Tag: fatty acids

How do we deal with the increasing number of cases of dementia?

Helle Egebjerg

November 15. 2024

How do we deal with the increasing number of cases of dementia?

The short answer is that we need to focus much more on prevention.

And as long as the public sector only steps in once diseases have occurred, prevention is something we ourselves are responsible for.

In 2022, of the 266 billion kroner budgetted for public health, the Danish health authorities spent only 7% on prevention and health promotion, e.g., spending on information campaigns.

Even in the first version of A Comprehensive Danish Brain Plan, the focus seems to be mostly on treating diseases of the brain once they have occurred.

This despite the fact that it is estimated that almost half of dementia cases could be prevented. Of course, the number is probably even higher, as only 2-3% of Alzheimer’s cases are due to genetic predisposition.

What is the status in Denmark regarding the number of people with dementia?

In Denmark, there are just over 96,000 persons aged 65 or above living with dementia.

The number is expected to grow to more than 134,000 people by 2035.*

Among people aged 65 and over, there are approximately 8,000 to 8,700 new registered cases of dementia per year in Denmark. This corresponds to approximately 22 to 24 new cases per day all year round.

There are just over 400,000 relatives of people with dementia.

Think about that for a moment!

This corresponds to almost everyone in cities like Roskilde and Herning combined having dementia today, and in 10 years, everyone from the town Fredericia also having dementia.

In effect, every year, everyone in a city the size of Sorø would also get dementia.

Not only that, everyone who lives in Aarhus and Aalborg is a relative!

Dementia is something that concerns us all.

Our lifestyle has a great influence on the risk of dementia.

There is broad agreement that our lifestyle influences the risk of developing dementia. This is apparent if we look at Videnscenter for demens (the Danish Knowledge Center for Dementia), at the latest Lancet report, or at reports from skilled doctors and researchers in this field. I would especially like to mention Dr. Dale Bredesen’s work on the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s with an Orthomolecular approach and Chris A. Knobbe’s research in relation to the responsibility of vegetable oils for our lifestyle diseases, including dementia*.

It is positive to see that the Knowledge Center for Dementia is focusing on how we can reduce the risk of dementia. They recommend the following:

  1. Keep your brain active
  2. Be social
  3. Get some exercise
  4. Quit smoking, cut down on alcohol, and eat healthily
  5. Control your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure

According to the Lancet Commission’s 2024 update on dementia, promising new evidence for dementia prevention is highlighted.

This report estimates that there is potential to prevent almost half of all dementia cases by eliminating 14 identified risk factors.

The 14 risk factors are:

  1. Low education and cognitive inactivity
  2. Hearing loss (untreated)
  3. High LDL cholesterol
  4. Depression
  5. Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  6. Physical inactivity
  7. Diabetes
  8. Smoking
  9. High blood pressure
  10. Obesity
  11. Excessive alcohol
  12. Social isolation
  13. Air pollution
  14. Vision impairment

If we look more specifically at Alzheimer’s, Dr. Dale Bredesen has researched and developed a program for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s.

Dale Bredesen’s program is structured in three steps: 1) remove things that can lead to cognitive impairment, 2) maintain optimal health, and 3) enable the reconstruction of the brain’s neural network.

Dr. Bredesen points out the importance of keeping an eye on a number of biomarkers throughout life that have an influence on the development of Alzheimer’s.

Ideally, we could reduce chronic inflammation, ensure optimal nutrient levels, hormones and NGF (nerve growth factor), avoid diabetes, get rid of toxins, avoid vascular diseases, and ensure better brain reconstruction after brain trauma.

The biomarker tests Dr. Bredesen recommends relate to toxins and pathogens, nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fatty acids, long-term blood sugar levels and other factors that can reveal a lack of insulin sensitivity. These are also tests that reveal inflammation. Also important are, optimal levels of CoQ10, glutathione, homocysteine and hormones, among others.

