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Block brain inflammation to pump the brakes on Alzheimer’s
For far too many years, Alzheimer’s disease has been a mystery to the medical community. Doctors and researchers are unsure why it starts… much less how to find a cure.
Now a team of scientists from Sapienza University in Rome has found that stopping inflammation in the brain could play the biggest role in fighting Alzheimer’s progression and give us all the best chance of warding off the disease that steals our memories and our lives.
Early intervention is key
The research, published in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, focused on brain inflammation (or neuroinflammation) for one reason…
Of the three hallmark signs of Alzheimer’s in the brain — the depositing of beta‐amyloid peptides in the space around a person’s neurons; the buildup of proteins inside neurons; and neuroinflammation — the team said that inflammation was most likely the instigator leading to disease progression.
According to the researchers, inflammation is an important component of Alzheimer’s disease because of your body’s immune reaction to those very first abnormal deposits in your brain cells.
Basically, when your immune system first notices those deposits, it ramps up inflammation to fight for your life. But rather than making things better, inflammation can rapidly develop to the point where it promotes the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
With that theory in mind, the team wanted to see if intervening early to stop inflammation before major damage to the brain has occurred could reduce the number of people who go on to develop full Alzheimer’s dementia.
Rebalancing neuroinflammation
The researchers developed both in vitro and in vivo models of Alzheimer’s focusing on glial cells, which surround the neuron cells in the brain and are believed to be central to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
They found that when they rebalanced neuroinflammation in those models they were able to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease — basically blocking the march of brain pathologies and the symptoms that come with them.
Put simply, this means that we now know that if we put a halt to inflammation in the brain, we may be able to put a halt to Alzheimer’s devastating progression.
Busting inflammation
First things, first: How then do we put a stop to inflammation?
Luckily, we have plenty of scientifically proven ways…
In the article Nature’s firefighters: How to treat chronic inflammation naturally, Dr. Isaac Eliaz offers a number of powerful ways to reduce inflammation levels including:
- Lose a few pounds — Inflammation and extra weight go hand in hand and create a dangerous feedback loop.
- Limit pro-inflammatory foods — Processed and fried foods as well as those high in sugar and trans fats increase inflammation levels. Cut these foods out of your diet or at the least restrict them.
- Change your cooking methods — Frying or over-grilling your food can result in glycotoxins that raise inflammation. A study by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that switching to cooking methods like poaching, stewing and steaming reduced inflammatory markers and improved cardiovascular and metabolic health.
- Eat to lower inflammation — Just like you should limit foods that cause inflammation, you can also add foods that fight it off. Good foods to add are fatty fish (omega 3s), nuts, whole grains, fruits, veggies (especially green leafy ones) and probiotic foods (such as kimchi, yogurt and miso).
- Reduce stress — Dr. Eliaz points out that inflammation is a chain of events that starts with your busy lifestyle so be sure to take time to rest, exercise and even just take a few deep breaths.
- Check your vitamin D levels — If they’re low, you could be experiencing unnecessary inflammation throughout your body. That’s because vitamin D helps regulate the immune system and suppresses inflammation.
Editor’s note: While you’re doing all the right things to protect your brain as you age, make sure you don’t make the mistake 38 million Americans do every day — by taking a drug that robs them of an essential brain nutrient! Click here to discover the truth about the Cholesterol Super-Brain!
Source:
- Targeting early brain inflammation may slow down Alzheimer’s — Medical News Today