OT: Nutritional Supplement to improve mind

[purple]

Local Nutritional store suggests: One cup of room temperature water. Two Tablespoons of Tumeric. A pinch of Cayenne. A pinch of black pepper. Enough Honey to improve the taste. Between meals. No, it does not seem to create gas, actually it seems to be a base, therefore it calms the stomach a bit.

According to the store owner, Tumeric is the factor in curry which improves brain function. This is what she recommended for inflammation from pulled tendons.

Your mileage may vary. Let us know.

A friend said the current research supports the idea that if a person was bright, with good memory when they were a teenager they are likely to be sharp as a senior., that is the best predictor for how mind sharpness they have as a senior.

Perhaps I should build a set of photos, music of my past, a book of memories of my past, to use if I get Alzheimers, while I still can.

[Thewino]

Hello Purple,

Turmeric has a reputation for having anti-inflammatory properties. Despite Turmeric being a spice (think Curry), it can actually be found in the vitamin section for the reason stated.

Some peeps with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Sjogrens disease, Reactive Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, etc...take Tumeric routinely to reduce whole body inflammation.

Take care,
TheWino

[purple]

Has anyone used this formula for a long time?

[Julie]

I would be more concerned about the state of my stomach lining than I would the state of my brain after that!

[jencat824]

Purple,

I'm going to try this for my brain function. Alzheimer's runs heavily in my family & I am frightened that I will get it too. I've done everything I can to prevent it, from eliminating aluminum in my life (cans, cooking utensils, etc.) to brain exercises. If this helps improve the mind, I'm gonna try it. I also have arthritis (rheumatoid & osteo) and other inflammatory diseases (spondylitis), so this may help. Thanks for posting this tip.

Julie,

As for the stomach, I'll probably use a very small pinch of cayenne & black pepper. I think the idea here is the turmeric, so that's what I'll be shooting for. I also think turmeric is available in capsules, I'm going to check into that as well. Hopefully this mixture will have the calming effect Purple seems to have experienced.

Anyway, worth a try for me, I'm terrified of Alzheimer's & dementia of any kind, I've seen too much of it in my family.

Jen

[Janknitz]

Tumeric is fine but stay away from much honey. They are beginning to recognize Alzheimer's disease as "Diabetes Tpye III". The higher your blood sugar and insulin levels, the higher your risk for dementia.

Meanwhile, SATURATED FAT is what your brain needs to stay healthy. Our brains need fat, mostly natural sources of Omega 3 and monounsaturated. Industrially processed Omega 6 oils (all the so-called "heart healthy oils" like canola, soy, and vegetable oils--even if cold expeller pressed) are highly inflammatory and should NOT be consumed.

Read up on using coconut oil in particular.to combat dementia, especially the story of Dr. Mary Newport and her husband.

I make tumeric tea. Grated fresh tumeric and ginger steeped in water and added to canned coconut milk. It's yummy!

[SleepyToo2]

You can get turmeric and cayenne in capsule form (don't know if they come together) - both are anti-inflammatories. The coconut oil in the tea is, according to some people, good for preventing Alzheimer's disease, perhaps also having an anti-inflammatory action. Haven't seen any evidence of black pepper or honey working on dementia, although honey is certainly an anti-inflammatory.

[chunkyfrog]

Saturated fats; don't forget butter and bacon fat; and we must remember the fat that makes meat so yummy!
Surely God is smarter than nutritionists with a vegan agenda.

[palerider]

I would be more concerned about the state of my stomach lining than I would the state of my brain after that!

if you're referering to the cayenne, it's actually sold as a supplement, in capsules, to *help* your stomach.

though webmd is iffy on the subject: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplemen ... apsicum%29

[palerider]

Saturated fats; don't forget butter and bacon fat; and we must remember the fat that makes meat so yummy!
Surely God is smarter than nutritionists with a vegan agenda.

I'm a card carrying member of PETA

People Eating Tasty Animals

don't worry, I don't care for frogs legs you keep yours attached!

