Friday, July 28, 2017

Recent evidence linking Aluminum and Alzheiemer's Disease

Article from University News - (the links will not work )

7 Pieces of Evidence Linking Aluminum and Alzheimer’s Disease

By UHN Staff • Apr 20, 2017

Aluminum is a neurotoxin, that is, a poison to the brain and nervous system. Some experts have long speculated that this metal plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease, and evidence is steadily mounting that it indeed does. Fortunately, there’s also evidence that suggests that a number of natural plant extracts and nutrients can prevent and/or reduce aluminum toxicity in the brain and prevent the progression of memory loss and other cognitive deficits.

The evidence linking aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease

A team of neuroscientists led by Dr. Walter Lukiw, PhD, Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Ophthalmology at Louisiana State University, has been studying the potential contribution of aluminum to the onset, development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease for about 30 years. Dr. Lukiw and his fellow researchers recently summarized the research linking aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease in a peer-reviewed article published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.[1]
“Aluminum’s contribution to Alzheimer’s disease is based upon at least seven independently derived observations,” the researchers stated.[2] Briefly, those seven pieces of evidence are:

Aluminum strongly promotes beta-amyloid plaques in the brain at levels corresponding to those currently found in humans.
Aluminum promotes inflammation in the brain by increasing the pro-inﬂammatory molecule known as nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-kB), a prominent feature in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Out of the many thousands of brain gene messenger RNA molecules (molecules that convey genetic information from DNA to cause gene expression), aluminum increases the same ones that are increased in Alzheimer’s disease.
Adding aluminum to the diets of animals with Alzheimer’s disease causes additional brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease such oxidative stress, programmed cell death, and deficits in gene expression.
Aluminum also causes the same types of cellular energy deficits that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease, such as impaired signaling involving ATP and energy utilization.
A very signiﬁcant number of studies link the amount of aluminum in drinking water to the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. (Worldwide, aluminum is added to drinking water as a clarification or “finishing” agent.)
Out of all the Alzheimer’s disease drug treatments tried to date, chelation using an aluminum chelator has been shown to be one of the most effective therapeutic strategies yet.

Digging deeper: what animal studies have found

There is no ethically acceptable way to directly test whether aluminum causes Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Because it’s not ethical to dose humans with aluminum, researchers must rely on other scientific methods of investigation to determine aluminum’s role in this devastating disease. One way to do this is through animal studies.
It is now well-established that aluminum directly causes Alzheimer’s-like memory impairment, behavioral problems, and learning deficits in animals, even in very low doses.[2-5] For instance, rats that consume aluminum in amounts equivalent to those ingested by Americans from their food and water develop severe Alzheimer’s-type cognitive deterioration in old age.[5]
Animals exposed to aluminum don’t just develop Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, they also show definitive evidence of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains.

Aluminum accumulates in the brain cells of particular regions of the brain most prone to damage in Alzheimer’s disease.[6]
Many studies have demonstrated how aluminum causes beta-amyloid plaques to abnormally form in the brains of animals.[2,7-10] These plaques, the hallmark features of Alzheimer’s disease, form when pieces of sticky proteins called beta-amyloid clump together and block cell-to-cell signaling at synapses. They also activate immune system cells that trigger inflammation and devour disabled cells. Aluminum-induced beta-amyloid plaques occur in exactly the same brain regions in animals as they do in humans.
Third, another brain change consistent with Alzheimer’s disease also occurs in animals exposed to aluminum: the formation of what are known as neurofibrillary tangles.[6, 10-12] Neurofibrillary tangles are abnormal collections of twisted protein threads found inside nerve cells that consist primarily of a protein called tau. Like beta-amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles damage the ability of neurons to communicate with each other and are a hallmark feature of Alzheimer’s disease.

Prominent Researchers speak out

Different teams of researchers from all over the world have recently published papers outlining the convincing evidence from both human and animal studies and warning of the dangers of aluminum as a cause of Alzheimer’s disease.[10, 12-15]
It is enlightening to learn what some of these experts have to say about aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease in their own words.

