Vitamin D and Alzheimer’s Disease/Berberine Treats Alzheimer’s and More/Our Nuclear Neighbour 

You may have heard term “amyloid plaque” referred to as an underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease, when it accumulates in the brain. This is the current paradigm for explaining Alzheimer’s disease, which is that “the accumulation of amyloid deposits formed by Aβ peptide may induce intracellular tangles of tau protein that in turn leads to neuronal death”. Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide refers to a mix of amino acids that are believed to be the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer patients.

Clinical studies suggest a tight link between vitamin D deficiency and AD, and it is believed that up to 90% of the elderly population may have low vitamin D levels. (As well, several other vitamins have been found to be extremely low in patients with AD, including vitamin A, E, K and beta carotene.)

A recent study (based on mouse and rat studies in vivo and in vitro), concluded:  “our results substantiate vitamin D supplementation as an approach to prevent or treat AD by reducing Aβ anabolism, elevating Aβ catabolism and the reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines…  indicating that both, patients with vitamin D hypovitaminosis and patients with a normal vitamin D status, might profit from vitamin D supplementation.”   (Study)

In last month’s newsletter I discussed how aluminum in the brain is linked to both autism and Alzheimer’s disease. The study below shows how aluminum, and a couple of other heavy metals, are actually used to induce Alzheimer’s in rats, and another substance that can remove it from the body.

Heavy metals are known to be causative towards neurological disorders and are believed to “play a role in the precipitation of abnormal β-amyloid protein and hyper-phosphorylated tau, the main hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).”

One recent study induced Alzheimer’s-like disease in rats in order to explore the potential therapeutic effect of berberine on AD. The disease state was induced in rats by feeding them a mixture of aluminum, cadmium and fluoride for three months. (Providing evidence for those, like myself, who believe fluoride is toxic.) After inducing the Alzheimer’s-like state, the rats were treated with berberine for one month.

The study concluded that: “Berberine improved the cognitive behaviors in Morris water maze test and offered a protective effect against heavy metals-induced memory impairment.  Histopathological examination confirmed the neuroprotective effect of berberine. The present data advocate the possible beneficial effect of berberine as therapeutic modality for Alzheimer’s disease via its anti-inflammatory/antioxidant triggering-mechanism.”   (Study)

Berberine is a yellow-colored alkaloid compound found in several different plants, including European barberry, goldenseal, and Oregon grape. It has antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and immune-enhancing properties, and is effective at killing a wide range of bacteria, protozoa, and fungi.

Considered to be a natural antibiotic in the alternative health field, berberine is often used to treat infections, gastrointestinal issues (such as traveler’s diarrhea and food poisoning), and even viral conditions such as the flu. Recently berberine has had a resurgence in popularity due to its ability to control blood sugar as well as the diabetes drug “metformin”. (The dose for this purpose is 500mg taken 2 or 3 times daily.)

Other benefits of berberine:

• Dilates blood vessels; studies indicate this can lead to improved heart function and increased ability to exercise.
• Treats depression; believed to be due to berberine increasing levels of noradrenaline and serotonin.
• Helps prevent cancer by suppressing the growth and spread of tumors.
• Reduces fat buildup in the liver, preventing and treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

(Source)

Our Nuclear Neighbour 

Many of those who reside on the West Coast of B.C. (where NutriStart is located) are unaware that we are not far from an old nuclear production facility, one that is not only unstable but also located on a number of fault lines.  (Source)

The Hanford Site (located just South-East of Seattle) is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex, which, during the Cold War, included nine nuclear reactors, and five large plutonium processing complexes. These facilities produced plutonium for most of the more than 60,000 weapons built for the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Today Hanford still hosts one active commercial nuclear power plant: the Columbia Generating Station.  (Source)

The true dangers of this site were brought to light in an article in Vanity Fair titled WHY THE SCARIEST NUCLEAR THREAT MAY BE COMING FROM INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE. Toward the end of this article is some very scary material about the Hanford site.  (Source)

Since 1989, Hanford has been the focus of a massive cleanup effort by the U.S. Dept of Energy, due to the fact that it contains more nuclear waste and radioactive contamination than any other site in the U.S.: some of it from the original production plants, and much of it from the U.S. military. On this site are 177 large underground tanks that hold about 200 million liters of radioactive waste. These tanks are decades old, mostly made of only a single shell of steel, many of them leaking. At least 67 of the tanks have failed in some way, allowing waste and/or radioactive vapors to seep out: “at least 3.8 million liters is believed to have leaked into the ground in the past.”

According to one expert: “There are Fukushima-level events that could happen at any moment. You’d be releasing millions of curies of strontium 90 and cesium. And once it’s out there it doesn’t go away—not for hundreds and hundreds of years.” (Vanity Fair Article)

Compounding this problem is the recent discovery, via seismic studies, that “have uncovered more faults, extended the length of previously known faults and challenged the assumption that large quakes are not likely in the area, says the report from the Washington and Oregon chapters of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). Geologists now believe one fault passes a scant 2.3 miles from the 1,170-megawatt plant called the Columbia Generating Station (CGS).”

On top of this, these new seismic studies suggest that potential earthquakes in the region could be of a magnitude two or three times stronger than the plant was designed for.

Another concern is that the Columbia Generating Station is a version of the General Electric, boiling-water design, same as that used in the nuclear-power plants in Fukushima, and like the Fukushima plants, CGS stores spent-fuel rods in an elevated pool. “If an earthquake cracked that spent-fuel facility we could have a Fukushima-like scenario on our hands,” said Steven Gilbert, president of PSR’s Washington chapter.  (Source)

In May of 2017, one of the tunnels at Hanford (built in the 1950’s) containing radioactive waste, collapsed. Their solution to this problem was to dump truckloads of dirt into the hole.  (Source)

Readers will find a plethora of material on how to cope with radiation, in Volume 2 of Health Secrets for the 21st Century, should a worst-case-scenario occur. Until that time you will find 4 blogs containing some of that material by following this link, and this one.