[ems]

A friend said the current research supports the idea that if a person was bright, with good memory when they were a teenager they are likely to be sharp as a senior., that is the best predictor for how mind sharpness they have as a senior.

Personally, I'd like to believe that but I don't know... a friend of mine who I've known for forty-five years and was the sharpest tack in the box was diagnosed with Alz a year ago. I'm still in shock. I think it's a case of we are all different and we'll all age differently.

[Janknitz]

Saturated fats; don't forget butter and bacon fat; and we must remember the fat that makes meat so yummy!
Surely God is smarter than nutritionists with a vegan agenda.

Agreed, but to maximize the Omega 3's they should come from organic, pastured sources.

[archangle]

We try to advocate science based medicine on this board.

Other than things like eating too much sugar or deficiencies of various chemicals like vitamins, most of this "supplement" stuff is either quackery or has very minor effects.

When someone publishes a study showing that Antarctic sunflower extract reduces the risk of ear cancer, if you read the data, you'll usually find out that it only reduced the number of cancer cases by 1.2% and that number was only weakly statistically significant. And then there were 4 other studies that showed no significant improvement in outcomes. Then when further controlled studies with larger groups are conducted, they don't show any improvement.

Strangely enough, the people selling the herbs, the news media, and the true believers still keep pushing the stuff.

[jencat824]

Tumeric is fine but stay away from much honey. They are beginning to recognize Alzheimer's disease as "Diabetes Tpye III". The higher your blood sugar and insulin levels, the higher your risk for dementia.

Meanwhile, SATURATED FAT is what your brain needs to stay healthy. Our brains need fat, mostly natural sources of Omega 3 and monounsaturated. Industrially processed Omega 6 oils (all the so-called "heart healthy oils" like canola, soy, and vegetable oils--even if cold expeller pressed) are highly inflammatory and should NOT be consumed.

Read up on using coconut oil in particular.to combat dementia, especially the story of Dr. Mary Newport and her husband.

I make tumeric tea. Grated fresh tumeric and ginger steeped in water and added to canned coconut milk. It's yummy!

Where do you buy fresh turmeric? I want to try your tea & will read the story of Dr. Mary Newport & her husband. I'm on kinda a quest to avoid Alz if at all possible. I'm keeping notes on the various dietary changes, as well as supplement's I'm using & brain 'exercises' so that if I'm not successful, at least someone will know I tried. If I'm successful, maybe my notes will help someone else.

Jen

[Janknitz]

Whole Foods has fresh Turmeric root. I'm not sure if they have it year round.

It's expensive and messy! It turns everything yellow/orange including your hands.

I made it up as a concentrate, but it does go bad. If I do it again, I intend to freeze it in ice cube trays so I can just throw a cube in the cup and mix it with warm coconut milk. I forgot that you're supposed to add a little bit of pepper--it helps with the absorption of the turmeric. Not much pepper is needed.

You are probably better off with the turmeric supplements for day to day--easier to deal with.

My grandmother, mother and her brother all had Alzheimers. My mother had a particularly horrible end of life. My plan to reduce the likelihood of AD is:
1. 100% Cpap compliance--I'm quite sure that anoxia from apnea is not helpful.
2. Low carb, paleo diet to reduce blood sugar and insulin levels, clean eating to reduce toxic load and inflammation. I include lots of healthy fats, including plenty of coconut oil.
3. Exercise regularly (this one needs some work!)
4. Avoid statins (there's evidence that they contribute to diabetes, heart failure and dementia).

I don't buy into the "active mind" theory. I've known some brilliant, active minds that succumbed to Alzheimers. I truly think that sugar in our diets is the biggest cause, inflammatory elements in our diets and environmental toxins are a close second. And those of us with apnea lost brain cells every time we had apnea events.

I don't know if my efforts are too little, too late or not, or if they will succeed at all. But like you, at least I'm trying.