Dementia haunts the United States. There’s no one without a personal story about how dementia has touched someone they care for. But beyond personal stories, the broader narrative is staggering: By 2050, we are on track to have almost 15 million Alzheimer’s patients in the US alone. That’s roughly the population of NYC, Los Angeles, and Chicago combined. Now add a few more cities to take care of them.
It’s an epidemic that’s already underway—but we don’t recognize it as such. The popular conception of Alzheimer’s is as an inevitable outcome of aging, bad genes, or both.
The popular conception of Alzheimer’s disease is as an inevitable outcome of aging or bad genes. From a scientist’s perspective, it’s important to remind everyone that we all once believed the same thing about cancer. But just a few days ago, doctors around the world have been considerably shaken up by the breaking news linking cancer to processed foods. In a large-scale study, researchers found that a 10% increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods led to a 12% increase in overall cancer events.
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
At the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical, this latest cancer research had our full attention. The findings line up so closely with research in the field, including our own work, linking diet and risk of Alzheimer’s—and underscore how important lifestyle changes can be to delaying or even avoiding the onset of the disease.
In an age of inexpensive personal genomics, there’s a general and persistent sense that as with cancer, Alzheimer’s is an essentially genetic outcome. But in reality, less than 1% of the population develops the disease due to genetic mutations in their DNA. To be clear, the vast majority of Alzheimer’s patients is simply not born of those mutations.
The consensus among scientists is that over one third of all Alzheimer’s cases could be prevented by improving our lifestyle. For Alzheimer’s, as with cancer—but also as with other conditions like heart disease and diabetes—much of the risk is related to behavioral and lifestyle factors. The consensus among scientists is that over one third of all Alzheimer’s cases could be prevented by improving our lifestyle. This includes ameliorating cardiovascular fitness, keeping our brains intellectually stimulated, and perhaps most of all: eating better.
“Eating better” means addressing the American ultra-processed diet. Ultra-processed is a technical term, and exists in a spectrum of food processing. An apple straight from the tree is wholly unprocessed. Dry the apple, and store it away with common preservatives like sulphur dioxide, and it becomes a processed food.
Ultra-processed foods by some measures account for half of the American diet. But ultra-processed foods are the extreme in the scale, and by some measures account for half of the American diet. These include mass produced, packaged foods, as well as foods containing manufactured substances like hydrogenated oils (aka trans-fats), modified starches, and protein isolates. In plain English, this means commercial breads and buns; packaged snacks; industrialized confectionery and desserts; sodas and sweetened drinks; meat products like cold cuts and chicken nuggets; instant noodles and soups; frozen or shelf stable ready meals; margarine, processed cheese, and most creamers.
These are the foods whose consumption triggered an increase in cancer cases in the BMJ study. And these are the foods whose consumption increases your risk of cognitive decline and dementia too. While some argue that “organic” processed food may be less harmful than non-organic processed food, it is still processed food and as such, should be minimized.
In epidemiological studies, people who consumed as little as two grams a day of trans-fats had twice the risk of those who ate less than two grams. Alarmingly, most people in those studies ate at least two grams a day, with the majority of participants eating more than double that dose on a regular basis.
The implications are clear. If, as a nation, we have become aware of the role of nutrition relative to cancer, it’s urgent that we develop a corollary awareness of the role of nutrition and Alzheimer’s. It’s terrifying news because of the numbers we see ahead. But it’s very good news, in terms of our individual and collective abilities to reduce those numbers drastically.
Alzheimer’s doesn’t simply “turn on” when we’re old; it begins decades earlier with changes to the brain. Collectively, the ways we address a disease has always been shaped by what we understand it to be. So it’s important to realize that Alzheimer’s doesn’t simply “turn on” when we’re old; it begins decades earlier with changes to the brain. In other words, the Alzheimer’s population of 2050 will either start to develop, or not, right around now. As a nation, if a meteor was going to hit 15 million people in 32 years, we’d set aside our resources and brainpower to stop it. We must therefore bring the national attention not only to the treatments and vaccines that may someday arrive (or not) but to the urgent interest in upgrading the American diet.
We have acted on behalf of collective nutrition-related outcomes before, by demanding mandatory labeling for trans-fat in 2003. We must take similar action at scale, and immediately. At the same time, each and every one of us would do well to act in our own interests (which are, after all, aligned) and take steps to modify our diet for a youthful, healthy, resilient brain.
My hopes are to be able to one day affect what happens in Washington, but also to affect what happens in your kitchen. The road to an Alzheimer’s epidemic is real, but there is no reason that it needs to be the only way forward.
“Dementia haunts the United States”. Well that explains the last presidential election. lol
Or perhaps it explains you.
and by the way, did you paraphrase the opening line of the Communist Manifesto? “A spectre is haunting Europe “
My high fructose corn syrup supper in a box causes cancer ? (((gasp))) And more bad news.
