5 Easy Secrets to Halt Dementia/Alzheimers

In this podcast, Dr. Rodney and Karen share 5 easy changes that will halt dementia and alzheimers. The number of Americans with Alzheimer's is predicted to more than double by 2050.

Make these secrets part of your daily life:
1-Take Omega 3’s (DHA)
DHA helps prevent Alzheimers because it reduces inflammation in the entire body (including the brain)

Higher DHA levels result in a 47% drop in Alzheimers due to::

• Preservation of brain structure
• Improved blood-barrier integrity
• Lower cerebral amyloid levels

Listen to this podcast on this topic here.

2-Exercise and challenge your brain to increase neuroplasticity

Regular exercise can reduce the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's by approximately 30% and 45%, respectively.
Completing puzzles, playing games, and taking adult education classes can also reduce the risk of dementia after the age of 70 by up to 11%.
Active mental activities like games, puzzles, and literacy classes provide the greatest cognitive benefits as they require problem-solving or processing and storing new information.

3-Maintain your life purpose
View life through a lens of hope (optimism)
Enjoy diverse leisure activities that make a difference in the lives of others
Cognitive benefits happen because of growth of neurons and synapses
Maintain and promote a sense of well-being

4-Pay attention to your gut health
Recent studies suggest that there is a link between poor gut health, specifically chronic constipation, and early dementia. Chronic constipation may not only be an indicator of gut health but may also be a warning sign of cognitive decline.
Researchers believe there is evidence connecting gut health to brain health. The researchers theorize that constipation and cognition are linked via the gut microbiome, which is also linked to various diseases like Alzheimer's.
People with constipation and worse cognition tended to have relatively few gut bacteria that produced butyrate, which is an important fatty acid that helps control inflammation.

5-Get your teeth cleaned regularly
A study published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation has found that periodontal (gum) disease leads to changes in your brain's microglial cells.

Microglia, which eliminate harmful substances in the Central Nervous System, can be generated from white blood cells called monocytes. Gum disease can hinder microglia's ability to digest amyloid plaque, leading to neuro-inflammation. 

Older adults with gum disease and mouth infections are more likely to develop Alzheimer's. Nearly half of Americans aged 30 and above have periodontal disease.

• Brush your teeth regularly
• Floss
• Use a Waterpik 
• Get regular dental cleanings.

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Transcript

[00:07] Announcer: Welcome to Stance for Health Podcast with Dr. Rodney and Karen Worth, where becoming healthy is not complicated. Control your health by focusing on six areas of life that we teach you so you finally have the energy you have to do what you want instead of being a victim of your age. I have over 20 years experience working as a chiropractor and Karen is an author, speaker and longevity coach. We've seen how a tiny change in your habits today can open up your life to a powerful future. Start today and take your stance for health.

[00:52] Dr Rodney: Hi, and welcome to Stance for Health podcast. I'm Dr. Rodney.

[00:56] Karen: And I am Karen.

[00:57] Dr Rodney: And today Karen and I are talking about five surprising ways to prevent dementia and Alzheimer's.

[01:05] Karen: Now, the reason that we've selected this topic is that it is very alarming if you look at the statistics, the proposed statistics, is that Alzheimer's is predicted to double by 2050.

[01:22] Dr Rodney: I think that's only 17 years from now, am I right?

[01:26] Karen: It's incredible. So that fills my heart with a fear if I'm not careful, especially if I feel like, oh, well, it's part of aging, there's nothing I can do. And so I'm very passionate about this topic, and I'm going to give you the first one because it's the one I'm the most passionate.

[01:48] Dr Rodney: Well, it's a gimme when you think about it. Well, it's a softball because we've talked about this before.

[01:56] Karen: It's raise your Omega three level, and there's going to be a link to two podcasts on that. And the reason is that my mother suffered from dementia. She went from being a genius that did crossword puzzles on two or three a week and reading constantly. But because of macular degeneration due to omega six oils, she could no longer do that. This Omega three was too low. What I love about this is that this is an easy, quick thing you can do. Throw out your Omega sixes, begin to use omega three oils, but also take that supplement. Now, Doc, I do need your help on explaining about the DHA because that's the type of level that if it can be raised, it will result in a 47% reduction in Alzheimer's.

