According to a new study from the National Institute for Health and Medical research in France a diet which is rich in omega-3 oils, fruit and vegetables as well as fish may reduce the risk of dementia in elderly people. But a diet too high in omega 6 fats could double the risk.

The researchers carried out a four-year study involving 8,085 men and women all residents of Montpellier, Dijon and Bordeaux. They were examined for signs of dementia and asked to complete a questionnaire about their eating habits and then two years later and the psychiatric examination was repeated. All the participants were over 65 at the start of the study and did not have dementia but over the four-year period, 183 people developed Alzheimer’s disease, while another 98 developed a type of dementia.

 

The researchers took a closer look at the eating habits of those who took part and found that a diet rich in omega-3 oils (which most of the participants got through oily fish, flaxseed and walnut oil salad dressing) was associated with a 60% drop in dementia risk; there was also a 30% drop in dementia risk among regular fruit and vegetable eaters. The researchers also found that regular fish consumption reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s by 35% in those who did not have a known genetic risk factor for the disease.

 

However, those with an ‘unbalanced diet’ who overloaded with omega 6 oils such as sunflower and grape seed oil in preference to omega 3 were twice as likely to develop dementia. A balanced diet should contain a balanced ratio of fats because eating too high amounts of omega 6 polyunsaturated fats can lead to lower levels of omega 3 fats being absorbed.

 

The study appears in the November 13, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

To protect your heart, bones and health in the years approaching the menopause a good quality multivitamin and mineral containing vitamins A, D, E, C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, chromium, selenium, boron and manganese should form the foundation of your supplement programme. (The one I use in the clinic is MenoPlus). 

You can then, if you feel you need an extra helping hand, add in other supplements which have been shown to be beneficial in connection with the menopause.

For best results take these additional supplements for the short term, say a period of three to four months. After that re-assess them for improvements in your health and work with your healthcare practitioner to adjust your supplement programme accordingly.

• Antioxidants: If you are eating a healthy diet and taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement you may not need to take additional antioxidants unless you have a strong family history of cancer. Antioxidants are abundant in fruits, vegetables and sprouted grains so make sure you get plenty of these foods in your diet. If, however, you exercise a lot and are exposed to a great deal of stress and chemical pollutants it might be wise to add an antioxidant complex to your supplement programme.  (The antioxidant formula I use in the clinic is called Nutriguard).
• Boron: A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 1993 showed that increasing dietary intake of the mineral boron  in postmenopausal women decreased the amount of calcium excreted in the urine. That means less risk of bone loss. U.S. Department of Agriculture studies found similar benefits for a high boron diet. Make sure that your multivitamin and mineral contains enough boron. (The MenoPlus multivitamin and mineral contains boron as does the OsteoPlus supplement I use in the clinic.) Three and a half ounces of almonds, prunes, or raisins each contain at least 2 mg of boron. Asparagus, cabbage, figs, peaches, and strawberries are good sources as well.
• B vitamin complex: B vitamins are incredibly helpful during times of stress and symptoms of B vitamin deficiency include anxiety, tension, irritability and poor concentration. If this sounds familiar or if you are under a great deal of stress it might be a good idea to supplement with additional B vitamins for a few months to get your health and energy back. You should be getting about 50 mg of most of the B vitamins a day so if your multivitamin isn’t giving you enough add a B complex to your supplement plan.
• Calcium: This mineral helps guard against osteoporosis. Calcium also appears to improve blood sugar balance and recent studies have shown that extra calcium can help with weight loss. Good source of calcium other than dairy products include brazil nuts, almonds, sesame seeds, salmon with bones and green leafy vegetables.  When choosing a supplement containing calcium, read the label, and choose calcium citrate rather than calcium carbonate.  Unfortunately, calcium carbonate is one of the cheapest forms of calcium, which is otherwise known as chalk.  It is one of the most difficult forms of calcium to absorb, and you need a highly efficient digestive system to order to manage it.  On the other hand, calcium citrate is almost 30% more absorbable than calcium carbonate.  (The MenoPlus and OsteoPlus supplements contain calcium citrate and also magnesium in the citrate form for maximum absorption.)
• C Vitamin: Vitamin C is a powerful immune booster but it is particularly helpful at the menopause. Giving women vitamin C with bioflavonoids has been shown to reduce hot flushes. Vitamin C helps to build up collagen which gives your skin and tissues elasticity and can therefore be useful in the treatment of vaginal dryness and stress incontinence. Collagen is also important for strong bones. Vitamin C is abundant in fruit and vegetables but you may also want to supplement your diet with 1000 mg per day of vitamin C and bioflavonoids. When choosing vitamin C, choose the alkaline form, ascorbate, rather than ascorbic acid as we know that the more acid the diet the greater the bone loss.  (Vitamin C Plus – an alkaline form of vitamin C).
• D Vitamin: This vitamin is crucial for the absorption of calcium so important for bone health and has now been found to be important in cancer prevention.  Dietary intake of vitamin D has decreased over recent years and may be linked to rising cases of osteoporosis. Vitamin D can be toxic in high doses so just take the amount that is your multi-vitamin and mineral and do not add in a separate vitamin D supplement unless you have been tested and found to be deficient. (This is done with a simple blood test).  Get plenty of exposure to sunlight. Fatty fish, such as halibut, mackerel and salmon are rich sources of vitamin D and also egg yolks.
• Essential fatty acids: Dry skin, cracked nails, lifeless hair, depression, aching joint, lack of energy, weight management problems, forgetfulness, vaginal dryness and breast pain are all symptoms of deficiencies in essential fatty acids but can also be part and parcel of the menopause. Components of these fatty acids may protect you from heart disease because they’re believed to increase HDL (‘good’) cholesterol while lowering triglyceride levels and blood pressure. That’s why supplementing with EFAs during the menopause may be able to help not just with your symptoms but also help to decrease your increased risk of heart disease around this time.  In addition to making sure your diet is rich in EFAs from oily fish, nuts and seeds take a good fish oil supplement.  (I use one called Omega 3 Plus in the clinic as you only need to take two capsules a day to get a good dose see Resources)  If you are vegetarian or vegan and prefer not to take fish oil then linseed (flax) or hempseed oils are fine.
• E Vitamin: This vitamin is helpful for the relief of hot flushes, breast tenderness, and vaginal dryness. It can also be used topically for vaginal dryness by piercing the capsule and rubbing the oil into the skin. A dose around 400ius per day is considered beneficial. Asparagus, avocados, brown rice, egg yolks, lima beans, peas and sweet potatoes are the best food sources.
• Magnesium: This mineral has a calming effect, so it eases symptoms like irritability, anxiety, mood swings, and insomnia. It also helps your bones absorb calcium, raises levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol while lowering LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and helps muscles–including your heart–to relax. Good sources are almonds, cashews, whole grains and most green leafy vegetables. 

Note: See next months issue for an A to Z of natural herbal supplements for the menopause.

This month’s case study is ‘Anne’ who came to the Clinic with recurrent colds and infections.

Anne’s story:

Since I reached my thirties I suddenly started becoming susceptible to coughs, colds and infections. I had always been quite well and hardly ever had a sick day until now. Not only was I getting these infections it was becoming increasingly difficult to ‘shift’ them in spite of regular trips to my GP! I was so fed up of feeling run down and realised that in spite of all of the antibiotics I was given it wasn’t helping me at all – in fact I think it was actually making me feel worse.

Every time I went to my GP it seemed that I was given a different antibiotic to try and then sent away with no real support. A new symptom that I started to develop was thrush which I had never experienced before and I had to keep using pessaries which cleared it at the time but it just kept coming back!

I was looking through a magazine and I read an article on ‘Boosting your Immunity Naturally’. It talked about foods to eat more of to provide your body with all the essential nutrients and specific vitamins, minerals and herbs that could be incorporated. It had a very interesting section on the ‘over-use’ of antibiotics and how in the long term we can become resistant to them and they don’t work. It also said that if an infection is viral then antibiotics would not work at all!