“Overall, the evidence indicates that Alzheimer’s disease is a human form of chronic aluminum neurotoxicity.” J.R. Walton, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, St George Hospital, Sydney, Australia[12]
“…studies suggest that aluminum may not be as innocuous as was previously thought and that aluminum may actively promote the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.” Stephen Bondy, Environmental Toxicology Program, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA[16]
“The hypothesis that aluminum significantly contributes to Alzheimer’s disease is built upon very solid experimental evidence and should not be dismissed. Immediate steps should be taken to lessen human exposure to aluminum…” Lucija Tomljenovic, PhD., University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada[14]
“There is growing evidence for a link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease… it is widely accepted that aluminum is a recognized neurotoxin, and that it could cause cognitive deﬁciency and dementia…” Masahiro Kawahara, Department of Analytical Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, Japan[10]
“As scientific publications continue to support the hypothesis that aluminum toxicity is involved in Alzheimer’s disease, it would be prudent to adopt strategies for preventing excessive aluminum exposures…” Maire Percy, PhD, University of Toronto, Canada.[18]

The case of the Alzheimer’s patient and the aluminum in his brain

Another of the world’s preeminent researchers studying aluminum’s negative health effects is Dr. Christopher Exley, PhD, of Keele University in the United Kingdom. Dr. Exley and his team have found that aluminum appears to accumulate in the brain with age.[15] Their most recent research demonstrates that many people over the age of 70 have a potentially pathological amount of aluminum accumulated in their brains.[15]
Dr. Exley and his colleagues were recently the first to demonstrate significantly elevated brain aluminum levels in an individual diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease following occupational exposure to aluminum.[17] Occupational exposure to aluminum is directly associated with impaired cognitive function; the more aluminum to which people are exposed, the poorer they perform on tests for memory and other cognitive functions.
The case presented by Dr. Exley involved a previously healthy man who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at age 58, after more than eight years of regular exposure to aluminum sulfate dust. At first, the man complained of headaches, tiredness, and mouth ulcers. He then started to show memory problems and began suffering from depression before he was finally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
After his death in 2011, his brain’s cerebral cortex was found to have abundant beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, consistent with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. At the request of his family and the local coroner, samples of the man’s brain tissue were sent to Dr. Exley for analysis of aluminum. According to Dr. Exley, it is extremely rare to be given as much brain tissue as was provided for analysis, and the opportunity enabled the most thorough analysis of a brain region’s aluminum content ever undertaken.
The data confirmed the accumulation of aluminum in the man’s brain tissue. In some samples from the frontal lobe, the aluminum levels were excessive and high enough to cause disease. While Dr. Exley’s data cannot prove that aluminum caused the man’s aggressive Alzheimer’s disease, he states that it is highly likely given the known neurotoxicity of aluminum.[17]

How to reduce your risk of aluminum-induced Alzheimer’s disease

With the growing evidence linking aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease, we all need to personally take steps now to reduce our exposure to this ubiquitous metal. Part 1 of this series, Does Antiperspirant Cause Cancer? Here’s Why You Should Be Concerned About Aluminum Toxicity, provided information on common sources of aluminum exposure, along with ideas on how to avoid it.
But what about the aluminum that is already lodged in our bodies? Fortunately, researchers have discovered that a number of natural compounds can reduce the body’s burden of aluminum and prevent or treat its toxic effects. In 8 Ways to Protect Yourself from Aluminum Poisoning, I will examine the many ways we can safely and naturally deal with aluminum toxicity.

Here is a recipe for making silica water at home. Silica water is very effective at reducing your bodies burden of aluminum.

http://medford.wickedlocal.com/videos/1CE2B239-416E-4F10-8A9B-648C16290075/Melrose-resident-Dennis-Crouse-explains-how-to-make-water-rich-in-silica-without-buying-Fiji-water-Crouse-contends-drinking-silica-rich-water-leads-to-lowered-levels-of-aluminum-in-the-brain

[1] Front Aging Neurosci. 2014 Apr 8;6:62.
[2] Arch Toxicol. 2009 Nov;83(11):965-78.
[3] Exp Neurol. 2008 Dec;214(2):293-300.
[4] Curr Alzheimer Res. 2010 Aug;7(5):401-8.
[5] Int J Alzheimers Dis. 2012;2012:914947.
[6] J Inorg Biochem. 2007 Sep;101(9):1275-84.
[7] Neurochem Res. 2014 May 3. [published electronically ahead of print]
[8] Histol Histopathol. 2008 Apr;23(4):433-9.
[9] Neurochem Res. 2014 May 3. [Epub ahead of print]
[10] Int J Alzheimers Dis. 2011 Mar 8;2011:276393.
[11] Brain Pathol. 2013 Nov;23(6):633-44.
[12] J Alzheimers Dis. 2014 Jan 1;40(4):765-838.
[13] Neurotoxicology. 2010 Sep;31(5):575-81.
[14] J Alzheimers Dis. 2011;23(4):567-98.
[15] Expert Rev Neurother. 2014 Jun;14(6):589-91.
[16] Toxicology. 2014 Jan 6;315:1-7.
[17] J Med Case Rep. 2014; 8: 41.
[18] J Inorg Biochem. Nov 2011; 105(11): 1505–1512.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Blood-Brain Barrier's Role in Alzheimer's Prevention