[02:53] Dr Rodney: Yeah. What your Body needs is what's called a lipid bilayer creates almost like when you see water and Oil. Okay, right. So basically what a cell is, is just like this Floating Oil, but it's held together by tight junctions, Right. But that lipid layer is made up of these things. Now, the most delicate Places in the body or the places where it shows up the quickest IS obviously In your central nervous system. Should I say the lack of it or where the deficiency of this shows up in really important places that get a beating. Right central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and joints. Right joints, because they are servant to the level of motion that they get or good motion that they get. If you have a lack of this Substance, not only is it anti inflammatory or pro inflammatory, but you're losing cell Integrity by not having enough of this around joints.

[04:03] Karen: So this is DHA that preserves the brain structure and improves. I think what you're Talking about Is a blood barrier integrity so that the bad StUff can't get in your Brain. That's Awesome. And on top of that, when you have Alzheimer's, you have amyloid and tau protein. Right?

[04:25] Dr Rodney: And we're going to talk more about that as we go in the podcast here. If you're on blood thinners, then you shouldn't be taking either in your diet with fresh Caught salmon or mackerel and then Sardines, but you want to make sure that you don't get over 2 grams of this in Intake Per day. All right? That's just a Caution right there because it has a blood Thinning Effect, because let's face it, your blood is Basically Water.

[04:55] Karen: Wow.

[04:55] Dr Rodney: And the stuff that's Floating around in there.

[04:58] Karen: So what is the second one, Doc?

[04:59] Dr Rodney: I like the Second one. Maintain your life Purpose. I just Read, and It's something I saw on Facebook, it was Clint Eastwood, and Clint Eastwood was asked at 93 years old, they said, so how do you do it? He said, well, I just basically put the, when I wake up in the morning, I don't answer the door to the old guy.

[05:19] Karen: I love it. That whole thing of, oh, I'm so old. Yeah.

[05:22] Dr Rodney: And he said, so what else are you Going to do? Then he said, well, I'm probably going to make another movie. That is his purpose. Right?

[05:30] Karen: You got to love it.

[05:31] Dr Rodney: Really good.

[05:32] Karen: Yeah. Because I think when you view lives through a lens of hope, and that's my way of saying optimism, so if you're in a difficult situation, you acknowledge that it's difficult, but then you say, what can I learn from it? And you embrace that well.

[05:49] Dr Rodney: And when you acknowledge that you're put on this earth to make culture, God wants us to participate with him. He wants us to. We have a purpose in culture to do that.

[06:01] Karen: Yeah, we do. There's something that only I can do, and if I don't do it, it's not going to get done. What happens when you embark on a life purpose. Your neurons grow, you have more synapses. You're basically engaged. My dad was the best example ever of this, and he made it to 102. We're talking a little bit, almost like what we talked about, the blue zones, right? Don't retire.

[06:26] Dr Rodney: Paying attention to your gut health. This goes along with the blood brain barrier in your brain and taking nothing. Omega three s and having good connections and good synapses. Paying attention to your gut health. Basically, what's happening is if it happens in your brain, it also happens in your gut. And if it happens in your gut, it happens in your brain.

[06:45] Karen: It's like a separate brain, isn't it?

[06:47] Dr Rodney: It is. There's a huge number of cells that we have no idea what they do. And we think that because of the connection to the 10th cranial nerve, vagus nerve, there's almost a separate nervous system. Within the nervous system, you've got cranial nerves, but you also have the spinal cord.

[07:06] Karen: Oh, we've got a podcast about that from the people in Okinawa.

[07:11] Dr Rodney: But that's the reason why is because if it circulates in your blood, in your gut, if it gets into your bloodstream through your gut, it's almost like your mouth. But we're going to talk about that here in just a little bit.

[07:23] Karen: Well, thing about it is that as people get older, let's be very frank about it, they will start complaining about chronic constipation. YEs, I said it out loud, but they found that people that were chronically constipated, which they define as fewer than three bowel movements a week, showed early signs of poor brain health.