Can Alcohol Cause Cancer?
But pot is illegal. Makes perfect sense. Hey look , there’s an opioid epidemic killing people. Congress must act. ‘Merica.
Eat green to stay lean and live longer.
So, Apple Jacks?
No. No apple jacks. Sorry
Wasn’t that long ago that articles like this were about aluminum causing Alzheimer and dementia, usually -or at least frequently- blamed on the use of aluminum cookware. Still see a few around now and then.
So what causes the disease, the food we eat or the cookware we cook it in?
Then there are those who blame fluoride in the water as well, maybe the food we eat being cooked in aluminum cookware using fluoridated water to prepare and cook it is the reason?
… while we’re hung over, dehydrated and chronically exhausted.
Whether processed foods cause issues, or the pot we cook them in, doesn’t matter to me. “Food” with chemicals added can’t be good, I take that as a personal choice to eat the best I’m able to and I cook in cast iron.
Others can do as they please.
Today I’m going to make my Jacked-Uped meatloaf. Venison I shot, peppers, onions, garlic grown by a local organic farmer and Jack Daniels from the bottle. Throw it on the smoker for 4 or five hours.
Good eats on a cold and rainy Michigan Saturday.
Comfort foods.
Sounds scrumptious.
I might be able to bring dessert.
Near one of the finger tips, or the rabbit?
Understandable, if you’d rather not reveal.
I’m prolly too far south, to have a meet & greet.
But I occasionally trek your way, up near cherries, & sometimes where the berries are new.
One day, maybe you, me, & anarchist can pop the top on a longneck and toast to common ground.
There’s a nice little pub hidden away, near where men see loners.
If not that, then maybe at least exchange e-addresses via Admin.
Or not.
Your call.
Enjoy your smoked venny.
If backstraps, I’m jealous.
Cheers.
Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death
Give it a listen before dismissing as nonsense.
“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance – that principle is contempt prior to investigation.” William Paley
“”Alzheimer’s doesn’t simply “turn on” when we are old; it begins decades earlier with changes to the brain””
What? Ponder this… perhaps it begins decades earlier with a lack of changes in the brain. This is a more reasonable answer.
Our brain is an organic computer equipped to function in the dimensions of space and time in a field of consciousness with Attention as a Cursor in the outer world of the material and our inner world of subjectivity. We have our five bodily senses which moves us from sensation to perception to reasoning to abstraction giving us our elements of experience of the outer world. In our inner world we have intuition and insight (not sensuous functions) which forms our values. In other words our sensuous input shows us facts while our intuition and insight shows us values. The two results of facts and values balanced through conscious effort via concentrated attention on reconciliation of the opposites produces harmony.
Our brain has twelve latent functions of value given to us at birth that are ready to be developed as we experience the world and develop personality. These twelve functions are faith, strength, judgement, love, power, imagination, understanding, will, order, zeal, renunciation and life.
So what has all this have to do with Alzheimer’s? It has everything to do with it. Let’s see.
In the development of the brain from birth, changes in it are constantly occurring. At birth we experience wholeness and diversity in unity. This diversity is sensed by the different patterns we see but do not yet understand. As we develop further we begin to notice polarities. Notice how so many of our words express polarities? Like up down, good bad, I like I don’t like, left right, etc. etc. etc. Then we see relationships of all types or relatedness. Then we notice the persistence in time and extension in space of the same figures and objects. (remember our brain was created to operate is space and time). Then we begin a desire to explore the world around us and in this action we discover potentiality. And as we explore these potentialities we find cycles in nature which is really repetition. Then we begin to notice we live in a self regulating world of natural & artificial organizations operating in patterns. At this point is where our brain is ripe for a transformation to the higher level of completeness where we can Will ourselves to be self-directing individuals with the ability to adjust behavior and influence an occasion which leads to autocracy, OR we can stop our development and with this choice we stop the development of our brain.
As we see in our society today most prefer to stop their development and live as sheep. How many in our society stop learning after high school or college only to indulge in drivel, games, and non-essential activity.
As a result is nature working to eliminate the weak in mind so the strong can move on in the grand plan of the development of the universe to higher modes of consciousness and experience and the weak recycled back into the hyle?
My opinion is that Alzheimer’s may be just this. People are refusing to develop their potentialities and use their GOD given brain. Instead they fill it with garbage and drivel. Look at the failure of the school system to educate. Look at the lack of drive in people to be individuals. Our corrupt leaders will soon be gone with age and what do we have to replace them with. So many seem to be satisfied with being drones like in a bee or ant colony. I don’t think GOD created man for this outcome. Do you?
