Dietary Fat and Dementia

I'm attending the Healthy Heart Summit this week. Neurologist David Perlmutter, MD, author of Brain Maker, was interviewed today. He reported on a study from the Mayo Clinic that found that those individuals who ate the most saturated fat had a 36% reduction in their risk for developing dementia.

I went onto his website looking for more information because my maternal grandmother had dementia (and type 2 diabetes) and my mother has been in the early stages of dementia for a number of years now. In this video, Dr. Perlmutter discusses the results of the study...

http://www.drperlmutter.com/dietary-fat-brain/

Dr. Perlmutter ends the video with the statement that there are no treatments for dementia. Well, since that time, a new and encouraging report was published in the September 2014 issue of Aging, Reversal of Cognitive Decline: A Novel Therapeutic Program, Dale E. Bredesen, M.D., in which "10 patients who utilized this program, including patients with memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), or subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), nine showed subjective or objective improvement:

One potentially important outcome is that all six of the patients whose cognitive decline had a major impact on job performance were able to return to work or continue working without difficulty.

These anecdotal results suggest the need for a controlled clinical trial of the therapeutic program."

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[Edit: Added additional information and link]:

Link to the study - (the case study histories and therapeutic programs used begin on page 710; a table outlining the goals, approaches, and rationales and references is included on page 711, note that abbreviations are explained at the bottom of the table, i.e. "CHO, carbohydrates")...

http://www.impactaging.com/papers/v6/n9/full/100690.html

For anyone with a family member or loved one in the early stages of dementia - (Alzheimer's Disease is one form of dementia) - this paper provides a roadmap for what to try.

Interestingly, low glycemic, low inflammatory, low grain diets were encouraged, as was fasting 12 hours each night, including 3 hours prior to bedtime.

Stress reducing activities were encouraged, as was optimizing sleep, exercise, and brain stimulation.

Homocysteine, vitamins B12, D and K2, insulin, blood glucose, and hormone levels were monitored and addressed if needed.

Gut health was accessed and use of prebiotics and probiotics encouraged.

The supplements Curcumin and Ashwagandha were suggested if amyloid beta, the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer patients, were present.

If heavy metals were present, chelation was encouraged.

In addition, a variety of nutritional supplements were listed to meet specific needs - (listed and explained in the bottom half of the table).

I didn't understand everything I read of course, so had to use Google, but it was worth it. Lots of good information here.

Brunneria, I neglected to mention that each of the 10 participants chose which interventions they used. None used all of the interventions, yet 9 of the 10 restored or improved their health. The three case histories and "Table 1. Theraputic System 1.0" are so informing.

I'm going to continue to review Table 1 over the next couple of weeks to see what I can add to my daily regimens, as much of the information is equally applicable to type 2 diabetes.

Not sure what's meant by the "low glycemic, low inflammatory, low grain diets" that were used in the diet, particularly "low inflammatory" as there doesn't seem to be a lot of agreement as to what those foods are.

I'm saddened to hear that both your father and father-in-law are experiencing significant memory decline. Not sure how much if any influence you have there. It's difficult, especially when it's your mom or dad.

I'm going to email the article to my mother. She studied biology and worked as a lab technologist before she married. I don't think there's a question I asked as a child that she couldn't answer. However, with the early stage dementia, not sure how much she's able to take in and put into practice, and we're geographically separated.

CatLadyNZ, just getting home now and catching up with everyone's posts.

When I was much younger, I believed in traditional medicine as it's practiced today. If ill, with something other than cold or flu, I believed in going to the doctor, getting a prescription, and taking the medication, which more often than not led to me getting better.

I facilitated a support group throughout much of the 90's. During that time, I helped a lot of people navigate the healthcare system and provided them with information on medications, dosages, etc. I brought in local presenters to talk with our group, and regularly referred members to helpful books so they could begin to learn more about their conditions, as well as additional things they could do to help themselves.

Early on I was befriended by a surgeon's wife, who needed help, and who later, with my support, started a support group in her community. She, like many of us, initially took medication, but differed in that she began trying different nutritional supplements, and more surprisingly, found some that actually reduced her symptoms further. But she didn't stop there. She also recognized the value of diet and exercise, and made changes there too. She not only got better, she went on to build her support group into a non-profit organization that expanded to serve the region, and brought in presenters from around the country.

This created a lot of confusion for me, because I thought, so long as I ate reasonably well and exercised off and on, medication was the only thing I could do to get better. I was so wrong. And this became a turning point for me.

After having worked with a number of doctors, and one in particular who was quite good, over a period of eight years, I had tried a lot of different medications, dosages, and combinations, I was better in some ways, worse in others.