[07:47] Dr Rodney: I've heard some people say you need to have three bowel movements Day.

[07:52] Karen: What that study did is that it established that gut brain connection and linked it to that. But they also found the type of bacteria that they had. They didn't have a certain type, an important fatty acid that helps control. Back to that word, inflammation. It is B-U-T-Y-R-A-T-E. How do you pronounce that?

[08:20] Dr Rodney: Obedyrate.

[08:20] Karen: Yeah. Okay. And so I think it goes hand in hand in that it's a fatty acid. It can go hand in hand with being on a low fat or non fat way of eating that basically hurts you. Here's one. Exercise regularly and challenge your brain to increase neuroplasticity.

[08:45] Dr Rodney: Let's go back to original purpose. Our brain is set up mostly as a CPU for movement.

[08:53] Karen: Ooh, say that again.

[08:54] Dr Rodney: Our brain is set up as a computer that's basically like the CPU for movement.

[09:01] Karen: We were created to move.

[09:03] Dr Rodney: In fact, when you look at the latest research on how the brain heals by Deutsche MD. We do cell studies. We geek out on cell studies in neurology. 85%. The estimate is 85% of all the neurons in your body are dedicated to motion. The flexion, extension, planning and execution of basically how your joints are moving and coordinating.

[09:30] Karen: And here we are as a culture, moving less and less and less. And I think if you study any of the blue zones where people live without dementia, by the way, few cases of dementia, they are people that have a purpose, and they move with a purpose. They're going to church, but they're walking ten minutes uphill. They are daily. Daily. Or they're sheep herders and they're climbing the mountains after their sheep and their goats. Yeah.

[10:05] Dr Rodney: Can you imagine that? What do you do for a living? I'm 98 years old and I take care of sheep.

[10:14] Karen: Exactly. So regular exercise basically reduced the risk of dementia by 30%. And, get this, Alzheimer's by 45%.

[10:24] Dr Rodney: My God.

[10:25] Karen: Get out there and move.

[10:26] Announcer: Yeah.

[10:27] Dr Rodney: I was going to say, if you're pill minded, what pill wouldn't you want to take? A pill that would do that, if.

[10:33] Karen: If only they could create one? And here's the irony. The irony is that they have spent billions of dollars on medications to prevent and restore once people have Alzheimer's. And what they've discovered is none of them work without a lot of side effects. So get out and walk. Nothing else. Walk.

[10:54] Dr Rodney: And the key with that is that you get side benefits. Much like chiropractic.

[10:58] Karen: True there.

[10:58] Dr Rodney: No, that was a free plug. That was a shameless plug.

[11:00] Karen: We believe in part because it's your nervous system. The other thing is completing puzzles, doing crossword puzzles, playing games, taking classes, learning to play an instrument, learning to dance. That's going to be one of our. That's on our list to take ballroom dancing classes.

[11:20] Dr Rodney: And spoiler alert, I'm actually taking another online class.

[11:25] Karen: Yes, he is.

[11:26] Dr Rodney: Details later, folks.

[11:28] Karen: Yes, the reveal will come later. But here's the thing. This further reduces the risk, and it's 11%. Wouldn't you want that, too?

[11:39] Dr Rodney: I'll take another 11%. On top of the 40 and 30. It's like we're starting to really chalk up some serious numbers.

[11:47] Karen: And the thing about it, too, is that if you have your life purpose, you don't have to solve a puzzle. It could be the puzzle of what do you need to grow the business you're in? What do you need to write for that book that you're writing. In other words, you are doing, if.

[12:05] Dr Rodney: I'm hearing you write, some low grade sense of, not anxiety, but what am I going to do? It's kind of like asking that proverbial question, how do we do this?

[12:15] Karen: Yes.

[12:16] Dr Rodney: And solving problems and feeling good about.

[12:19] Karen: It and processing and storing new information. Think about it. Your neurons need to be kept alive, and that's what's really important. This last one is a surprise.

