As people age they have concerns about heart disease, diabetes, vision loss (macular degeneration, etc.), mobility issues and painful joints but what almost everyone has highest on their list is remaining independent as long as they possibly can. And the number one concern for many patients that will allow them to remain independent (aside from money) is keeping their “mind,” memory and cognition intact.
Almost all those chronic diseases mentioned - heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, being overweight, and to a lesser extent macular degeneration have temporary medical “fixes” that can “buy” the patient time with their independence. Then in the future, if the patient significantly changes their lifestyle, they can reverse or improve these chronic conditions….Not so with cognitive decline. There is no medical treatment (medication, medical procedure or surgery) that “buys” you time with memory. Some medications may work for a few months but they don’t provide lasting results or reversal of cognitive decline.
If people (the individual, family or support people) wait too long to start addressing the issues that cause cognitive decline, which are multi-factorial, the individual or family may not have the energy, knowledge, finances or where-with-all to do something about changing diet, exercising, taking supplements, detoxifying (i.e. heavy metals, mold, chemicals, treating Lyme, etc.), supplementing with physiologic doses of hormones, improving gut health and the microbiome, and other factors that can effect cognition after the patient has “slid” to a point where they can’t make these changes on their own. Then the person has to go into some type of extended care facility, have extensive home care, or have their partner and family try and do all the care-taking….
PREVENTION, EARLY DETECTION AND TREATMENT
OF COGNITIVE DECLINE IS IMPERATIVE!
CALL FOR A 60 MINUTE “MEMORY CHECK” APPOINTMENT 916-489-4400
AND FIND OUT WHERE YOU ARE COGNITIVELY AND GET A PLAN…
I recently re-certified to administer the MOCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) TEST designed by neurologist Dr Ziad Nasreddine, a graduate from the University of Sherbrooke, Québec, and a fellowship in Cognitive Neurology/Neurobehavior at UCLA.
It is a quick 10-15 minute screening test to evaluate the patient for mild, moderate or severe cognitive impairment or the individual can have a normal test. The test gives a numerical score for levels of cognitive impairment. It evaluates:
Short-term memory
Visuospatial abilities
Executive functions
Attention, concentration and working memory
Language
Orientation to time and place
It is a very important test because it is objective and gives you a picture of where you are compared to others in a short, minimally stressful period of time. While some people are fearful of finding out their cognitive state the test is a real gift to see where you stand. It will give a baseline and motivate you (hopefully) to apply very practical things that can be done RIGHT NOW to improve your cognition and prevent it from getting any worse.
MAINTAINING AND IMPROVING COGNITION
I have studied, interviewed and taken courses from the researchers and clinicians below that will give you tools to help slow, prevent or reverse your cognition and memory the moment you leave our office. It is important to act sooner than later with respect to cognitive issues. I really mean “SOONER THAN LATER!” As I mentioned above, unlike the other chronic diseases modern medicine has medical treatments that can buy you time, then you could address the disease years later and possibly still reverse your disease (though I don’t recommend that approach, prevention is best!). But cognitive decline really has no good medical treatments that “buys you time.” If you wait too long the burden of any therapy, including lifestyle, diet, supplements, hormones, medication, environmental control and detoxification, etc. relies on your care-taker, spouse or family to administer it. If you don’t initiate a total program early it may not even get started and the person either has to have expensive home care or goes into a facility. So START NOW with your “Cognition Tuneup and Plan”! There is so much you can do right now! Just keep reading below!
RESOURCES
I have been influenced and studied the works of Martha Morris, PhD on her “Mind Diet” research (Diet for the Mind ) and have interviewed her ; taken practitioner trainings with neurologist Dale Bredesen, MD, have interviewed him, read several times his two books “The End of Alzheimer’s” (2017) and “The End of Alzheimer’s Program” (2020) and read neurologists Dean and Ayesha Sherzai’s excellent books “The Alzheimer’s Solution” (2017), “The 30-DAY Alzheimer’s Solution” (2021) and heard them speak on multiple occasions.
