A Man's Journey With Alzheimer's Disease
Seventeen years ago, my father, a highly intelligent man who had spent the last twenty-five years of his life, researching electronic and laser technology was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. He was 66 years old.
Prior to the diagnosis, there was some light-hearted reference to forgetfulness, but it was mostly attributed to stress or "having a senior moment". By the time the diagnosis was made, he was in Stage V of the Alzheimer's staging process, unable to remember appointments or even previous conversations he had only minutes before. His sentences were fragmented, repetitive and oftentimes non-sensical.
His emotional state fluctuated from depression with frequent crying spells to periods of defensiveness and paranoia, frequently expressing feelings of being persecuted by those close to him.
Seventeen years ago there were no resources to turn to. All books that were available on Alzheimer's Disease addressed how to better accept the diagnosis, how to choose a nursing home, and where to find support groups for the caregiver. But none provided direction as to what can be done to help the Alzheimer’s patient. I found that the greatest difference between conventional methods and alternative methods in treating any illness had to do with treating the symptom versus removing the cause.
By western medicine standards, Alzheimer's disease was and still is considered irreversible, treatment being, at best, supportive or symptomatic care. Most of the emphasis has been in controlling behavior with drugs. Some attempts have been made to use acetylcholine producing and/or blocking drugs, but have been ineffective in reversing or even slowing the progression of the disease. Many new drugs have been released since then with little change in their effectiveness.
When I started this journey with my father many years ago, I was going against all odds. The brain damage in the Alzheimer’s brain was believed to be permanent and brain cells could not be rebuilt. I was not willing to accept this belief. I wanted my father back.
I drew on my research abilities and ordered all current research done within the last two years. I talked to many alternative practitioners and reviewed many programs used to assist cognitive function. Using kinesiology, I tested my father for everything that may have accumulated in the brain tissue over the span of his lifetime. Positive findings I backed up with research that already had been done scientifically. Parasites, fungi, and some neurotoxins were not link to Alzheimer's, but created similar cognitive dysfunction.
As he detoxified these substances naturally, using homeopathic remedies and herbal combinations, we worked on eliminating the intake of his food allergies that seemed to create a negative cerebral affect and would increase his mental confusion.
Nutritional supplementation was geared toward increasing the available acetylcholine to the brain, rebuilding brain cells and meeting the rest of the vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
The progressive deterioration of memory, personality and behavior with a decline in many aspects of cognition is directly related to the deterioration of brain cells in the cerebral cortex. Many of the substances commonly found in the American diet such as, food additives, flavor enhancers, coloring agents, artificial sweeteners, pesticides, toxins and heavy metals impact the brain in a negative way, some actually causing the development of lesions common to Alzheimer’s in lab settings.
The blood vessels that deliver the oxygen, glucose and nutrients to the brain are blocked with plaque and must be cleaned out to assure that the oxygen and nutrients are actually reaching the brain tissue and that the toxic waste is being eliminated from the brain.
Until the brain has been cleaned out, the vascular system restored and nutrient feeding of brain tissue has resumed, returning the brain to normal function is severely compromised. It requires a great deal of patience and perseverance.
I documented what remedies, supplements and dietary changes affected cognitive function in my dad, and backed the documentation with current scientific research. This information was used in my dissertation for my PhD, as I used the same protocols for other patients with similar results.
Today, after seventeen years my father’s memory is sharper than my mother's beating her in bridge as my partner. Conversations with him reflect more insight and depth than there had been in years. His driving privileges have been returned to him, allowing him to return to his favorite golf game.
However, working with Alzheimer’s patients in an office setting there is an issue of compliance. Caregivers used to having a more independent lifestyle suddenly are required to make changes and adjustments with their time.
For example, in order to reverse or turn around any degenerative disease process, dietary changes must occur. The typical American diet may be convenient but, far from healthy. In spite of the significance of changing what the Alzheimer’s patient ate at home, continuing established habits in meal preparation and serving desserts, fast foods or leftovers (develops mold readily) was more convenient to caregivers than revamping the kitchen, reading labels and cooking only with fresh organic foods untainted with hormones, antibiotics, steroids, pesticides, food additives and flavor enhancers, compromising the dietary protocol and limiting the full effectiveness of the program.
The remedies used needed to be given within specific timeframes and in certain amounts. Again, depending on the caregivers’ time schedules, doses were often missed or remedies not even ordered, creating an inconsistency in the program and slowing the effectiveness of the protocols.
The work is based on the belief that all disease is due to a biochemical imbalance and toxic overload that stems from exogenous poisons from polluted food, water, air and overindulgence in refined, over-processed food combined with a disabled detoxification system. This imbalance and toxic overload triggers the eventual systemic breakdown of metabolic functions in the body, especially in organs as vulnerable as the brain. The body has its own innate intelligence and is always striving to rebalance itself to health. With the appropriate cleansing programs, and the support from specific dietary factors, supplements, juices, herbs and other harmless therapies, the underlying causes of ill health can be removed and health restored.
The aim of our work is to establish a template with consistent and predictable results and educate the community of the preventative measures. When Alzheimer’s patients have no hope with pharmaceuticals or any other conventional methods, they become the control. If, in office settings using the above hypothesis, each patient improves then any sample size has the power to detect the beneficial outcomes.