And so, like my friend, I began trying different nutritional supplements too. Eventually, I felt well enough to stop all medications, with my doctors support and guidance. Though I did briefly resume taking medication during two difficult periods in the years that followed, for the most part, I've been medication free for about 15 years now.

As for inflammation, my experience has been that few things work better than diet to reduce inflammation on a long term basis. If you haven't already, I encourage you to listen to the Terry Wahls Story, a physician, diagnosed with MS in 2000, who completely restored her health with diet and nutritional supplements...
In 2000, I also had my first experience with inflammation, a pre-curser to ulcerative colitis. Following lots of lab work and a colonoscopy, my gastroenterologist surprised me. He didn't give me any medication. Instead, he encouraged me to take probiotics, to try the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, and to return in a few years for a follow-up colonoscopy.

Not sure why, but couldn't bring myself to take the probiotics. They sat in my refrigerator for months, and I finally threw them away, but I did start the diet and completely recovered, over a period of perhaps 6 months, which was confirmed at the time of my second colonoscopy.

In 2011, five years had passed since my diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. I had some free time, so I decided to finally do something about it. I still didn't want to take medication, so instead of going back to the endocrinologist who previously monitored and diagnosed my diabetes, I went to see a doctor of naturopathy who used medical history, lab tests, diet, nutritional supplements, and other lifestyle changes to improve and restore health.

She told me the first time I met her that based on my family and personal medical history of thyroid problems and nutritional deficiencies that I likely had non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). She then ordered extensive lab work for me that later confirmed it.

Thus began my second journey with diet, and a new round of supplements to treat my B12, D, and iron deficiencies. 60% of those with NCGS have no symptoms, and I'm one of them, so while I didn't experience any reductions in symptoms, my energy level improved, and I mostly just felt better in general after I began eating a gluten-free diet.

Not long after that, I got busy again, and stopped thinking about my diabetes, and I stopped taking the supplements.

Looking back, I think I decided that my 20 pounds of weight loss a few years earlier combined with eating fewer grains, less sugar, and no gluten had stablized my diabetes, so I didn't need to do anything further.

In 2015, I learned that my diabetes had gotten significantly worse, and I began my third diet, the low carb, high fat (LCHF) diet, and began taking a lot of carefully chosen, high quality nutritional supplements.

I also requested additional testing, specifically the C-reactive protein (CRP) test that measures inflammation in the body, then a second CRP test that measures inflammation in the coronary arteries. Due to my self-neglect and worsening diabetes, my inflammation scores had significantly worsened.

In August, I will repeat the CRP test that measures inflammation in the coronary arteries. While I don't have the results yet, I can tell you with confidence that the diet and supplements have reduced the inflammation because my symptoms have continued to improve. Chest pains have greatly lessened, and my blood glucose levels continue to go down.

I am not alone in my experience, many here have done the same, sometimes with a combination of medication, diet, and exercise, and others, like me, with diet and exercise alone.

And 9 of the 10 people who participated in the above therapeutic program to address their early memory loss improved or restored their health - (see link in my first post) - with diet, supplements, and lifestyle changes alone.

I encourage you to read their stories. This is one of the most encouraging and hopeful articles I've read on early memory loss and dementia in years.

CatLadyNZ said:

I'm aware of Terry Wahls' work. I still have yet to see any evidence in the form of published articles in well-regarded peer reviewed journals (not anecdotes/testimonials), demonstrating that, or which kind of, food choices reduce inflammation in the body.

Clearly, medication alone is not intended to be sufficient in managing diabetes or other chronic conditions. Medical advice is meant to (and often does) include advice and support on lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise. Correcting vitamin and mineral deficiencies also comes under the umbrella of medicine. I don't see any scientifically demonstrated value-add from naturopathy. The advice given by a naturopath, that has evidential support, can also be given by a medical doctor. Obviously, people often find their naturopath has more time to give such advice and support than their available medical doctor, but I see that as a separate issue to the demonstrated effectiveness of the advice or treatments.

I'm glad you have found the strategies you use to be helpful to you.

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CatLadyNZ, I am in the process of responding you on the new topic on inflammation that Brunneria started for us.

LucySW said:

Anti-inflammatory usually means excluding grains (and thus also gluten). Low glycemic means excluding carbs that digest quickly, ie simple or refined, ie sticking to complex, fibrous carbohydrates/green veg. So just on a translation basis the low inflammatory, low glycemic, low grain sounds as if it means no grain and complex carbs only - ie similar to low carb.

Terry Wahls excludes dairy too. And ups the amount of the veg, and organ meat.

Thanks for posting this, Winnie.

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LucySW, I think I'll email the doctor and ask if he can email me more specifics on the diet.