Printout Free Handout Below by Kirk Hamilton PA-C
READ DRS. AYESHA AND DEAN SHERZAI’S LATEST BOOK “The 30-DAY Alzheimer’s Solution” (2021) RIGHT NOW! I have read it in print and have listen to the audiobook 3-4 times. I have heard them speak several times at medical conferences. Though the recipes are fabulous in this book, even if you never try a recipe I want you to read the first 87 pages of their book. It is easy to read, understandable, and will give you both “brain saving” and “life saving” information in a totally understandable and immediately applicable format! Get this book…. Read those 87 pages and start applying the five principles of the NEURO PLAN right now. All the other books I mentioned above are great! But they can be overwhelming with too much good information as you begin your journey. Their first book (The Alzheimer’s Solution 2017) goes over these five steps in the NEURO Plan but there is so much detail that you can get overwhelmed and might not take immediate action. The other reason to apply the 5 steps in the NEURO Plan is not only will they help your cognition and help prevent Alzheimer’s disease but these steps will help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, degenerative eye and other nervous system disorders while normalizing your weight as well (Did I say reduce your Covid 19 co-morbidities too!). The United States and the world could use a lot of this!
If you or a family member already have mild, moderate or severe cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s then this visit will be of significant help for implementation of the NEURO Plan PLUS be evaluated for environmental toxins such as mold, Lyme and heavy metals, hormone deficiencies, blood sugar and lipid abnormalities, excessive inflammation, nutritional deficiencies (vitamin and minerals), possible sinus infections, and gut health which can all contribute to cognitive decline. Medicare actually pays for a fair amount of these tests. If you are not Medicare, but an HMO (i.e. Kaiser, etc.), then these lab tests are available at cost and can be drawn at our clinic.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM “THE 30-DAY ALZHEIMER’S SOLUTION” The Definitive Food and Lifestyle Guide to Preventing Cognitive Decline by Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, MD, 2021:1-87
NEURO PLAN (pages 4-27)
NUTRITION - Whole, unprocessed foods, mostly plant-based. Avoid saturated fat from all sources (cheese and chicken are huge sources), but consume plant foods with good fats such has sea algae, nuts, seeds (chia and flax) and avocados. Get omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA from flax and chia seeds but also from sea algae (1-2 capsules per day). No processed carbohydrates or added sugars are to be consumed. No refined foods at all. Also eliminate alcohol for a month.
EXERCISE - Exercise is critical and it’s the big “free-bee” in preserving you cognitive decline. If you are concerned about your memory and you don’t exercise then you are not serious about improving it or you just don’t know how important it is. Exercise reduces inflammation and oxidative stress. It helps parts of the brain communicate with other parts. Exercise can help you build millions of new brain connections (in the white matter) even later in life. Exercise increases BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) a secreted protein that regulates many aspects of neuronal development and function in the nervous system. BDNF regulates neural stem cell survival and differentiation, axon/dendrite differentiation, synapse formation and maturation, and refinement of developing circuits. It is also a key regulator of synaptic plasticity and late-phase long-term potentiation AND it is FREE! Just move your body!
UNWIND (DISTRESS) - Avoid or reduce overwhelming stress. Apply stress reduction practices into your daily lifestyle. Good stress can increase your oxytocin and reduce cortisol and adrenaline levels which can improve brain function. Bad or uncontrolled stress can alter dopamine and serotonin levels and increase anxiety and depression. Bad stress increases cortisol, alters thyroid and growth hormones, and can alter your insulin and immune system. Overwhelming stress effects billions of connections between neurons which in turn effects concentration, attention, decision-making, judgement and memory formation. It causes your brain to shrink by inhibiting the formation of neurons and axonal growth hormones. It causes your scavenger microglia cells to start attacking good brain structures, like the hippocampus, negatively effecting memory. Uncontrolled bad stress negatively effects you immune system, weight, heart rate and blood pressure. Overwhelming stress can effect your satiety centers making you either very hungry or have a reduced appetite. It is important to identify your bad stressors and try and reduce them.
