Archived News of the Week

April Newsletter 2022

"Nearly half of all older adults now die with a diagnosis of dementia": Whoa! You can just imagine how that lead sentence caught my attention. This study was done by a group at the University of Michigan who published their study in the April, 2022 issue of JAMA. The Michigan team used data from 3.5 million people over the age of 67 who died between 2004 and 2017. It focused on the bills their providers submitted to Medicare in the last 2 years of the patient's lives. The end-of-life billings with a dementia diagnosis went up from about 34% to around 47%. Folks, this is almost 50% of us. So that is why I take so many brain pills and suggest that those of you over a certain age might consider doing that, too.

Then there are some new kids on the block in aging and longevity which I want to briefly tell you a bit about. (I am taking these, too.) 1) Oxaloacetate from Bullet Proof. They call it Keto Prime. OA increases the ATP fuel in the mitochondria which increases our energy; it regulates gluconeogenesis (sugar); it helps our beloved mitochondria to function better and gets rid of the dreaded ammonia in our livers. 2) Urolithin A: This is an extract of pomegranate (Mitopure) which is involved with energy and endurance, mitochondrial health, healthy aging and for age-related muscle decline. You could get that from me.

"People with higher fat sources had a 44% reduction in the risk of dementia as opposed to an 86% increased risk even if you eat healthy carbs and grains." So, this means that higher fat is good for your brain and carbs - even good ones - aren't so much, so eat them sparingly. Don't be afraid of good oils, like real olive oil. I cooked an egg this morning swimming in Bellucci Italian olive oil and it was delish and good for me, too.

Then there is Nicotinamide Riboside which is not specifically a brain food, but more of a Super Aging and Longevity supplement. This enhances the production of NAD+ which is reduced with aging. We need NAD+ because it acts as a shuttle bus between cells to transport electrons. This all equals to increased cellular energy. I take Thorne's NiaCel 400 which provides me with 415 mgs of NR. I take this with pterostilbene which enhances NR's effect.

"A so-called normal blood sugar of 105 will create a dramatic risk of dementia. You want a glucose level of 85-90." The takeaway is that sugar is horrible for you, don't do it! You also want a Hemoglobin A1C of 5.5 or less.

And while I am at it, I might as well mention Lactoferrin which is not a brain supplement, but an excellent one for your immune system. It is an iron-binding protein that protects against viruses and bacteria, an enhanced version of collagen which is not absorbed very well by the body. Lactoferrin is much better.

Ms. Mitochondria: I bet you didn't know that mitochondria are matrilineal which means that whether we are male or female, all of our mitochondria are inherited from our mothers and the source or energy that sustains all of us is exclusively derived from the women in our family tree. Follow the women in your family lineage: Were they long-lived? Any genetic diseases? Psychological stability? Remember this: Genetics loads the gun, but our lifestyle pulls the trigger.

The other interesting thing about mitochondria is that their DNA is arranged ring-like which is identical to that of bacteria. So, are mitochondria bacteria? According to biologist Lynn Margulis, that's entirely possible. It's complicated but billions and billions of years ago, they evolved from aerobic bacteria which then entered into endosymbiosis with anaerobic bacteria and so became one organism allowing the anaerobic bacteria to live in an oxygen rich environment. They did the endosymbiotic dance with each other for eons and became one, then they became many ones, then they expanded and expanded and over the course of billions of years, they became... us.

What do mitochondria like? Well, for one thing, they like to be cold. So I underdress in the winter and don't mind being cold, because it's "good for me." However I simply cannot bear the thought of ending my shower with 30 seconds of cold water, so I do have a boundary of what I will do for them. They like you to walk barefoot on the earth and on the sand. They like high levels of vitamin D, B12, Folate, CoQ10, lots of magnesium, fats and intermittent fasting. The latter allows them to stop digesting food and renew themselves. They hate stress, EMF's, grains, sugars, leaky gut, toxins inflammation and unfortunately, they hate aging. Oh well, we can just do the best we can to age well for them and hope for the best.

"I see people out there climbing mountains and zip lining and here I am feeling good about myself because, today, I got my leg through my underwear without losing my balance."

No statement or content in this web site shall be construed as offering diagnosis, cure, mitigation or prevention of any disease. Anyone having questions regarding the content of this site should contact their own health care provider for verification.