So Alzheimer’s seems to be natures answer to this. I’m sure some will be offended by this assessment if they have relatives with Alzheimer’s. But one has to look at the facts and judge for themselves.
Thunderbird, you are one dumb fuck. My mom is probably a couple years away from dying from alzheimers. I still see her every day and she still recognizes me but acts like a 6 year old now. I have been studing the neuroscience behind it for the last three years, and I can say you are so full of shit I can smell it through the internet. Instead of the bible, why don’t you pick up a neuroscience book and read it. There are quite a few of them that are dumbed down for the likes of you. Try to keep your opinions in your own delusional consciousness.
I don’t know what causes it, but I am getting a front-row education right now with my elderly father about what it is- it is an ugly, horrible disease. I now understand why humans came to believe in things like demonic possession. It really is like the person you knew was just taken over by something evil.
Yancey, my mom was always a sweetheart, would never purposely hurt anyone. So far she has kept that part of her personality in tact. Every day is like groundhog day. She asks the same questions every day. Every now and then something subtle happens, always in the negative direction. We were lucky in that we had the money to put her in an assisted living facility. Most people won’t.
The paleo diet causes cancer and dementia and the only reason paleos avoided them is because they didn’t live past 30.
Attention whatever it is comes I believe from the I AM. It is a companion of the body. It can observe what our senses observe and it can observe our self in action and our subjective experience.
For the most part it is taken captive in our outer experience but in a state of self consciousness which we seldom have we can direct it to observe our actions, our inner thoughts, our feelings and our inner body functions. But this takes time to develop. Attention can help us in our development to be better men. Religion tells us what to do to be better men and why we should do it but it doesn’t tell us how to do it. It doesn’t tell us anything about attention. Attention is a key.
When attention is not present this is when the body can be influenced by outside forces that are not in our best interest. Many crimes are committed when the attention is not present to govern our behavior. During times of rage attention is seldom present.
The departure of the spirit in one leaves the body to be influenced by other spirits looking for a body to possess. The departure of the spirit from a body happens for many reasons. I think Alzheimer’s is one.
With a strong presence of attention in us we can see a more full view of our reality. For this to happen our attention has to observe our mind and body observing the world along with it observing the world through our sensual perceptions. Our body actions, thoughts and feelings while observing the world can only be seen through our attention. This is part of remembering yourself.
The spiritual world does not contain all good spirits. So be mindful and keep yourself from invasion of these spirits by paying attention.
Why do you think we have so many in our society walking around like drones and taking up activities of rebellion that divide everyone? Spirits of mischief take up residence in these people. One cannot talk sense to these people because they are possessed by spirits of mischief that like what they do. The original person is not there because they let their attention go.
There is a spiritual war going on. People that don’t pay attention cannot see this. This war is going on all around us and even affects some of our family members.
But take heart in the 91st Psalm: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Good luck trying to find healthy food in Amerika! Driving from Canada, I stopped for lunch at a fine, family-owned restaurant in Minnesota as they had a special on hot sandwiches. I asked what my choice of bread was as I try to avoid refined & bleached white flour.
“White, brown or rye.”
“Is the brown whole-wheat?”
“No, it’s just white that’s dyed brown.”
“I’ll take the rye, please.”
When I got my meal I realized the rye was just marbled white & brown. In other words, I had a choice between white garbage, brown garbage, or marbled garbage. Good luck trying to find healthy food in Amerika!
Sorry that you were so inconvenienced Gerold. Had we known you were coming, we would have baked a cake. Small town, family owned. Not many left. They likely have a alternating special served each day of the week that the local tradesmen frequent. Large portions, stick to the ribs stuff. Food for the guys that are doing physical labor; there are still one or two. Eating right is easy and cheap ant home, but not so much away from home. If you’re that fucking picky, carry a cooler and some avocado toast and wash it down with mint tea or a chilled carton of soy milk. We’ll still let you spend the night, but we might go to bed early if you start whining.
There is plenty of healthy food in America. It is just that most people do not want it or just to lazy to find it. Unhealthy food is about convenience.
Look at all the organic food in the supermarkets. Of course it has to be cooked and many people do not want to cook.
Looking into the past when there was far less people and more open space people could raise chickens on their property in the towns and grow produce which they sold to markets, restaurants, which were sold or cooked for people to eat.
Fast forward to our crowded cities and that is now impractical.
We now have people living into their 90s and 100s and they eat good food or I venture to say they eat healthy food or they would’t live that long. So processed food is working out well for most of us.
I try to eat good food. Not so much fast food but much of the food I purchase at the supermarket is fresh or packaged or canned. That is the way it is with a dense population.
When traveling it is not easy to find places that serve unprocessed food. It has always been that way. And this is true of all western countries.
We’re all born to die. Have that second piece of cake. Have that extra splash of whiskey.