I really don't know if I should post this as a new thread or under the humor one, but since we are all searching for answers I offer it for your consideration.

A friend of mine, who is a nurse, gave me this article from a local newspaper in Columbia, Missouri, home of the University of Missouri. The article is by an MU assistant professor of pathology who has been studying AD. He notes the incidence of AD is increasing in just the last decade in the United States and he thinks it can be tied to the prevalence of processed foods.

"If a disease takes 40 to 60 years to develop, then diet would seem important, and the diet in America has dramatically changed from a garden diet to a highly processed one," Dr Eddie Adelstein said in the article.

Okay, Dr. Adelstein points out that AD rates in China among those 69 or older is 1.26 percent and rates are also low in Korea and Vietnam. What all these countries have in common is the consumption of rapidly growing vegetables, especially bean sprouts. He has a friend from China who studied here and ate the bean sprouts everyday. He asked his friend and other Chinese students why they didn't just eat the beans and was told that their mothers had told them these living plants "contained mystical substances that would promote long life."

The article went into the way plaque is formulated in the brain and was very technical. Cows and animals that graze do not get AD, but dogs and other meat-eating animals do, according to him.

He pokes some fun at himself about this theory and says it would take many years to prove it. In the meantime, he is experimenting by juicing two cups of fresh sprouts per day with an apple, two pears and ginger root. He doesn't know if it is a placebo effect, but he claims he feels more mentally sharp.

Jane

I'll meet you all at the local Chinese restaurant!

It's all about food today isn't it Martha? LOL

See you there Martha, and Angel, yes it is about the food....

Let's start a commune for those with AD and their care-givers... We can grow our own organic food and take turns having days off away from the care-giving role (farming on our days off)..

Seriously, I do think that MUCH of our health problems stem from how far we have gotten from food as it is in it's natural state. But even though I've believed that for a long time, I still eat the junk and the processed foods. I wish I had the discipline to do a raw (organic) vegetarian type diet. But I don't. Now if we had a commune...maybe I'd have the discipline, haha.

LOL!!! You girls are TOO FUNNY!!! :D

Hmmmmm, commune, eh? And help? That doesn't sound bad at all! LOL!!!

There's a GREAT Chinese restaurant near me. You're all invited! No hotel. You can stay with me. Dad's 700 miles from here and it's nice and peaceful-and fun!:)

Love, Barb

Hi Girls,

Let me think ...here are some of the many dos and don'ts I have heard regarding AD prevention.

1. Don't cook on aluminum pots and pans. This has now been disproved. Don't eat lots of microwaved food.
2. don't eat processed foods, white flour, white rice, but the natural untreated ones.
3. get lots of exercise.
4. get mental exercise too like crossword puzzles or taking courses and reading books.
5. listen to classical music and keep the volume normal.
6. have friends.
7. have fun.
8. eat fruits and vegetables (fresh or frozen, not canned) and less meat.
9. eat less fat.
10. take life as it comes, don't worry about the whole world.
11. put yourself first for a change.
12. get good health insurance.
13. if you can, make arrangements for long term care in the hopes you will never need it.
14. give a child or close relative POA decades before you need it.
15. give away the bulk of your property before you need to - e.g. don't wait until you are dead, or have AD when that money will have to be spent down before you can get help from the state to pay for your nursing home care.
16. do everything in moderation - eat, drink, have fun, do not become a recluse and do not cut yourself off from the outside world.
17. have religious faith and practice it. Pray. Believe.

This covers food, drink and attitude, with a few tips on how to provide the care you will need IF you get it, which you won't if you follow all the other rules ....

There are many more. Most of it is just common sense.

Love,

Martha

Hi ladies!!!

I will go for the Chinese food!!! :> But, not the commune! That just does not excite me at all! Now, I have some advice for yall, concerning what to eat that is good for you: Eat lots of pecans!!!!! :> and Eat lots of citrus fruits!!!!! :> Just kidding - but not really. They really are good for you. Especially the pecans. My husband grows both of those things on our 2 - 13 acres farms!!!!! So, eat up! :>

Martha, your ideas are good for all of us, but not are charges! My dad gets to eat what ever he wants. He loves to go out to eat! And eats it all!!! Just takes a long time! :>

Sorry ladies, but I have heard that some sprouts are not good for you. Have some kind of germ, mold, or whatever?! It is better to grow your own! Just eat lots of fresh veges and fruits and nuts and grains! Not very much meat at all. Of course, this is do as I say, not as I do!!!!! Really, we do it most of the time. We just eat too many sweets and I drink too many fancy coffees!

Good luck with your commune. Where are your having it? In Texas, Florida, California??? :> :> :> hehe

Take care.

Love, Wannabe

**Voting for Australia**

:-)

LOTS of farms 'round my area now .. sugar cane, ginger, zucchinis, sweet potato (Yams), butternut pumpkin, watermelon, rockmelon (Like honeydew?)

so no shortage of land here for an AD commune !!

Hugs
Sally

Okay Martha, Here's one for you....

In the book "The Forgetting" he gives a list of do's and don'ts to push-back the likelihood of Ahlz. Along with all the delicious foods we've mentioned, he also lists activities to hold it at bay......

If you aren't married........Get married!
(tongue in cheek here, I think, Keep good friends and visit often)

If you don't have a computer..........Buy one

Play games........online and board games

Work Crossword puzzles....search 'n find puzzles.......read the newspaper daily

And a few others. He does say that there are statistical records that show "if you don't use it, you lose it" the more activity and busyier you keep your brain........the better

I did notice with my Mom's second marriage, she constantly gave up more and more. She let hubby do everything: Stopped driving, making appointments, lost contact with her children, etc

Just FOOD for thought!

My sister read that our brains can create new neuropathways - and that it is good to change things around - like rearrange furniture, take a different route to your destination, use the alternate hand to do things (use your right if you're left handed, etc.).