Meditation, mindful breathing, journaling, exercise, yoga, listening to music, de-cluttering your environment, stimulating healthy relationships and living a purpose-driven life all can help reduce uncontrolled stress.
Good stress is following a purpose-driven life with completion of milestones. This helps your brain be more resilient.
RESTORE (SLEEP) - For the brain sleep is our “Super Spa”. During sleep the brain 1) Removes the days waste - inflammation and oxidative by-products; abnormal proteins and toxins 2) Is converting short-term memory to long-term memories and gets rid of useless ones. 3)It is organizing thought processes and building new connections. 4) With restorative sleep you are happier, more focused, more coordinated, smarter, less likely to have strokes or headaches, will be able to control your weight better and have a better libido.
Restorative sleep has both REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. Stage 2 and 3 of NREM sleep are where memories are formed and memory retention occurs. Slow-wave sleep (stage 3) is where most of the consolidation of the memory takes place. During REM sleep the brain “defrags” itself and organizes information. This allows for better focus, concentration, creativity and reason. If we don’t get passed stages 1 & 2 we can have brain fog. Sleep deprivation can lead to hormonal imbalances (leptin and ghrelin) that can lead to increased cravings and food intake.
Alternate work cycles can throw off hormones like melatonin and negatively effect circadian rhythms which can negatively effect cognitive function.
Sleep aids are hit or miss if they work. There are a “million” things people try AT BEDTIME. Here are some of mine - melatonin 3-6 mg, calcium and magnesium citrate 500 mg : 500 mg, 5 http 50-200 mg, L-tryptophan 1000-2000 mg; L-theanine 200-400 mg, valerian root 500 mg 1-2. Good sleep hygiene is very important - going to bed early, at the same time, avoiding before bed TV, phones, tablets or computer screens.
OPTIMIZE (PURPOSE) - Purpose driven stress can increase your cognitive reserve and be good for you. Cognitive reserve is the measure of connectivity we develop in our brains throughout our lives. Cognitive reserve is a summation of how much information we take in, the risk, adventure, joy, learning and experience we accumulate over a lifetime. A life that is well lived usually results in a higher cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve is building redundant connections between billions of neurons and brain structures so as the brain ages we can still function at an optimal level. Challenging our brain increases cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve is built by engaging in multiple areas at once, especially around your passions and purpose. Reading a book and then discussing it integrates different parts of your brain. Multi-functional practices like knitting are ideal. Social interaction is key for reducing the risk to dementia. Something like a card game or a knitting group then talking to friends at the same time is ideal. Or eating around a table with family and friends talking about different topics and issues. Food consumption should be intertwined with social behavior and ideally with a strong sense of community.
Putting all the components of the NEURO Plan together creates an effect of “The Sum is Greater Than The Parts” as far as preventing or improving cognitive decline (i.e. diet, exercise, sleep, stress, purpose). Likewise our cognition can decline rapidly if these components to the NEURO Plan are not at all optimal.
