointed aluminum for increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease while helping to cause other neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis.

Click here for the full report.