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The Graying of America

Our population is getting older and I have been noticing lately in newspapers, magazines and TV that many of the articles and ads are AARP-specific. For example, notice all the Cialis ads on TV now, or how about the preponderance of older actors now being hired for advertising? Every time you turn around there is a new article on dementia and how to prevent it. Then there is energy: Dr. Oz talks about boosting energy levels a lot and since he seems to have his finger on the pulse of the nation, many of us are apparently feeling flagging energy. How can we jack that all up? Usually it is some new amazing and magical potion being touted involving a supernatural form of non-injectable HGH made from "special" amino acids or (I watch Dr. Oz occasionally) some lame pill that will do absolutely no good at all for your energy levels.

(About HGH: The only way I know that you can get HGH is to inject it with pharmaceutical HGH at the cost of about $1,000 per month. I am looking out for another option, believe me, because a nice form of cheaper, non-injectable HGH would be like taking a dip in the magical pool of Cocoon.)

Just FYI, there is something being advertised for energy and reversal of aging called TA-65 which apparently is a potentized form of astragalus and that costs $600 a month. You can buy it over the Internet. I have heard good things about this but am quite leery of the cost. There is so much being touted as the end all be all of energy and anti-aging now that it's really hard to sort it all out. Yes, even for me. I want all that as bad as you do, but so much of it is pure crap with dishonest purveyors playing on the youthing dreams of an aging population. If you want to be 30 again, there is always going to be someone out there who will say that they can help you for X-amount of mega bucks. Caveat Emptor, please.

Then there is dementia: Everyone seems to have ideas of how to prevent dementia and I pretty much agree with many of the things that are being said. For example, aluminum (which we have heard about since the 70's as causing Alzheimer's) seems to still be directly related to brain decrepitude as the aluminum molecules are neurotoxic and readily invade fatty tissues like the brain. Another good reason not to have vaccines and drink beer and sodas out of aluminum cans. Aluminum is also in baking powder, salt, coffee creamers, processed foods, antacids, cosmetics, antiperspirants, cans, juice pouches, water bottles.

Another surprising cause of dementia is grains. Read The Grain Brain by Dr. David Perlmutter and you will be convinced as I was that grains are not your best friend. The bottom line is this: All grains elevate blood sugar levels. Elevated blood sugar levels are a huge risk factor for dementia. Diabetics and especially Type II diabetics are particularly vulnerable to dementia. Brain scans show that high-carb diets and the elevation of blood sugar is directly related to shrinkage of the hippocampus, which is your brain's memory center. In fact research from the Mayo Clinic revealed that a diet rich in grain-carbs are associated with an 89% increased risk for dementia and that, to me, is a fairly whopping percentage.

And a higher fat diet is associated with a 44% reduced risk for dementia. So, think Paleo and load up on the good fats, like avocados, coconut oil and olive oil. Even the saturated fats, like butter and beef fat are no longer the culprits here. In the 60's when the low fat craze began, the saturated fat in meat was wrongly vilified as being the cause of elevated cholesterol and heart disease. That's when the replacement of fat with sugar began and that is when we started getting really unhealthy and obese and the incidence of diabetes soared as did heart disease and cancer.

However, all this saturated fat hoo-ha has been disproven by thousands of research articles in reputable medical and naturopathic journals. Unfortunately, paradigms are notoriously difficult to shift and I find that probably a good 60% of my new patients are incredulous and downright disbelieving when I give them the thumbs-up to go ahead eat steak, butter and nuts (in moderation).

But back to the brain: Luckily the brain is capable of neurogenesis i.e. the brain is capable of generating cells in the hippocampus. This is indeed good news. In fact, you could start right now. Skip the oh so delicious and addictive grains and stick to a Paleo-ish diet that will keep you going strong on all 8 cylinders until the day you become shovel-ready. And, keep your glucose levels low, as in 95 or lower.

(Extra bit of good news from Dr. Perlmutter for us baby boomers: "We know quite well that in elderly individuals, for example, those with the highest levels of blood cholesterol have about a 70% risk reduction for becoming demented. [Fats] are good for the heart. They are good for the immune system. Cholesterol is the precursor of vitamin D, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone and cortisol. This is probably why statin drugs are so damaging. You lower cholesterol [in older people] and you set the stage for things that are very, very worrisome."

In addition to becoming carb-free, are you willing to take maybe 15 pills per day to enhance your cognition, keep your brain healthy and prevent the dreaded D word? I will give you the list of supplements that I have selected as the best for our brains in terms Vinpocetine: 15 mg. Ginkgo: 120 mgs or 2 pills per day. Alpha or r-lipoic: 300 mgs per day, about 2 pills. Acetyl-l-carnitine AKA Thorne's Carnityl: 1,000 mgs per day, about 2 pills. Huperzine A: 150 mcg per day. N-acetyl cysteine: 600 mg.

Extra help for your aging brain above and beyond the above would be Gamma tocopheral, Astaxanthin , Benfotiamine, PQQ, Lithium (just 5 mgs. in the form of orotate) , Phosphatidyl serine, and Glycerophosphocholine. Wow. If you took all the above you might be able to do the New York Times Sunday Crossword.

Sleep loss and dementia: If you don't sleep well, it could be very dangerous for you as sleep loss will cause brain damage and will accelerate the onset of Alzheimer's disease. It's hard for the aging brain to regenerate itself if we don't allow it to sleep because that's when all the neurogenesis occurs.

According to the Journal of Neuroscience, sleep is necessary for maintaining metabolic homeostasis (i.e. health). Wakefulness is associated with mitochondrial stress and without the proper sleep, neuron degeneration sets in. All the pills in the world won't work if you don't allow your brain to rest fully, completely and for at least 8 hours. I know this scares a lot of you because you don't sleep well. So many of you don't sleep well! But, if I were you, I would do everything I could to change that. Mice actually lost 25% of the neurons in their locus ceruleus (the center for arousal, wakefulness and cognitive process) with inconsistent and intermittent sleep.

Women are at particular risk for Alzheimer's so it's doubly important to handle any sleep issues with us. "Elderly women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's than breast cancer." (Facts released from the Alzheimer's Association, 2014) and " ... women over age 60 have a one-in-six chance of developing Alzheimer's  nearly double the risk of men who have a one-in-eleven chance." A new case of dementia is diagnosed every 67 seconds; there are 5 million now and this number is expected to triple in the coming decades (Nightly News 3/19/14) Prevention is paramount with us, so pay attention to diet, sleep, and exercise. I can help you with all of that.

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