Been studying the work of Dr. David Perlmutter and I find it so fascinating.
Some of the are-you-for-real revelations I've had from this have to do with the direct relationship with our body fat and brain function. Specifically, the thickness of our waist corresponds with the shrinkage of our hippocampus. (The hippocampus is a part of the brain that helps to store new memories and ideas.) And what my friend's refer to as "tricep extra" (i.e. the fatty flap of skin under the arms) is predictive of one's risk for Alzheimer's!
Also learned a new term: TBAR, which stands for thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. These TBARs can be detected and are representative of the amount of inflammation in the brain. Since brain inflammation is linked to Alzheimer's, in theory one could test for a person's risk of developing this disease based on their quantity of TBARs. The goal of treatment at that time would be giving antioxidants before symptoms arise.
Insulin Resistance (IR) is also linked to Alzheimer's. That's troubling news because diabetes is very much on the rise in America, at the same time when our geriatric population is expected to double. Oh boy.
The good news is that much of this can be prevented or even reversed with. . . exercise! So don't forget to workout just 20min a day. (I couldn't help myself.)
No comments:
Post a Comment