Benefits and Alternatives to Dietary Coconut Oil

My sister asked if I would recommend taking coconut oil in order to improve cognition for Alzheimer’s patients. This question resulted in some research that found benefits and negative aspects of, and alternatives for ingesting coconut oil on a regular basis. Here is the short list of coconut oil benefits for the body:

· Coconut oil is an alternative energy source for sugars and long chain fatty acids

· Coconut oil can be converted to energy even in the presence of neurotoxic aluminum

· Coconut oil promotes the generation of new mitochondria, called mitochondrial biogenesis¹

Negative Aspects of Dietary Coconut Oil

There are several problems with ingesting large amounts of coconut oil regularly:

· Lauric acid, comprising 50% of coconut oil, increases LDL by 16% in humans and LDL is linked to vascular disease, such as stroke and heart attack³

· Coconut oil is a mixture of medium chain fatty acids as triglycerides

· Coconut oil does not contain essential fatty acids (e.g. linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid)

· Dietary coconut oil does not result in weight loss²

Better Alternatives to Dietary Coconut Oil

There are supplements that have the same benefits as dietary coconut oil and will result in better sugar and stored fat utilization. These supplements are:

· Dissolved silica (a.k.a. OSA) for lowering your body-burden of aluminum^4-6

· CoQ10 for improving your energy and cognition⁷

· PQQ for increasing mitochondrial biogenesis and cognition^7-9

There are also supplements that will lower LDL and triglycerides, both of which are linked to an increased risk of vascular disease, such as stroke and heart attack:

· PA for reducing triglycerides by 15% and LDL by 8%¹⁰

· EPA for reducing triglycerides by 5 to 10%¹¹

· Vitamin D for reducing triglycerides by 23%¹²

By lowering aluminum levels in your body, glycolysis and fat metabolism will return to normal. This coupled with new mitochondria will allow you to metabolize or “burn” stored fat resulting in dieting with weight loss. Lowering triglycerides and LDL decreases the risk of vascular disease, heart attack, and stroke.

Biochemistry of the Coconut Oil Diet

Since the Bayer and Hall processes for aluminum purification from bauxite were developed in 1888, there has been a steady increase in the amount of aluminum humans ingest. This aluminum upsets how our mitochondria produce energy from sugar and fat. Mitochondria are the organelles that produce energy in your body and they can be trained in one of two ways to utilize coconut oil for energy production:

· Daily ingestion of coconut oil

· Daily ingestion of aluminum

It may take several weeks before mitochondria become optimally adapted to metabolizing coconut oil for energy. However, if you have been ingesting aluminum on a regular basis, your mitochondria may already be adapted. Aluminum, at levels found in drinking water (108ppb), inhibits the first step in sugar metabolism (i.e. glycolysis)¹³. The biochemical response to the inhibition of glycolysis is the conversion of sugar to fat as triglycerides comprised of long chain fatty acids¹⁴. Therefore your stored fat may be due to a combination of the sugar and aluminum you ingest.

Fat can be stored as adipose tissue or metabolized for energy. However, aluminum also inhibits the production of L-carnitine required for movement of long chain fatty acids in stored fat to the mitochondria for conversion to energy^15-19. Therefore aluminum inhibits the production of energy from stored fat making fat loss impossible.

Aluminum ingestion upsets both sugar and fat metabolism resulting in a lack of energy and cognition, vascular disease, along with obesity that does not respond to dieting^15,19.

The good news is that although aluminum inhibits the production of energy from long chain fatty acids, it does not inhibit energy production from medium chain fatty acids, such as coconut oil²⁰. Not surprisingly the cognition of some Alzheimer’s patients is improved within 90 minutes of ingesting 2 to 3 tablespoons of coconut oil mixed with whipped cream to make it more palliative²¹. Because of accumulated aluminum inhibiting glycolysis¹³, the mitochondria of Alzheimer’s patients have already adapted from sugar to dietary fat. Their improvement in cognition by ingesting coconut oil is quick but lasts only as long it takes to metabolize the dietary coconut oil. Therefore a steady diet of coconut oil is required for chronic improvement.

