The New Defense Plan Against Alzheimer’s Disease

by | Jan 21, 2020 | General Medical Articles | 0 comments

Alzheimer’s disease is a well-known form of dementia with a troublesome progression that leads to memory loss, inability to function as you would normally, and eventually death. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease once it is confirmed in a patient and although early-onset of the disease is unlikely, it isn’t unheard of, meaning that even those under the age of 65 can be at risk. Early signs that this disease is taking hold of somebody begin with short term memory loss, impairment of planning and flexibility and a possible loss of memory and relationship meaning. There are ways to reduce your chances of suffering this disease, but none are guaranteed, and it may vary from person to person.

Omega-3 Acids

As people age the human body changes in multiple ways, some of these changes are good and can enrich your life, while others offer problems like the reduction in brain size. Unfortunately, this relatively normal symptom of old age also happens to be a telltale sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Medical News Today explains: “But the good news is that a recent study suggests people with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids have larger brain volumes in old age.”

You can get more omega-3 in your life by incorporating healthy fatty fishes into your diet, such as salmon and sardines. If you don’t enjoy the taste of fish, you may purchase supplements as an alternative method of getting enough omega-3 into your body.

Take Your Vitamins

Everybody knows that making sure your vitamin intake allows for all the vital vitamins and nutrients that your body needs on a daily basis. This helps in a number of different medical conditions and health related objectives, and it’s especially true for Alzheimer’s patients hoping to slow the progression of the disease, or for those hoping to prevent it from taking form. John Gever of Med Page Today explains the results of one such trial, saying: “Older veterans with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease who took vitamin E supplements in a randomized trial showed less progression of functional impairment, researchers said.”

Similar to the omega-3 treatment, this is not a cure or medication for Alzheimer’s and there’s no guarantee that it can help treat every case, but it seems to be working for many patients worldwide. You need to ask your doctor before you begin taking this vitamin, even though it’s something that should be naturally found in your system, you should never alter your routine in any drastic way without consulting a physician, especially if you have Alzheimer’s disease and are taking other medications.

Early Detection

The detection of Alzheimer’s can be a long drawn out process that takes months to verify, but there are methods being utilized in some testing that can be done at home using nothing from a ruler and a tablespoon of peanut butter. The blob of peanut butter is lifted centimeter by centimeter closer to the nostril until the patient can smell it. Ryan Jaslow of CBS News reports: “The study showed all 18 patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s had trouble smelling the peanut butter with their left nostril until it was an average of 10 centimeters closer to their nose than their test with the right nostril.”

Those who were diagnosed as not having the disease weren’t able to smell the peanut butter until it was approximately 5 centimeters from their noses, while other test subjects had no difficulty smelling it at 15 to 20 centimeters away. Peanut butter is used because it’s a well-recognized scent in North America, but other strongly scented foods or items may work just as well. Like other methods of treatment and detection, this isn’t one hundred percent guaranteed, and press has been varied on the success of this particular test.