[12:30] Dr Rodney: I think we had this in mind whenever we put this together. The essence of this is get your teeth cleaned regularly, or in other words, brush, floss and water and some form.

[12:45] Karen: At least if you have the plaque buildup that I have, I have to go every six months. I practically cry. Not because it hurts, but I'm so disappointed that all those things that he mentioned earlier that I'm doing aren't working. But here's the thing. My body tends to do that I am so grateful for that privilege that I have the resources to do that. Because plaque in your teeth transplant plaque in your brain.

[13:10] Dr Rodney: And the reason for that is because there's a special bacteria that actually then stimulates the microglia. In other words, a modified monocyte, a white blood cell that cleans the plaque off. It actually has to end up doing other things that will cause plaque to develop. The white blood cell then is busy working on this bacteria because it's close to the brain, it's close to the blood brain barrier, in essence, that's what that's saying. Right.

[13:38] Karen: So it's the same plaque.

[13:39] Dr Rodney: Yeah. Gingivitis.

[13:41] Karen: Oh, my goodness.

[13:42] Dr Rodney: It's a type of plaque causing bacteria that actually ends up. Because you say gut blood barrier, the gut begins in the mouth.

[13:51] Karen: That's true.

[13:52] Dr Rodney: It's basically your skin and turns a corner. And now it's the mucosa. Right. So in other words, it's like having this bacteria live on your skin, in your gut.

[14:03] Karen: So that means that if I have gum disease and mouth infections and rotten teeth, I'm more likely to develop Alzheimer's.

[14:14] Dr Rodney: It's because of the bacteria that they're finding in this study. The most recent study that we watched, it was red. It's this international society that did the research.

[14:27] Karen: So here you go with this alarming statistic. Nearly half of Americans aged 30 and above have periodontal disease.

[14:37] Dr Rodney: 30 above 30 and half of 30 and above half.

[14:40] Karen: Yeah.

[14:40] Dr Rodney: So let's say there's 350,000,000 people in the United States. Would you say, Mama Ma start to do the numbers?

[14:47] Karen: So there is something that you can.

[14:49] Dr Rodney: Do we already mentioned it? So don't eat carb rich, processed food. In other words, that's going to stimulate this bacterial growth, this particular bad guy, right?

[15:02] Karen: Yes. So we're talking about five surprising ways. The first one, not that big of a surprise.

[15:08] Dr Rodney: Yeah, we've got the omega Three s, the DHA.

[15:11] Karen: Number two, exercise consistently and challenge your brain every day. Do something that you haven't done before recently. If there's no traffic, we turn off our GPs and say, let's use our brains because we have gotten so lazy that even something like that can help.

[15:30] Dr Rodney: Number three, maintain your sense of purpose.

[15:33] Karen: Absolutely. Number four, pay attention to your gut.

[15:36] Dr Rodney: Pretty simple way. Basically, what you're talking about is one of the ways of knowing whether or not your gut is healthy is how regular are your bowel movement. Pay attention. If you get to where you're not having a bowel movement for more than a day or two, that's a sign that you get to the doctor, get some kind of a stool sample test to see what's slowing this down, and then they can talk to you about what kind of food you're eating.

[16:00] Karen: And the fifth one that we both jumped on and loved is because we do this one, too.

[16:06] Dr Rodney: And a free, shameless plug to our dentist.

[16:09] Karen: We love you, Dr. Ratcliffe. Yes, he's got the best team. Wherever you are, find a team that will work with you so that you are healthy in your mouth as well as in your brain. That's right, because they're connected.

[16:24] Dr Rodney: That's so true.

[16:26] Karen: So speak positive things and look forward to the future like we do...

[16:31] Dr Rodney: As you take your Stance for Health.

[16:38] Announcer: Thank you for joining us at Stance for Health podcast, where getting healthy and staying that way are not as complicated.

[16:45] Dr Rodney: As you might think.

[16:46] Announcer: Subscribe now and discover steps and small changes that can increase your energy and open the door to vibrant health and longevity. This podcast has been helpful. Please write a review. We'll see you next time.