Alzheimers now considered ” Type 3 Diabetes “

Well, I just got back from a seminar in Phoenix on “INFLAMMATION”. One of the keynote speakers “Dr. Dan Murphy ” stated that a new theory of Alzheimer”s Disease was that it was a similar mechanism of type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is caused by a problem in the way your body makes or uses insulin. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar (glucose) into cells, where it is stored and later used for energy.

When you have type 2 diabetes, your fat, liver, and muscle cells do not respond correctly to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. As a result, blood sugar does not get into these cells to be stored for energy.

When sugar cannot enter cells, high levels of sugar build up in the blood. This is called hyperglycemia.

Type 2 diabetes usually occurs slowly over time.

Now the brain is a glucose hog. It runs on glucose and needs glucose also to produce energy or ATP. When glucose can’t get into your cells in other parts of your body, it also can’t get into your brain cells. If the neurons of the brain can’t get the energy they need they will begin to die off. Dr. Murphy claimed that patients with Alzheimers who went on a low glycemic diet and used other strategies for regulating glucose metabolism had favourable responses.

See the following article: http://www.naturalnews.com/036708_Alzheimers_type-3_diabetes_brain_disease.html.

The Semiahmoo Wellness Center in South Surrey has put together blood tests and strategies to evaluate individuals who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Food as our Pharmacy

As we transition from fall into winter we lose our sunlight and Vitamin D. We also see more children`s immune system`s becoming compromised at our office at the Semiahmoo Wellness Center. Whether it is because they are staying up late doing homework, have several sport practices per week, or like my grade 12 daughter trying to cramp everything she can in her final year at high school. Parent`s rather than waiting until they start exhibiting the flu or a cold why not be proactive with boosting their immune systems now. Their are many strategies that you may find helpful. Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Astragalus. Zinc, and Echinacea are all products that can help improve your immune system to assist in preventing the common cold or flu. Honey, garlic, and ginger are staples of cold treatment in Ayurvedic medicine along with black pepper, cinnamon and turmeric. Turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory.Ginger has been used for over 4000 years in Asia and research shows it to relieve inflammation, fever and muscle and joint pain.Grated ginger root with hot water and honey is great to warm up the insides from the chills that accompany the flu. Food has for centuries been used as our Pharmacy by many cultures. So simple yet very effective. These can be purchased at most grocery stores, health food stores and at your naturopathic doctors`office.

Are your fruits and vegetables are safe?

At our clinic in White Rock I am always recommending to my patients that when they are making healthy choices for themselves and their families to purchase organic, non genetically modified fruits and vegetables.Studies show not only does organically raised food taste better but many studies have shown that organic has a greater quantity of nutritional value. The next question patients ask is how can you tell if it is organic. Most stores don’t label if a food has been genetically modified and of course you are not going to be told what pesticides or herbicides were used in the farming practice of raising that produce. One way to tell how it is raised is by looking at the sticker. The code will give you valuable information. If the label has 4 digits, beginning with 4 then it is conventionally grown and may be sprayed with synthetic pesticides, not genetically modified. If is a 5 digit code beginning with a 9, this equals organic, not genetically modified. If it is a 5 digit, beginning with an 8 it is genetically modified produce. Even if we are eating healthy we may not be absorbing all the nutrients that are in our food. Naturopathic doctors are good at assessing what you may be lacking from your diet.

Are you Vitamin D Deficient?

More and more research is coming in showing the many benefits of Vitamin D with everything from helping to prevent the cold and flu to decreasing your risk to developing cancer. The ideal way to get your Vitamin D is by exposing your skin to the appropriate amount of sunshine. Unfortunately, our climate and our daily work environments don’t allow us to expose ourselves to the sunshine long enough for our bodies to manufacture the amount of Vitamin D we need.Sun exsposure (without sunscreen) for 10 -15 minutes per day with at least 40 percent of our bodies skin exposed is the general guide of what is required except if your skin is darker and you will need longer exposure. Reseacher’s have shown that by increasing levels of Vitamin D3 we can decrease many chronic diseases of nearly one million people in the world and cut the incidence of cancer by 40%. New recommendations for Vitamin D3 is 5000 i.u. per day. The best way to test for Vit D3 is via ablood test. We are testing our patients for Vitamin D3 and find that 3000 i.u. is the average dose people need in this area of the country.