Excerpt from my book Silica Water the Secret of Healthy Blue Zone Longevity in the Aluminum Age
in this write up
OSA is Orthosilicic Acid which is the bioavailable form of silica
AD is Alzheimer's
Blue Zones are Demographic regions of the world where people commonly live active lives past the age of 100 years. The areas of which are Okinawa Japan, Sardinia Italy, Nicoya pennisula Costa Rica, Ikaria Greece and the Seventh-Day Adventist in California
Aluminum and the Risk of AD in People with the APOE-e4 Gene
The APOE-e4 gene
increases the concentration of beta-amyloid peptide in the brain and has been
linked to a higher risk of AD. The e4 allele of the APOE gene was
introduced into the human population at least 1.5 million years ago280.
The reproductive advantage of carrying the e4 allele was to promote human fertility in highly infectious
environments in spite of its adverse effects on late onset diseases (i.e. an
example of antagonistic pleiotropy)281. Because of this reproductive
advantage the e4 allele
frequency slowly increased during the last 1.5 million years with currently
approximately 14% of the worldwide population carrying the e4 allele280.
Because of improved hygiene and vaccines there is no longer a
reproductive advantage to those that carry the e4 allele. In the absence of a reproductive advantage, the e4 allele frequency in the
worldwide human population is not predicted to change (e.g. the Hardy-Weinberg
principle).
Therefore the recent exponential growth of AD is not due to an
exponential increase in e4 allele
frequency. Instead the exponential growth of AD is due to a newly introduced
environmental chemical that potentiates APOE-e4 making one of its protein products or their derivatives, such as
oligomeric beta-amyloid peptide, more neurotoxic. This was proven to be the
case by Denise Drago in 2008 when she tested a variety of metal ions (e.g.
aluminum, iron, zinc, and copper) and found that only aluminum when bound to
the oligomeric beta-amyloid peptide resulted in significantly increased neurotoxicity282.
Aluminum is a causal factor of AD in people with and without the e4 allele of the APOE gene,
but in those with this allele there is more oligomeric beta-amyloid for
aluminum to toxify. For this reason usually those with the APOE-e4 gene have a higher risk of
AD than those without the e4
allele. But what if there is an
exception? What if there is an undiscovered Blue Zone on earth where people
with the APOE--e4 gene
had the same risk of AD as those without the APOE--e4 gene? What if people in
this undiscovered Blue Zone drank OSA rich water and ate an OSA rich diet that
lowered their aluminum body-burden to the point where they were protected from
the APOE-e4 gene?
The
Exception – Ibadan, Nigeria an Undiscovered Blue Zone
The exception to APOE-e4 being a casual factor of AD is the Yoruba people of Ibadan, Nigeria
who coincidentally have the same e4 allele frequency as people in the U.S.A. From 1992 to 2006 the
APOE gene was genotyped in 2,245 elderly Nigerians living in the city of Ibadan
who were also clinically diagnosed. Surprisingly, in contrast with other
populations, the e4 allele
in the Yoruba people was not significantly associated with AD or dementia283.
The Yoruba people living in Ibadan are in general in better health
than people living in the U.S.A. Age-matched annual incidence rates of both
dementia and AD were found to be 2.4 and 2.2 times lower respectively, in a
longitudinal study of a cohort of 2,459 elderly Yoruba people living in Ibadan
versus a cohort of 2,147 elderly African-Americans living in Indianapolis,
Indiana284. In addition,
these elderly Yoruba people have lower incidence of vascular disease and
vascular risk factors including hypertension than does the age matched cohort
of elderly in the U.S.A.283.
OSA in
Ibadan’s Drinking Water
Ibadan, Nigeria has a community water system that distributes water
from the Eleyele reservoir. Tap water sampled at 11 sites across the
distribution system indicated the water contained OSA at 22.4 to 25.6ppm285.
This level of OSA in drinking water is approximately the same as average
drinking water on mainland Japan (e.g. 26ppm) and more than twice the level of
U.S.A. drinking water (e.g. 11ppm). This
more than 2-fold increase of OSA in drinking water is associated with a more
than a 10-fold lower rate of death due to AD in Japan versus the U.S.A. (see
Table 9).
It is not surprising that both the Yoruba people of Ibadan and Japanese
living on mainland Japan both have lower incidence rates of AD than people in
the U.S.A., since OSA in drinking water lowers the body-burden of aluminum, a
causative factor of AD. It is also not surprising that among the Yoruba people
of Ibadan the e4 allele
was not significantly associated with AD or dementia, since without a body-burden
of aluminum there is no increase in neurotoxicity of oligomeric beta-amyloid.
This is the peptide that occurs in higher than normal levels in those people
with the APOE-e4 gene.
OSA in Ibadan’s
Food
Nigeria is the leading worldwide producer of cassava with annual
production of 45 million metric tons286. Cassava, the most important
dietary staple in Nigeria, is a tuber whose skin is very rich in OSA286,287.
This makes cassava one of the richest vegetable dietary sources of silicon as
OSA (e.g. approximately 270mg of silicon per 100 grams of cassava with skin that
is equivalent to 920mg of OSA per 100 grams – see Table 23)286,287.
The cassava root is toxic if not treated properly. Although cassava
can be peeled with some difficulty, the tuber is usually cut into pieces with
the skin on, dried, and fermented, in order to eliminate toxicity, and finally
converted into three main foods by the Yoruba people288.
Gari – granular cassava flour
with a ferment flavor and a slightly sour taste is eaten in stews and soups and
served with fried fish. Gari is also used as a snack when mixed with milk and
sugar.