In addition, he recommends tests for the toxins mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, organic toxins, herbicides, mycotoxins, and antibodies against pathogens such as borrelia and herpes.

Regarding vitamins, it is especially important that we are NOT deficient in Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E.

With respect to minerals, it is especially important that we are not deficient in magnesium, copper, zinc, selenium, and potassium.

With regard to fatty acids, it is especially important that we do not have a deficit of the Omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA and that the balance between the pro-inflammatory Omega 6 and the anti-inflammatory Omega 3 is optimal.

Dale Bredesen has developed a program called ReCode.

It is based on a lifestyle and diet pyramid that supports a well-functioning brain.

At the bottom is a foundation of quality sleep, KetoFLEX 12/3, and physical activity.

KetoFLEX 12/3 is partial fasting. The recommendation is that we should not eat in the last 3 hours before we sleep and that at least 12 hours should pass before we eat again after the last meal of the evening.

Partial fasting has many health benefits, including increased insulin sensitivity and the increased ability of the body to use both glucose and ketones as an energy source, as well as an anti-inflammatory effect, all of which are important factors for brain health.

Then we should make sure to eat lots of colorful vegetables with low carbohydrate levels and get healthy fats from avocados, nuts, and olives. Avoid vegetable oils rich in Omega 6, such as sunflower oil, corn oil and grape seed oil. Make sure to consume spices such as turmeric and saffron as well as green tea, as they have important anti-inflammatory properties.

The next layer in the pyramid is upgrading our gut microbiome with prebiotics, fermented foods, and foods high in resistant starch.

Then comes the layer in the pyramid with proteins and good fats. The brain in particular needs Omega 3 from wild-caught fatty fish, as well as choline and B vitamins from eggs. And This also includes berries. Eat a variety of berries and wild organic blueberries, which are the best choice.

At the top of the pyramid is what we are allowed to have just a little of, e.g., chocolate snacks. Alcohol should be avoided, as it is a neurotoxin.

The importance of reducing the intake of vegetable kernel oil is further documented by Cf. Chris A. Knobbe’s extensive work. His hypothesis is, that the root of today’s lifestyle diseases is that we started eating kernel oils such as sunflower oil and grape seed oil, etc. This also applies to the occurrence of dementia.

So, there is hope ahead in terms of doing something about the incidence of dementia, but it requires daily choices for each of us. A brain-friendly diet does not include vegetable oils rich in linoleic acid (LA) / Omega 6 fatty acids, especially sunflower oil, corn oil, and grape seed oil should be avoided.

What can you do today?

Throw away your vegetable seed oil and never buy it again!

So, out with sunflower oil, corn oil and grape seed oil. Out they go!

Read the product labels carefully, as vegetable seed oil is found in many finished products, from pesto to tuna in oil. It is easy to see the contents. There is a surprising occurrence in some oat drinks and as a surface treatment for organic raisins.

The best alternative is to eat only pure foods that do not have an ingredient list!

Top 10 brain foods that you should always have in your kitchen:

  • Fatty fish: herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines and wild salmon
  • Avocado
  • Broccoli
  • Spinach
  • Eggs
  • Olives and good olive oil
  • Wild blueberries
  • Walnuts
  • Turmeric with pepper
  • Dark chocolate

Top 10 supplements:

  • EPA and DHA from algae oil or fish oil
  • EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) olive oil
  • Coconut oil or MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil
  • Multivitamins and possibly extra Vitamin B complex, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin D
  • Coenzyme Q10
  • Glutathione
  • Pre-, pro- and postbiotics
  • Ginkgo biloba
  • Turmeric with pepper
  • Saffron

From here, just start filling the house with lots of good brain food.

Enjoy your meal.

Take good care of yourself and those around you and remember to embrace life, especially those people close to you who have had memory lapses. They deserve it.