THE ALZHEIMER’S SOLUTION “7 RULES FOR EATING”
“The 30-Day Alzheimer’s Solution” by Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, MD, 2021:11
1. Eat plant-based diet (and the NEURO 9 foods every day)
2. Avoid foods high in saturated fat
3. Avoid refined carbohydrates and sugar
4. Reduce salt and season your food with herbs and spices
5. Avoid processed foods
6. Drink water
7. Eat homemade meals
THE ALZHEIMER’S SOLUTION “THE NEURO 9”
“The 30-Day Alzheimer’s Solution” by Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, MD, 2021:9
1. Green Leafy Vegetables - 3 cups raw or 1.5 cups cooked
2. Whole Grains - 3 servings (1/2 cup cooked oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, or 100% whole-wheat is
1 serving)
3. Seeds - 2 tablespoons (2 servings)
4. Beans and Legumes - 3 servings of 1/2 cup cooked beans or tofu / tempeh, 1/4 cup hummus,
or 1/2 cup peas
5. Berries - 1/2 cup (1 serving)
6. Nuts - 1/4 cup (1 serving)
7. Crucifers - 1 cup (2 servings)
8. Tea - At least 1 cup daily
9. Herb and Spices - At least 1/4 teaspoon daily
RISK FACTORS TO COGNITIVE DECLINE AND ALZHEIMER’S
(The Alzheimer’s Solution, 2017;18) Teamsherzai.com ; Facebook.com/SherzaiMD /
(Prevention & reversal of cognitive decline)
• Alcohol abuse
• Blood pressure -high
• Cholesterol -high
• Diabetes (or prediabetes)
• Diet –highly processed, high sugar, high saturated fat
• Head trauma
• Obesity
• Sedentary Behavior
• Sleep problems, poor sleep
• Smoking
• Stress
• Vascular disease –small vessel
TOP TWENTY “BRAIN NOURISHING” FOODS
(The Alzheimer’s Solution, 2017:95-98)
• Avocados
• Beans
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Coffee
• Dark Chocolate
• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• Flax Seed
• Herbal Tea –Mint, lemon balm, hibiscus
• Herbs –cilantro, dill, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, mint, parsley
• Leafy Greens
• Mushrooms
• Nuts
• Omega-3 Fatty Acid (algae)
• Quinoa
• Seeds (Chia, sunflower)
• Spices –Cinnamon, cloves, marjoram, allspice, saffron, nutmeg, tarragon
• Sweet potatoes
• Tea –green
• Turmeric –curcumin
• Whole grains
TOP TEN FOODS TO AVOID FOR OPTIMAL “BRAIN HEALTH”
(The Alzheimer’s Solution, 2017:98-99)
• Processed foods –high in sugar, salt, saturated fats-clogs blood vessels to the brain and damages
brain tissue
• Processed meats –preservative, salts and saturated fats that cause inflammation and damage blood
vessels to the brain
• Red meat –contains inflammatory saturated fatty acids
• Chicken –main source of cholesterol in American diet. 3 x fat as protein and major contributor to
obesity
• Butter and margarine –saturated and trans fats cause clogged arteries and brain shrinkage
• Fried food and fast food -trans fats reduce brain volume and increase cognitive decline
• Cheese –high saturated fat damages brain blood vessels
• Pastries and Sweets –inflammation and brain burnout
• Sugary Drinks –inflammation, damages neurons
• Excessive alcohol –neurotoxic to brain cells
CALL FOR A 60 MINUTE “MEMORY CHECK” APPOINTMENT 916-489-4400
ASSESS WHERE YOU ARE COGNITIVELY AND GET A PLAN…
Visit Will Include:
• MoCA Cognitive Test
Personal Cognitive Risk Factor Review
• Medical History
• Medication History
• Diet History
• Environmental History
• Risk Factors for Cognitive Decline
• Review The Need For Assessment Tests for Cognitive Decline - Glucose, lipid and inflammation markers, hormone levels, vitamins, mineral, fatty acids, stool/microbiome assessment, Brain MRI with Neuroquant, environmental toxins (toxic metals, mold, measurement of CIRS markers, Lyme disease)
• Review need for additional therapies to lifestyle and supplements including intravenous NAD, vitamins/minerals, glutathione, chelation therapy, mold and metal detoxification
***Special discount price for 60 minute “Memory Check” is the 30 minute Medicare Office Visit Charge - $150***
Individualized Cognitive Prevention and Reversal Plan
1. Follow the the five point NEURO Plan Lifestyle Program found in the “30 Day Alzheimer’s Solution” and/or Alzhiemer’s Prevention and Reversal Handout Recommendations
2. Plan for further evaluation by appropriate testing with follow-up appointment and treatment plan
Call 916-489-4400 NOW to set up your Cognitive Risk Assessment and NEURO Plan Appointment with MoCA Testing and be on a path to prevent, reverse and optimize yours or a loved one’s memory and cognition!
Be Well,
Kirk Hamilton PA-C
Prescription 2000, Inc.
Health Associates Medical Group
3301 Alta Arden, Suite 3
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 489-4400 (w)
krhammer@surewest.net
www.KwikerMedical.com
www.HealthyLivingforBusypeople.com
www.StayingHealthyToday.com