The causes and cure for Alzheimer’s Disease have been alluding the medical community for a long time. This is alarming because Alzheimer’s is on the rise, and we need to make headway as the baby boomers are fast approaching their golden years, taking this debilitating disease with them. Some exciting new discoveries have been made recently by neuropathologist Dr. Suzanne M. de la Monte from The Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island. She is proposing that there is a new diabetes , Type 3 – that originates in the brain and is linked with Alzheimer’s disease.
There has always been evidence that a link between cognitive impairment and type 2 diabetes exists, but scientists were not sure why. In Dr. de la Monte’s research, she accidentally came across the information that nitrosamines, a chemical preservative found in many processed foods were breaking through the blood brain barrier, and impairing our brain’s ability to process the hormone insulin. This lack of insulin in the brain then resulted in brain cells dying and emergence of the “Alzheimer Brain”.
According to Dr de la Monte, we need insulin in the brain in the same way that plants need water to grow. It keeps our brains alive and thriving. So can what we eat influence whether or not we will get Alzheimer’s?
According to this new research, diet can have a definite effect on whether or not you become victim to this disease. Nitrosamines such as sodium nitrites and nitrates can be found in smoked meats, bacon, deli foods, hot dogs, smoked fishes and the like. You can find out if your foods contain them when you find the “sodium nitrite” ingredient listed on the label. According to Dr. de la Monte other foods such as beer and processed cheeses also have nitrites. With some food items such as beer it is difficult to tell what you are getting because there are no ingredient labels. Processed foods in general, those “white” foods we all hear about…white flour, white sugar, white rice are often part of the problem as well.
What makes this information even more exciting is the fact that food and diet is something that we can control. We can’t control our genetics, but most new cases of Alzheimer’s disease are unrelated to our genetic makeup. Now we have yet another reason to start paying attention to what we put in our bodies.
Dr. Suzanne de la Monte