Fufu – cassava flour mixed
into a paste with hot or cold water is ranked next to gari as an indigenous
food of the Yoruba people.
Lafun – fibrous powdery form
of cassava that is made into dough with boiling water.
The Yoruba people of Ibadan are a living example of how increased
dietary OSA in their drinking water and food can lower the aluminum
toxification of the oligomeric beta-amyloid peptide. This is the peptide that
occurs in higher than normal levels in those people with the APOE-e4 gene. By following the example of the Yoruba people of Ibadan and increasing
dietary OSA by consuming OSA rich drinking water and OSA rich food, the risk of
AD is significantly decreased in everyone either with or without the APOE-e4 gene.
Silica Water Protects Amyloid Beta Regulation
Why are annual incidence rates of both dementia and AD 2.4 and 2.2
times lower respectively in Ibadan, Nigeria than in the U.S.A.? The answer is OSA
in the drinking water and food of Ibadan’s inhabitants protects amyloid beta (b-amyloid) regulation in their
brains. Amyloid beta is a 36-43 amino acid peptide that is neurotoxic causing
inflammation of neurons that can result in cellular death. Excess amyloid beta
can also result in plaques in the brain that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s
disease (AD). Due its neurotoxicity amyloid beta is normally regulated in the
brain. Amyloid beta regulation involves not producing too much amyloid beta and
quickly degrading the amyloid beta that is produced to non-toxic
fragments. Aluminum interferes with both
of these processes. Drinking OSA rich water and eating OSA rich vegetables facilitates
aluminum excretion, thereby protecting amyloid beta regulation.
Amyloid beta is made enzymatically in the brain by a series of
enzymes that cleave off chunks of amyloid precursor protein (APP). b-secretase 1 (BACE-1) is one of the enzymes involved in making
amyloid beta. Aluminum epigenetically
increases expression of b-secretase
favoring the production of more amyloid beta289,290.
Oligomers of amyloid beta (dimers, trimers, tetramers, etc.) are
neurotoxic. Aluminum complexes of these amyloid beta oligomers are spherical
droplets that are even more
neurotoxic than amyloid beta oligomers282. Aluminum “freezes”
the amyloid beta oligomer by inhibiting its further degradation to smaller
fragments291. The
rate-limiting step in the degradation of amyloid beta is catalyzed by the
enzyme neprilysin. Aluminum
epigenetically decreases expression of neprilysin that favors more amyloid beta
in the brain289,290.
Drinking OSA rich water and eating OSA rich vegetables decreases
aluminum in the brain and restores amyloid beta regulation. In addition OSA
prevents amyloid beta oligomers from
becoming more neurotoxic. Treatment for high levels of amyloid beta in the
brain can also be done with aerobic exercise, and sleep. Aerobic exercise for 30 minutes increases the
level of somatostatin in the brain that in turn decreases amyloid beta by
increasing the activity of neprilysin1. Aerobic exercise also increases hippocampal
volume292. In addition, sleep
increases somatostatin expression and facilitates the purging of amyloid beta
from the brain1,293.
280. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apolipoprotein_E
281. Van Exel, E., et al.;
Effect of APOE 4 allele on survival and fertility in an adverse environment;
PLoS ONE; 12(7):e0179497 (2017)
282. Drago, D., et al.;
Potential pathogenic role of b-amyloid1-42-aluminum
complex in Alzheimer’s disease; Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol.; 40:731-46 (2008)
283. Gureje, O., et al.; APOE e4 is not associated with Alzheimer’s disease in
elderly Nigerians; Ann. Neurol.; Jan.; 59(1):182-185 (2006)
284. Hendrie, H.C., et al.;
Incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in 2 communities: Yoruba residing
in Ibadan, Nigeria, and African Americans residing in Indianapolis, Indiana;
JAMA; Feb.; 285(6):739-47 (2001)
285. Awopetu, M.S., et al.;
Water quality in a pipe distribution network: a case study of a communal water
distribution network in Ibadan, Nigeria; WTI Transactions on Ecology and the
Environment; 171:175-86 (2013)
286. Adepoju, A.D., et al.;
Preparation of silica from cassava periderm; J. Solid Waste Tech. Manag.;
42:216-21 (2016) Cassava peel was hand-sorted for pieces with brown periderm (approximately
5% of the cassava), was ashed at 600oC, and contained 61.5%
silicate.
287. Adebisi, J.A., et al.;
Extraction of silica from cassava periderm using modified sol-gel method;
Nigerian J. Tech. Dev.; June;15(2):57-65 (2018) TGA of periderm at 600oC
results in 30% ash.
288. Evans, E., et al.;
Nigerian indigenous fermented foods: processes and prospects; Mycotoxin and food
safety in developing countries; Chapter 7:153-80 (2013)
289. Luo, Y., et al.; Altered
expression of Abeta metabolism-associated molecules from D-galactose/AlCl(3)
induced mouse brain; Mech. Ageing Dev. Apr.; 130(4):248-52 (2008)
290. Sun, Z.Z., et al.; Alteration
of Aβ metabolism-related molecules in predementia induced by AlCl3 and
D-galactose; Age; 31:277-284 (2009)
291. Drago, D.; Aluminum
modulates effects of beta-amyloid1-42 on neuronal calcium homeostasis and
mitochondrial functioning and is altered in a triple transgenic mouse model of
Alzheimer’s disease; Rejuvenation Reas.; 11(5):861-871 (2008)
292. Erickson, K. I., Exercise
training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory; PNAS;
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