This is not an easy subject to write about but hopefully by the end of this article you will know more about the primary causes of Alzheimer’s and what you can do to prevent it.
According to Alzheimer’s.org, Alzheimer’s has been shown to be the 6th leading cause of death in the US resulting in approximately 84,000 deaths a year.
However, a couple of years ago at Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago, an enterprising researcher named Bryan James, began to closely examine the country’s death records and discovered two factors of interest. He observed that the data was filled with irregularities and inaccuracies (I.e. the Alzheimer’s deaths were under reported), and second, those initially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s ended up having a fatal case of respiratory or cardiac problems.
If this is truly the case, the actual number of deaths could be well over 500,000 fatalities a year raising Alzheimer’s to the 3rd leading cause of death in the country.
These numbers sound oh too familiar as I reflect on the fate of my family, specifically my stepmother and sister-in-law. I hope that these following explanations will offer clarity to people that demand real answers regarding Alzheimer’s Disease.
So why is the correlation between cardiac problems and Alzheimer’s important to understand? Why is it important to connect the dots as you would with any other mystery? This is because the dots one way or another can always be connected and present startling implications.
What I’ve discovered through years of research is Alzheimer’s patients usually suffer from respiratory or cardiac failure due to the effect that the disease has on the brain. Alzheimer’s literally shrinks the brain putting more pressure on the lungs, heart and the entire body. Over a long period of time, these patients struggle with respiratory issues and eventually have their heart compromised. The phrase I’ve started to use to describe this process is ‘a slow walk to the grave.’
However, there is more to the story. If we wanted to press further, we would find that many researchers have discovered there is some type of inflammation in the brain for many years before Alzheimer’s reaches a fatal outcome. Typically, from the initial outset of diagnosis, it could take 2-10 years or slightly more until they die from health complications.
But let’s not forget to ask ‘what causes this inflammation in the brain to start with?’ The answer would lead us to discover the same data that I personally found a few years ago. Typically, decades before someone dies of Alzheimer’s they have contracted what I call one of the ‘diseases of aging’: diabetes, cardiac problems, arthritis, osteoporosis and auto immune disease. It’s as if the inflammation in the body sometimes, but not always, overloads the vessel eventually penetrating the brain.
This may seem like a mystery to some, but I say if we could travel back 10-20 years or even longer into the past, we could influence the eventual outcome of an Alzheimer’s patient. By optimizing the health of an individual prior to being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, we could potentially prevent and reverse the disease altogether.
This might involve a change in diet, more exercise, or even the applications of alternative therapies such as CranioSacral Therapy. But if we could prevent the spread of inflammatory conditions in the body, perhaps the brain, the memory bank and life could be spared.
Craniosacral therapy is specifically used to increase the flow of cerebral spinal fluid which reduces inflammation encouraging better health conditions. Perhaps prevention and even reversal of Alzheimer’s is possible through craniosacral therapy.
For more information about Michael’s mission please go to www.preventingalzheimers.com