welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Friday, October 18, 2019

alzheimers news-exercise your brain

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN
Image result for organicgreendoctor
if you want to make your biceps bigger you exercise them
so it is with your brain

deborah kan in her excellent articles on alzheimers and dementia wrote about 8 steps to good brain health
you can follow her articles by signing up online for free
if all you did was read her articles you would know a lot about alzheimers

besides these eight steps you have to feed the brain
the mediterranean diet or mind diet is the one to follow
almost all foods are on these
moderation is the key
google search the two diets to see whats in them

first
get a cognitive assessment ie memory evaluation
if your doctor will not do it do the sage test
be sure and dont get help or cheat as you want an honest assessment
if there are issues you need a complete workup
you can also sign up for the online apt study
the earlier you know the sooner treatment can be started

i really believe that i am better 9 years later because i got started on aricept (donepezil) real early
earlier than most folks and got real aggressive about my brain health
i expected 9 years ago that today i would not be able to write this blog drive a car do our finances etc

second
consult your doctor about getting a genetic test
this is not for everyone
you need to understand what a positive test means
also we arent very far away before blood testing like with cholesterol will be done
for me
i wanted to know where i was with the disease so i was genetic tested
i understand what having the apoe 4 homozygous gene means
im doing what i can to counterbalance it

third
understand the risk factors for the brain like
head trauma
high blood pressure
high cholesterol
diabetes
high blood pressure in your 30s and 40s can damage the brains blood vessels
one of the things i did was to control my blood pressure with medication to normal levels
i think its one of the factors that helped me slow down symptoms

fourth
watch our vitamin d3 and vitamin b12 levels as you age
as you age your levels can drop below normal
mine did and i have to take oral supplements to bring them to normal levels
no you probably dont need b12 shots
i take otc b12 thats cheap and my levels are now normal

fifth
learn something new like a new language or playing a new musical instruments
this makes for more neuroplasticity
make that brain bigger

sixth
meditate for 30 minutes a day
when i go to my garden to work its just me and nature and i do my meditation there
in the deborah kan article linked above there is more information on this
the ex student that worked for me when she was in high school and is now a radiation oncologist has an online blog on mediation and mindfulness she uses for her cancer patients
its called the circle of hope 
just click on the link

seventh
aerobic exercise
ms kahn says if you are going to do one thing think do this one

eighth
sleep
you need deep sleep for the repair guys the microglia to come in and click all the debris in the brain while you are sleep
dont get enough deep sleep and it accumulates
also while you sleep nutrition is fed to the brain

so
work that brain and rest it and feed it the good stuff
follow these 8 steps to make your brain healthier

today
my wife she and i drive down to ucla for the 2019 appreciation brunch for those of us who volunteer to be in the research studies at the alzheimers disease clinical trial program there

we will hear about the different research programs that are ongoing there and find out what new ones are planned for the future

i have my eye on the new biogen study using an antitau antibody via infusions that may start next spring
thats when i can restart a new trial as i have to wait a year from when my last one was stopped

remember
two things are stopping us from finding a treatment or cure
money
volunteers like you and me

2 studies that caught my eye were these two

use of curcumin to fight neuroinflammation
think turmeric which has curcumin in it
i have been on turmeric now for 9 years

use of vitamin b3 derivative to remove tau from the brain
these studies are linked just above

then the money thing
we need help from the feds with money and from mine and your donations to find a cure or treatment



our santa barbara walk to end alzheimers is on saturday november 2, 2018
here is the link to my team and the walk site

we need help to reach our donation goal

click and donate and or join us
or
donate or join your local walk where you live

the organicgreen doctor

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