Alzheimer’s disease is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and the number one cause of death in the U.K. It’s a trillion-dollar global problem — and new research suggests that its roots may lie in factors we can actually influence. According to Dr. Dale Bredesen, author of The End of Alzheimer’s, identified mechanisms of cause include leaky gut, chronic inflammation, the APOE4 gene, loss of hormonal support, and toxin exposure.
Leaky gut — an inflammatory state of the gut caused by gluten, medications, poor diet, autoimmune disease, and toxin exposure — can drastically deteriorate the microbiome and may contribute to the amyloid plaque formation associated with Alzheimer’s. Hormonal factors also play a role: 95% of adults are deficient in pregnenolone, a neuro-stimulating hormone, and low vitamin D levels have been linked to declines in both cognitive ability and memory.
There are three identified types of Alzheimer’s. Type 1 typically begins affecting people in their 60s, Type 2 in their 70s, and Type 3 — which is most often toxin-related — can begin in the 50s. Bone loss in our 50s can actually release stored toxins like mercury into the body, making toxin reduction an important and often overlooked prevention strategy.
Four key steps toward prevention:
- Fix your gut. Remove gluten and wheat, support your microbiome with proper probiotics, and stop eating trans fats.
- Address blood sugar. If pre-diabetic or diabetic, work to bring fasting glucose to 80–90, fasting insulin below 5, and HbA1c below 5.5. Intermittent fasting can help improve insulin resistance.
- Reduce toxin exposure. Switch away from BPA-laden plastic bottles, avoid farmed fish, eat SMASH fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring), and minimize exposure to second-hand smoke and environmental toxins like mold, iron, copper, and mercury.
- Get a “cognoscopy.” Dr. Bredesen recommends an online cognitive assessment combined with bloodwork not typically ordered by a primary care physician, including APOE gene status to understand your genetic risk profile.
Medication can help manage symptoms, but it cannot address root causes. A proactive, functional approach to diet, gut health, hormones, and toxin reduction offers real promise for prevention.