Half of all Americans have it by age 85! (See video below)

While there is often a great deal of confusion and contradiction from one Oz Show to the next, this one is a winner. From an article about it at Examiner.com (See link below):

By the time that they reach age 85, almost half of all Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. The statistics are frightening – but the research is hopeful. By eating the right foods, you can reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and even reverse memory problems by starting now, says Dr. Mehmet Oz, pointing to recent studies. To reveal what to eat – and what to avoid, Dr. Oz invited Dr. Neal Barnard to his March 8 show.

I was a bit disappointed in the article referenced above as the author made no mention of the foods that we should avoid; she only talked about the healthy brain foods. Since the foods to avoid was such a critical element of the show—not to include them in the article is a classic example of “food system controlled” unprofessional journalism.

Dr. Neal Barnard, founder and Director of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

But I took notes while watching the show and these are the nuggets of wisdom that I found most provocative. Dr. Oz led off the segment by quoting Dr. Neal Barnard, “Milk, meat, and even fish can put you at risk for Alzheimer’s. But you can dramatically reduce your chances of becoming a statistic.”

1. Prevention. We can prevent Alzheimer’s Disease; you don’t need drugs. The solution doesn’t start with your doctor, it starts with you.
2. METALS. When Dr. Oz asked Dr. Barnard what he thought was the main cause of Alzheimer’s, he replied METALS. We find iron, copper and zinc in the plaques in the brain. You need iron, copper and zinc—but when you get too much of it, we believe that it destroys the brain cells.
3. Sources of metals. They come from our food, cookware and vitamin supplements. Metals in the brain cause the production of free radicals. The difference between the amounts of iron that you need and the amount that’s toxic is very small. It’s very easy to get too much, but it’s just as easy to recognize the source, change it—and you won’t have the problem anymore.
4. Bad foods. Most problematic foods are meat, dairy and fish.
5. MEAT. We’ve all grown up with the idea that meat is a good source of iron. The problem is that it’s a little too good of a source. Plus we get saturated fat from the meat that harms the heart, it also harms the brain.
6. DAIRY products are the number one source of saturated fat. The combination of high saturated fat plus high copper is the equivalent of 19 extra years of aging. 19 extra years of cognitive decline.
7. FISH. Many people think fish—good for the brain. Take lobster or you take crab—loaded with these metals. Plus, they living in what is effectively the human sewer—picking up these toxins.
8. Omega-3s. But what about the omega-3s? Most of the fat in fish is not the omega-3s.
9. Oz jumps in. “This challenges everything I’ve ever said on this show. I have advocated fish—to PREVENT Alzheimer’s. I still don’t get it.”
10. More about fish. Don’t get me wrong, fish do have omega-3. But it’s only 15 to 30% of the fat in fish. The other 70 to 85% are the bad fats that don’t do your body any good at all. When asked, Dr. Barnard said that he grew up eating fish but that he not anymore. Now he eats none. When asked if he recommended that our viewers stop eating fish, he responded YES. Adding, “I wouldn’t say that if there weren’t many, many other good things to eat that don’t have the bad fats, that don’t have the extra metals that nourish the body.”
11. The problem with Supplements. The vitamins in the supplements are good, the A, C, the B, etc. But they’re adding the metals in the multi-vitamins that you don’t need.
12. Oz summarizes. Little or no meat, little or no fish, no dairy products, and no multi-vitamins. Our foods are giving us the traces of metals that we need and they’re protecting us against the excess.
13. Simple solution. A whole foods, plant-based diet (WFPB). Power foods for the brain. Fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains.
14. Food NOT pills for vitamins. Get your vitamin E from foods, not from pills. Get your vitamin B6 from corn, beans, rice. B12 is easily found in fortified almond or soy milk or cereals. Folate; Eat lots of kale, spinach, asparagus, beans. Making an umbrella to protect your brian.
15. Fringe benefits. As we know from The China Study, the WFPB diet is not only good for Alzheimer’s but it prevents or reverses heart disease and diabetes, prevents cancer, promotes vibrant health in general and enables you to achieve your ideal weight effortlessly and permanently.

Watch 20-minute segment of Barnard and Oz

Don’t have 20 minutes? 1-minute video from Dr. Barnard on Alzheimer’s

So how does this all square with the recent big news about the Mediterranean Diet and it’s ability to lower the risk of heart disease by 30%? The simple answer is that the Mediterranean Diet is superior to the SAD, but not nearly as powerful of a whole foods, plant-based diet (WFPB)—a diet-style that reverses almost ALL heart disease AND protects us from the horror of Alzheimer’s.

• Examiner source article. Dr. Oz and Neal Barnard: Prevent and reverse Alzheimer’s
• On the drop-down list beneath my Diseases tab: Alzheimer’s
• Earlier blog. Mediterranean Diet—more confusion over clarity

Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

• The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD 
• Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
• An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
• Dr. McDougall’s new book, The Starch Solution, with lots of great recipes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

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J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

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—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation