By Dr. Linell King
Functional Medicine is the medicine of the future. We use it to restore your body’s innate healing potential, and not just treating symptoms. It uses a combination of science-driven testing with healthier lifestyle practices, to treat the whole person and not just parts of your body. A “one size fits all” approach never works. Therefore, people often don’t get the answers they are looking for from their primary care doctors. At Naples Vitality, we don’t rely on basic solutions or guesswork, we pinpoint the real reason why you don’t feel well – even if you’ve been told that “everything’s fine”.
Neurons, our brain cells and nerve cells, play a fundamental role in our cognitive function, including memory, thinking, and learning. Neurons are constantly repairing themselves, especially during sleep, but when brain cells or nerve cells can’t repair themselves, due to a variety of factors, it can ultimately affect cognition. Alzheimer’s disease is associated with a build-up of compounds, such as active microglial cells, tau proteins, and beta-amyloid plaques, among several others.
The body can’t break down these compounds, so they can start to block the synapses where brain cells or nerve cells communicate with each other. This is believed to be one of the most common causes of Alzheimer’s Disease and other types of dementia. A build-up of these compounds can occur due to toxins, infections, inflammatory biomarkers, and genetics.
This is where Functional Medicine goes deeper. Rather than solely focusing on the removal of amyloid plaques, functional medicine asks why plaques arise and seeks to prevent their development in the first place. The whole-body systems approach of functional medicine has proven optimal for treating the chronic illnesses that lead to Alzheimer’s disease, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and more. Consequently, these efforts have led to unprecedented success for treating Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s, now affecting more than 5.5 million Americans, is a devastating situation, not just for the patient, but for the families and caregivers as well. That is absolutely no meaningful medical treatment for this disease that will ultimately affect a full one-half of those of us living to 85 years of age. Alzheimer’s disease, like coronary artery disease, arthritis and even cancer, is triggered by inflammation.
While most of us can easily recognize the role of inflammation in a painful arthritic joint, it is the exact same process that has now been identified as playing a pivotal role in Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, the same laboratory markers used by doctors to measure the degree of inflammation in the body to determine cardiac risk are just as effective in predicting risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
Beyond the laboratory studies, lifestyle choices aimed at reducing inflammation – the same ones that are recommended for weight loss, reducing the risk for heart disease and diabetes – can absolutely help to keep your brain healthy and resistant to Alzheimer’s disease. The top five recommendations to prevent and reduce the effects of Alzheimer’s are:
1. Reduce foods that raise blood sugar. Higher blood sugar increases inflammation. Avoid refined grains and reduce grain consumption in general. Eat more vegetables than fruit, and favor vegetables that are grown “above ground.”
2. Eat more fat. While this may run counter to what you’ve been told, studies clearly show that higher levels of good fats like those found in virgin olive oil, avocado, raw nuts and seeds, wild fish, and even grass-fed beef, are brain protective. It’s the bad fats, meaning those fats that have been modified or hydrogenated, as well as trans fats, that are clearly bad for the brain.
3. Exercise. Research demonstrates a marked reduction in Alzheimer’s risk among those who regularly exercise aerobically. 20 minutes of aerobic exercise 6 or 7 days each week is recommended. In fact, new research shows increased growth of the brain’s “memory center” in people who exercise regularly.
4. Sleep at least 8 hours each night. Inadequate sleep is strongly associated with Alzheimer’s risk.
5. Take an omega-3 supplement containing DHA. According to the well-respected Framingham Study, individuals consuming the highest levels of DHA, a powerful natural anti-inflammatory, may have as much as a 40% risk reduction for Alzheimer’s disease.
Don’t limit prevention or treatment. Functional Medicine, a full-spectrum approach to mental and physical wellbeing is our focus at Naples Vitality. Now, more than ever, it’s important to spread awareness so that those suffering from Alzheimer’s get the attention they need. Scientists know that the lifestyle choices corresponding with the tenets of functional medicine play a huge role in the risks, development, prevention, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Eating healthy, interacting with friends and family, and getting quality exercise do more than we might imagine mitigating all these factors.
Linell King MD, renowned internist and author of “Mastering Vitality” received his medical degree from the University Of Wisconsin School Of Medicine, and completed his residency at The Johns Hopkins University Sinai Hospital Program of Internal Medicine. He has been practicing for twenty years; currently at his “Naples Vitality” office in Naples, FL.
Our practice size is limited to ensure the best possible care for our clientele; we qualify and accept patients committed to working collaboratively to create improved health and continued success.
Naples Vitality
239-465-0098
www.Naplesvitality.com
3411 Tamiami Trail N. Suite 200
Naples, FL 34103