There are better solutions for improved cognition of AD patients, such as lowering aluminum ingestion and increasing aluminum excretion with silica water (i.e. Fiji Water or Silicade – See my book “Prevent Alzheimer’s, Autism, and Stroke”)^4-6. This will restore sugar and fat metabolism to normal. Also taking a daily supplement of the natural cofactors PQQ and CoQ10 will improve energy and cognition^7-9.

References

1. Balietti, M., et al.; A ketogenic diet increases succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) activity and recovers age-related decrease in numeric density of SDH-positive mitochondria in cerebellar Purkinje cells of late-adult rats; Micron; 41(2):143-48 (2010)

2. Johnston, C.S., et al.; Ketogenic low-carbohydrate diets have no metabolic advantage over nonketogenic low-carbohydrate diets; Am. J. Clin. Nutr.; 83:1055-61 (2006)

3. Tsai, Y.H., et al.; Mechanisms mediating lipoprotein responses to diets with medium chain triglyceride and lauric acid; Lipids; Sep.; 34(9):895-905 (1999)

4. Edwardson, J.A., et al.; Effect of silicon on gastrointestinal absorption of aluminum; The Lancet; 342(8865):211-12 (1993)

5. Carlisle, E.M., and Curran, M.J.; Effect of dietary silicon and aluminum on silicon and aluminum levels in rat brain; Alzheimer Dis. Assoc. Disord.; 1(2):423-30 (2013)

6. Davenward, S,, et al.; Silicon-rich mineral water as a non-invasive test of the 'aluminum hypothesis' in Alzheimers disease; J. Alzheimer's Dis.; 33(2):423-30 (2013)

7. Nakani, M., et al.; Effect of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) on mental status of middle-aged and elderly persons; Food Style; 21 13(7):50-3 (2009)

8. Chowanadisai, W., et al.; Pyrroloquinoline quinone stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis through cAMP response element-binding protein phosphorylation and increased PGC-1 alpha expression; J. Biol. Chem.; Jan.; 285(1):142-52 (2010)

9. Onyango, I.G., et al.; Regulation of neuron mitochondrial biogenesis and relevance to brain heath; Biochim Biophys Acta; jan.; 1802(1):228-34 (2010)

10. Bernstein, A.M., et al.; Purified palmitoleic acid for the reduction of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and serum lipids: a double blinded, placebo controlled study; J.Clin. Lipidol.; 8(6):612-7 (2014)

11. Harris, W.S.; n-3 Fatty acids and serum lipoproteins: human studies; A. J. Clin. Nutr.; 65(suppl.):1645S-54S (1997)

12. Rejnmark, L., et al.; Simvastatin does not affect vitamin D status, but low vitamin D levels are associated with dyslipidemia; Results from a randomized, contolled trial: Internat. J. Endrocrin.; Article ID 957174 (2010)

13. Lai, J.C., and Blass, J.P.; Inhibition of brain glycolysis by aluminum; J. Neurochem.; Feb.; 42(2):438-46 (1984)

14. Mailloux, R.J., et al.; Hepatic response to aluminum toxicity: Dsylipidemia and liver diseases; Exper. Cell Res.; 317:2231-2238 (2011)

15. Gaballa, I.F., et al.; Dyslipidemia and disruption of L-carnitine in aluminum exposed workers; Egyptian J. Occup. Med.; 37(1):33-46 (2013)

16. Lemire, J., et al.; The disruption of L-carnitine metabolism by aluminum toxicity and oxidative stress promotes dyslipemia in human astrocytes and hepatic cells; Toxicol. Lett.; Jun.; 203(3):219-26 (2011)

17. Waly, M. I-A., et al.; Activation of methionine synthase by insulin-like growth factor-1 and dopamine: a target for neurodevelopmental toxins and thimerosal; Mol. Psychiatry; 9:358-70 (2004)

18. Waly, M. I-A., and Deth, R.; Neurodevelopmental toxins deplete glutathione and inhibit folate and vitamin B12-dependent methionine synthase activity – a link between oxidative stress and autism, FASEB J.; 22:894 1 (2008)

19. Fritz, I.B., Kaplan, E., Yue, K.T.; Specificity of carnitine action on fatty acid oxidation by heart muscle; Am. J. Physiol.; Jan.; 202:117-21 (1962)

