Skip to main content

Cholesterol and Alzheimer's

My Dad has started to get a wee bit confused and forgetful, so things like this are really interesting to me.

Tom Naughton pointed this out

There is a clear reason why statins would promote Alzheimer’s. They cripple the liver’s ability to synthesize cholesterol, and as a consequence the level of LDL in the blood plummets. Cholesterol plays a crucial role in the brain, both in terms of enabling signal transport across the synapse and in terms of encouraging the growth of neurons through healthy development of the myelin sheath. Nonetheless, the statin industry proudly boasts that statins are effective at interfering with cholesterol production in the brain as well as in the liver.

Researchers are only recently discovering that both fat and cholesterol are severely deficient in the Alzheimer’s brain. It turns out that fat and cholesterol are both vital nutrients in the brain. The brain contains only 2% of the body’s mass, but 25% of the total cholesterol. Cholesterol is essential both in transmitting nerve signals and in fighting off infections.

High cholesterol is positively correlated with longevity in people over 85 years old, and has been shown to be associated with better memory function and reduced dementia. The converse is also true: a correlation between falling cholesterol levels and Alzheimer’s.


The original article - The Clue to Why Low Fat Diet and Statins may Cause Alzheimer's - is definitely worth reading
Labels:

Comments

L said…
chris

my mum started displaying the same symptons a few years ago. what really sucks is watching it get worse. google "dr. mary newport". she apparently has had some success treating her husband with coconut oil. something to do with ketones feuling brain cells unable to use glucose. don't have to eat a ketogenic diet because the coconut oil provides ketones regardless of carb consumption. unfortunately, can't get mum to consume it on a regular basis so i can't give you a promising "it works !!!" anecdote. if you get your dad to try the protocol for long enough, you might consider doing a post as i'm sure many others would be interested.
December 16, 2009 at 3:01 AM
Chris said…
Dad has now been diagnosed with vascular dementia...so is on a statin again. I'm not up to arguing this one with the doctor.
December 29, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Anonymous said…
Really interesting to read this. My Granddad has been diagnosed with dementia and Parkinson's disease. He has lived a large part of his life (he is now 79) eating a 'whole foods' diet: of cereal/grain, beans/lentils, root vegetables/vegetables/salad greens, fruit, potatoes, milk, cheese, butter, cream, yogurt, eggs, sugar, soya, rice milk, nuts/seeds, olive oil, sunflower oil. Both my Gran and Granddad were biodynamic farmer/gardeners, and my Gran ironically was a nutritionalist. Both ate very high quality produce and lived in very healthful settings, and led very active lives. Neither ate meat, perhaps for Christmas they would, if they weren't to eat a nut roast instead. They ate fish once a month if that. I wonder what element of their diet, if each element were to stand alone would have influenced the fact that my Granddad has been diagnosed with such a terrible disease. My Gran also passed away in such a terrible way with ovarian cancer which had spread through her bowels and to other organs of her body, I wonder too why this happened to her. Especially as my great grandmother, my gran's mother also died of ovarian cancer, (though she did eat meat). I only wish I understood more.
October 18, 2010 at 7:31 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dry January

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was taking part in "Dry January".  I didn't make a big song and dance about it, but I decided to go for a calendar month or so with no alcohol.  A few people have asked me about my experience, so here are a few points. Why take a break from drinking? Alcohol is an interesting topic.  As a drug it is widely accepted in society, central to so much of our socialising and leisure.  There seem to be lots of health benefits - so we are told - yet there are also a lot of problems in terms of health, relationships and lifestyle that come from drinking. Over a few years I'd begun to become aware and then concerned that I was drinking too much and too regularly.  I am in a busy and stressful job and sometimes a glass of wine after work to relax is really helpful.  But over time, one glass became two.  Two glasses became ....I might as well finish the bottle.  A habit got established....and was starting to get too e...
7 comments
Read more

So where have I been?

You will have noticed that this blog has been quiet for a while....  There are a few reasons for that, reasons that I thought I'd list here: WORK -  my day job has been incredibly busy and stressful this year. Working 10-14 hour days the last thing on my mind when I got home was putting something on here.  FACEBOOK/TWITTER - I suppose I've been using other channels to do some of what I used to do here. Quick fire posts pointing to interesting studies or news etc tend to get posted to Twitter (@chrishighcock) or to the Facebook Hillfit group http://www.facebook.com/groups/263083947097000/  REASSESSMENT - I've found myself less comfortable with some of the positions I've taken in the past. Sometimes I'm embarrassed by some of the things I've promoted. I'm not Paleo or low carb. I think Tabata and intervals are misunderstood and misapplied. I cannot really claim to be HIT.   I find myselfunable  honestly to post things on here and pretend that I am some sort o...
12 comments
Read more

Taking up space for a brief update

I've a couple of posts in draft that I will get up soon -  an update / reflection on Dry January and some thoughts on the scheduling benefits of short workouts if your life is busy.  Before that though, I am pointing to something else. However, I wanted to highlight something that is coming this weekend that I've been involved in.   Amber Rogers (Gokaleo and author of Taking Up Space ) has been pulling together a bundle of books from various authors with a common theme, one that I've been pushing here recently.   Keep it simple, avoid the hype, be patient, be consistent and flee the gurus.   I've talked before about how we get obsessed with pushing for more and more, when enough is OK.  I've given my view that so much of the health and fitness internet world is more like a gnostic religion than something that will benefit your life. There are other voices out there saying similar things and I'll be pointing to a bundle of books later this week ...
1 comment
Read more