(NaturalNews) Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences have come to the conclusion that studying the way people age rather than the diseases they develop is the key to preventing disease. Particularly with Alzheimer's Disease, the group believes that the toxic clumps of beta amyloid plagues that build up in the brain are slow to develop and can be prevented through anti-aging therapies.
Dr. Ehud Cohen, author of the study, explained that the IGF-1 growth hormone that is present in all people can be slowed down to prevent aging and the onset of
Alzheimer's. Utilizing this approach, Cohen and his team claim that life can be extended by 35 percent or more when IGF-1 signaling is properly limited.
Beta amyloid plaques are said to be present in everyone's
brain, however healthy cells are able to control them and regulate their growth when a person is young. It is when a person becomes old that the plaques take over and lead to severe neurological disorders like Alzheimer's.
What was found as a result of the study was that mice whose IGF-1 hormones were reduced remained biologically young even in their old age. The mice who aged normally didn't get Alzheimer's until late in their lives but, unlike the treated group, their
brains slowly became overridden with plaques.
Researchers consider the findings breakthrough as they give further understanding to the
aging process and how the growth of amyloid plaques is able to take place. Prevention of the normal degenerative results of aging was found to be both possible and effective for preventing Alzheimer's.
Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
I'm always fascinated by western medicine's fixation on "amyloid plaques" to explain
Alzheimer's disease. The preoccupation of
western medicine with physical explanations of
disease seems childish and ignorant. The real truth about Alzheimer's disease is that
amyloid plaques are just the side effect of the underlying cause which is
inflammation of the brain.
This inflammation, in turn, is caused primarily by the consumption of a highly inflammatory diet of
processed foods, processed dairy products, cooked
foods and junk foods. If you do this over a lifetime, you'll experience all sorts of inflammatory diseases including Alzheimer's.
Remember this: Before the age of processed foods (from the 1950's on), Alzheimer's was an
extremely rare condition. It was so rare that doctors traveled long distances just to study the brains of people who died with the condition. A century ago, Alzheimer's disease was an oddity; today it's the norm. And our
processed food diets are largely to blame.
Sources for this story include:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/si-dta120409.php
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In mid 2010, Adams produced NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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