20. Heo, K.N., et al.; Medium-chain fatty acids but not L-carnitine accelerate the kinetics of [14C]triacylglycerol utilization by colostrum-deprived newborn pigs; J. Nutr.; 132:1989-1994 (2002)

21. Reger, M.A., et al.; Effects of beta-hydroxybutyrate on cognition in memory-impaired adults; Neurobiol. Aging; Mar.; 25(3):311-4 (2004)

Monday, October 24, 2016

Halloween Scares Me to Death Because of Aluminum

Halloween Scares Me to Death Because of Aluminum

I remember when the scariest thing on my doorstep at Halloween was a child in a monster or alien costume. Now I find the scariest thing to be the bags of chocolate and brightly colored candy that are clutched in the hands of small children on my doorstep. My fear stems from aluminum in both chocolate and the food dyes used for candy. This aluminum is a neurotoxin that will continue to kill neurons in these children’s brains long after Halloween. Aluminum has been linked to autism in children and should not be allowed in candy. Cocoa trees are the source of chocolate. Cocoa trees prefer a clay soil that is rich in aluminum. This results in 84 samples of chocolate from different sources containing from 170 to 4,260 mcg of aluminum per ounce.

The following table taken from my book “Prevent Alzheimer’s, Autism, and Stroke” shows how much aluminum is in food and candy.

Foods and Sweets Containing Aluminum Lake as an AFC³⁹⁷
Food or Sweets Colored with Aluminum Lake (Serving Size in Parentheses)	AFC per Serving (mg/Serv.)	*Estimated Amount of Aluminum per Serving (mcg/Serv.)**
Kellogg Frosted Cherry Poptart (1) – Red 40	10.1	1,110
Marsh Green Sprinkles Cookie (1) – Yellow 5, Blue 1	1.4	154
Hostess Orange Cupcake (1) – Yellow 5 & 6	3.5	470
Betty Crocker’s Blue Cupcake (1) – Blue 1	1.2	84
Betty Crocker’s Red Cupcake (1) – Red 40	34.7	3,470
Okedoke Cheesy Popcorn (1 cup) – Red 40	3.8	420
Combos (1/3 cup) – Yellow 5 & 6, Blue 1	3.2	350
Hamburger Helper (1 cup prepared) – Yellow 5 & 6	7.7	1040
Scalloped Potatoes (1/2 cup prepared) – Yellow 5 & 6	1.4	190
M&M Milk Chocolate (48 Pieces) – Blue 1 & 2, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 40	29.5	2,950
M&M Peanuts (15) – Blue 1 & 2, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 40	14.1	1,410
Skittles Original(61) –Blue 1 & 2, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 40	33.2	3,320
Reese’s Pieces (51) – Blue 1, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 40	6.6	660
Rainbow Nerds (1 tablespoon) – Blue 1 & 2, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 40	3.7	370
Sprees (8 pieces) – Blue 2, Yellow 5, Red 40	1.9	230
Red Jawbreakers (3) – Red 40	1.2	130
Orange Jawbreakers (3) – Yellow 5 & 6, Red 40	0.4	50
Purple Jawbreakers (3) – Blue 1 & 2, Red 40	0.7	70
Green Jawbreakers (3) – Blue 1 & 2, Yellow 5 & 6	0.5	50
Yellow Jawbreakers (3) – Yellow 5 & 6	0.2	27

AFC stands for artificial food colorant * Assumes no alumina extender and 2 atoms of aluminum per molecule of colorant, except 3 for Yellow 5, and assumes a mixture of 4 colors to be approximately 10% aluminum.

At the beginning of the 20^th century a number of synthetic dyes and pigments became available. They were synthesized from bituminous coal and were called “coal-tar dyes”. These dyes were less costly to produce and superior in color when compared with natural dyes available at the time. In the U.S. only seven of these synthetic dyes were initially approved for food under the U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. These dyes are in general soluble in water. In order to add color to candy and prevent the color from “bleeding”, the aluminum salts of these dyes are used as an “Aluminum Lake” in the candy.

Currently some manufacturers of candy are promising to remove aluminum from candy in the future but for now both chocolate and colored candy is neurotoxic and should not be given to children. For Halloween this year my wife and I are giving the children on our doorstep rubber spiders and erasers that are too big to swallow.

Prevent Alzheimer's, Autism, and Stroke

Neurons and Exercise