This really resonated with me. There was a contact number at the end of the article for The Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic to book a consultation with one of the Nutritionists. I decided this was the best thing to do because I wanted to get a tailored programme rather than just taking ‘random’ supplements and trying to help myself!

My first consultation was one hour and the nutritionist took a very detailed medical history and went through my ‘typical’ diet. She commented on the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables and the abundance of ‘ready made’ meals and alcohol! I explained that because I worked long hours I had little time to prepare fresh food so I had to rely on prepared meals. The nutritionist explained how important it is to include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables each day because they provide the body with immune boosting vitamins A, C, and E which are classed as antioxidants

These antioxidants protect the body from damage by ‘free radicals’ which can lower our immunity. She asked me to eat more vibrant coloured vegetables like sweet potato, butternut squash, red and green peppers and carrots which contain amazing amounts of these antioxidants. I was advised to eat more garlic as this has amazing abilities to boost the immune system because it is naturally anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. I didn’t realise just how unhealthy some of the prepared meals could be as she explained they are often high in salt and very low in vitamins and minerals. She gave me recipe ideas and menu suggestions which really helped!

The nutritionist wanted to check my mineral status, particularly concerned about my zinc and selenium levels as these are vital for immunity. I performed a Hair Mineral Analysis which was a very simple test I collected at home and then sent to the lab. It gave valuable information about my mineral levels over the last three months. The test picked up low zinc which is a vital mineral for the production of white blood cells. It was recommended that I eat plenty of seeds, especially pumpkin which are rich in zinc and shellfish – including oysters!

The nutritionist explained how damaging alcohol is on our immune system by stressing the detoxification processes and causing vital nutrients such as zinc, B vitamins and Vitamin C to be depleted from the body. Alcohol is also very high in sugar which adds more burden to our immune system. She advised me to avoid it altogether for three months to get the best out of my programme. I knew it would be difficult but I was determined to get my health back.

She also talked in depth about antibiotics and how they eventually have a damaging effect because we become resistant to them over time, plus they destroy our ‘friendly’ bacteria which she explained would be the reason for why I was getting recurrent thrush. I did not realise how linked our gut (bacteria) was to our immune system and that we need a good supply of the ‘friendly’ bacteria to keep our gut in good order and boost our immune system. The bacteria in our gut provide our system with our first line of defence against viruses and harmful bacteria.

The nutritionist also recommended me specific vitamins and minerals to boost my immune system which included a good quality multi-vitamin and mineral, an antioxidant complex with Vitamin A, C, E, selenium and zinc, together with a friendly bacteria supplement and the herb echinacea. Echinacea has been used by herbalists for years for it’s ability to increase white blood cell production and it is the white blood cells which keep our immune system strong by ‘clearing up’ the bacteria and viruses.

Within the first month I was generally feeling stronger and had not had thrush for the first time in about 12months! I was really enjoying the new way of eating and found that it wasn’t as difficult to cook from fresh as I thought. One of my favourites was roasted butternut squash with garlic and olive oil in the oven which was so easy and tastes delicious!

Six months on and not a cold in sight and I was feeling great! I had not even had a day off work! All my friends and colleagues commented on how well I looked and asked what I was doing! I hadn’t even been near the GP’s surgery! I continue to eat well and take all my supplements and am really motivated to keep it up to keep strong and healthy in the long term. I do have alcohol, but occasionally rather than every day as before. In fact when I do drink now I feel very lethargic and find it then triggers my thrush so that’s motivation in itself not to drink!

All I can say is I wish I’d found the Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic sooner.

Marilyn’s comments:

Anne’s story is a perfect example of how important a healthy diet is to boost our immune system and a few simple changes can make such an enormous difference. We see it all too often where people are given antibiotics as a ‘blanket’ treatment and ultimately they don’t work and can in fact create more health problems as we have seen with Anne.

This time of the year it is increasingly important to think about eating to nourish your immune system with coughs and colds being more prevalent. If this story resonates with you and you are forever coughing and sneezing and seem to catch everything around you, you may like to think about seeing one of my nutritionists at the clinic.

If you are interested in having the test mentioned here please see the resources page.