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Sound healing

Tapping the Power of Music for Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease (press release)

Wednesday, April 06, 2005
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)
Tags: sound healing, health news, Natural News


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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame percussionist Mickey Hart remembered that his grandmother loved watching him perform as a drummer with the Grateful Dead. So when she was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, Hart decided to give her a "private concert" -- in his Porsche on the back roads of California. After he tapped his drums for about 15 minutes, the elderly woman, who had not spoken for more than six months, looked at him and said, "Mickey."

Hart's recalled this experience in the spring 2005 issue of Vantage(TM), a quarterly publication of the Alzheimer's Foundation of America that is uniquely geared to caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related illnesses.

Hart's personal family experience and subsequent research into drumming convinced him that music therapy is a necessity for people with Alzheimer's disease.

"It is like the air they breathe ... Rhythm connects with your being in the disconnect of Alzheimer's disease. It connects to something that makes you feel good, and it enhances lifestyle and quality of life," he wrote in the magazine's guest column.

In another article in the latest issue of Vantage(TM), renowned music therapist Alicia Ann Clair, director of the Division of Music Education and Music Therapy at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, confirmed the increasing usage of music as a therapeutic tool for persons with dementia.

According to Clair, "Music, especially rhythm playing and singing, can spark compelling outcomes even in the very late stages of Alzheimer's disease. When used appropriately, music can shift mood, manage stress-induced agitation, stimulate positive interactions, facilitate cognitive function, and coordinate motor movements."

The article offers tips on how to engage people in music based on their skills intact at different phases of the disease process. For example, in the early stages, caregivers can encourage someone to sound the trumpet or tap piano keys again; in the middle stages, they can play music or sing as the individual is walking to improve balance or gait; and in the late stages, they can do sing-alongs of tunes sung by rote in that person's generation.

The latest issue of Vantage(TM) also looks at the positive effects of physical and mental exercise on memory function; new brain imaging techniques that may lead to earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease; and coping with family dynamics in the face of this brain disorder.

AFA introduced Vantage(TM) in August to specifically explore medical, behavioral and practical issues from the vantage point of dementia caregivers. Articles are available online at http://www.afa-vantage.com. For a free subscription, visit http://www.afa-vantage.com or call 866-AFA-8484.

AFA is a national nonprofit organization focused on "together for care ... in addition to cure" for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related illnesses, and their families. Its services include a toll-free hotline, counseling by certified social workers, educational materials, referrals to local resources nationwide, and professional training. For information, visit http://www.alzfdn.org or call 866-AFA-8484.


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About the author:Mike Adams (aka the "Health Ranger") is a best selling author (#1 best selling science book on Amazon.com) and a globally recognized scientific researcher in clean foods. He serves as the founding editor of NaturalNews.com and the lab science director of an internationally accredited (ISO 17025) analytical laboratory known as CWC Labs. There, he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for achieving extremely high accuracy in the analysis of toxic elements in unknown water samples using ICP-MS instrumentation. Adams is also highly proficient in running liquid chromatography, ion chromatography and mass spectrometry time-of-flight analytical instrumentation.

Adams is a person of color whose ancestors include Africans and Native American Indians. He's also of Native American heritage, which he credits as inspiring his "Health Ranger" passion for protecting life and nature against the destruction caused by chemicals, heavy metals and other forms of pollution.

Adams is the founder and publisher of the open source science journal Natural Science Journal, the author of numerous peer-reviewed science papers published by the journal, and the author of the world's first book that published ICP-MS heavy metals analysis results for foods, dietary supplements, pet food, spices and fast food. The book is entitled Food Forensics and is published by BenBella Books.

In his laboratory research, Adams has made numerous food safety breakthroughs such as revealing rice protein products imported from Asia to be contaminated with toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and tungsten. Adams was the first food science researcher to document high levels of tungsten in superfoods. He also discovered over 11 ppm lead in imported mangosteen powder, and led an industry-wide voluntary agreement to limit heavy metals in rice protein products.

In addition to his lab work, Adams is also the (non-paid) executive director of the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), an organization that redirects 100% of its donations receipts to grant programs that teach children and women how to grow their own food or vastly improve their nutrition. Through the non-profit CWC, Adams also launched Nutrition Rescue, a program that donates essential vitamins to people in need. Click here to see some of the CWC success stories.

With a background in science and software technology, Adams is the original founder of the email newsletter technology company known as Arial Software. Using his technical experience combined with his love for natural health, Adams developed and deployed the content management system currently driving NaturalNews.com. He also engineered the high-level statistical algorithms that power SCIENCE.naturalnews.com, a massive research resource featuring over 10 million scientific studies.

Adams is well known for his incredibly popular consumer activism video blowing the lid on fake blueberries used throughout the food supply. He has also exposed "strange fibers" found in Chicken McNuggets, fake academic credentials of so-called health "gurus," dangerous "detox" products imported as battery acid and sold for oral consumption, fake acai berry scams, the California raw milk raids, the vaccine research fraud revealed by industry whistleblowers and many other topics.

Adams has also helped defend the rights of home gardeners and protect the medical freedom rights of parents. Adams is widely recognized to have made a remarkable global impact on issues like GMOs, vaccines, nutrition therapies, human consciousness.

In addition to his activism, Adams is an accomplished musician who has released over a dozen popular songs covering a variety of activism topics.

Click here to read a more detailed bio on Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, at HealthRanger.com.

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