Helle Egebjerg Andersen
Cand.pharm. and lecturer

 

Sources:

https://www.dst.dk/da/Statistik/nyheder-analyser-publ/bagtal/2023/2023-10-11-sundhedsudgifter2022

En samlet dansk hjerneplan skal styrke indsatsen mod sygdomme i hjerne- og nervesystem

FAKTA-ARK OM DEMENSSYGDOMME Hvad er Alzheimers sygdom?

Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission

Forekomst af demens i Danmark

Dr. Dale Bredesen; The End of Alzheimer’s

Christ A. Knobbe; The Ancestral Diet Revolution

Confusion about Omega-6

Claus Hancke

February 6, 2007

Confusion regarding the essential fatty acids is the rule rather than the exception while research regarding their good effects piles up. It’s hard to find head or tail in this subject, but the quick answer is: Eat more fish!

If you want to delve into the depths of this answer, then fasten your safety belt and read on!

There is general agreement that omega-3 fatty acids have a high health value in all of their sources, from linseed oils alpha-linolenic acid to fish’s docosahexaenoic acid and prostaglandin E3.

Is this true about the omega-6 fatty acids?

There is common confusion about the health benefits of essential fatty acids, and this has not been reduced by recent public warnings against the use of polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids.

Let’s look into this:

The most common misconception is that it is possible to generalize about all omega-6 fatty acids. It is not. In the industrialized world the problem is that we are inundated with cheap linoleic acid, which is an omega-6 fatty acid that is found in e.g. corn and sunflower oil. Linoleic acid alone is not that healthy either. If you eat too much of it, you build up deposits of NEFA (which has nothing to do with bicycle lights!) but means that linoleic acid builds up as a non-esterized fat, which can lead to sudden cardiac arrest (1).
The ratio between our consumption of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids should be close to 2:1, but unfortunately it is closer to 20:1. The problem with linoleic acid is that we get too much of it because it is cheap.

Linoleic acid must be converted to gamma linolenic acid (GLA), followed by DGLA and prostaglandin E1, before we have the equivalent of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The first conversion (to GLA) requires an enzyme called delta-6-desaturase. There are many people this enzyme. These people are primarily people with allergies and people with diabetes. When you lack this enzyme the only way to avoid getting too much linoleic acid is to take supplementary GLA. GLA is found in evening primrose oil or borage seed oil.

If you do not lack delta-6-desaturase, the best thing to do is to limit linoleic oil intake and increase fish oil consumption.

If we eat fatty fish and fish oil we save more of the enzyme needed to convert linoleic acid to GLA. Therefore, if we balance our linoleic acid consumption with fish oil then we will not suffer as many harmful effects from unconverted omega-6 fatty acid.

Another way of reducing the amount of accumulated linoleic acid is by taking the amino acid L-Carnitine. L-Carnitine functions as a kind of oil pipeline which transports the linoleic acid directly into the cells power plant (the mitochondria), where, with the help of Q10, it is made into energy. This reduces the amount of freely circulating linoleic acid in the blood.

As explained in the above, we should avoid too much linoleic acid, whereas its converted product, GLA, is healthy and good. So the health value of omega-6 fatty acids is dependent on which omega-3 fatty acid is being discussed.

In a large summary article in Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (2), the authors assess a long list of illnesses where GLA has an amazing effect. These include inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. GLA has been shown to be able to inhibit osteonectin, which is a protein connected cancer metastasis. GLA also has been shown to increase nerve impulse speed in diabetics.

Therefore, omega-6 fatty acids cannot be seen as either all bad or all good. This is especially true when comparing GLA with linoleic acid. Supplementation of both fish oil and GLA is a good idea.

By: Vitality Council

References:
1. Circulating Nonesterified Fatty Acid Level as a Predictive Risk Factor for Sudden Death in the Population. Xavier Jouven, MD, PhD; Marie-Aline Charles, MD; Michel Desnos, MD; Pierre Ducimetière, PhD. Circulation. 2001;104:756.
2. Gamma linolenic acid: an antiinflammatory omega-6 fatty acid. Kapoor R, Huang Y-S, Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2006; 7(6): 531-4.