Elizabeth Yarnell, Author, Innovator, Naturopath, Speaker
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Tag: Alzheimer’s

New Discovery: Every Neurological Disease Has an Immune Component

depression

Newly discovered vessels in the brain connect directly to the immune system, says a research study by the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine.

This pathway was previously not thought to exist and could have a major impact on how to address neurological dysfunction. Numerous neurological disorders present with signs of inflammation and accumulated waste in the brain.

“They’ll have to change the textbooks. There has never been a lymphatic system for the central nervous system…,” says lead researcher Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, professor of the UVA Department of Neuroscience and director of UVA’s Center for Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG). “It will fundamentally change the way people look at the central nervous system’s relationship with the immune system.”

The immune system is responsible for creating inflammation in the body. I have long believed that neurologic issues are related to inflammation, including Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s, autoimmune issues like M.S., and even depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems.

In my clinic we work to reduce inflammation naturally in order to allow the body to heal and function effectively. We see dramatic improvements in neurologic function simply by identifying and removing personal inflammatory triggers.

Do you wonder if your condition might improve by reducing inflammation in your brain? Book a complimentary, risk-free, no-commitment Natural Health Assessment here and find out if you can free yourself of inflammation and feel better quickly!

How to Treat Dementia? Fix the Gut.

It may not seem logical to use dietary therapies to treat Parkinson’s Disease, but it should be our first course of action when a loved one begins to exhibit signs of dementia. The key is to realize that inflammation is behind most if not all symptoms.

New research into treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia are focused on addressing the immune system in a departure from the current theories of targeting amyloid plaque build-up. The immune system controls the amount of inflammation in our bodies.

Brain function is intrinsically connected to gut function. Heal the gut to heal the brain.

“The immune system is an important component of Alzheimer’s disease, as we’re beginning to appreciate,” says Philip L. De Jager, chief of neuroimmunology at Columbia University in New York. “We’re still very early in understanding it [in] this context.”

Researchers are finally acknowledging that every aspect of our health is rooted in our immune systems. Naturopaths like myself understand that the body is a holistic entity and disease symptoms are indications of deeper issues affecting the immune system. Therefore, it’s not the symptoms themselves that we should address, but instead we should look at how we can support and strengthen the immune system by removing inflammatory triggers and waste products while delivering nourishment to the cells.

How does this connect to the gut? At least 80% of our immune system is based in the gut and the vagus nerve transmits signals from the gut to the brain in a one-way stream. An overworked immune system is weakened from maintaining chronic inflammation, and that inflammation occurs everywhere the bloodstream runs. Inflammation in the brain impairs brain activities such as memory, logic, clarity, and cognition.

“What was clear from the human genetics is that insufficient activity of the immune system is allowing the disease (Alzheimer’s) to develop,”Arnon Rosenthal, a neuroscientist and co-founder and CEO of Alector says.

What Dr. Rosenthal terms “insufficient activity” I would call “overactivity”. The immune system is so distracted by addressing the constant/chronic inflammatory triggers that it doesn’t have the resources to be fully functional in normal ways.

What can distract the immune system in this way and cause chronic inflammatory conditions?

In my clinic we use sophisticated blood and urine testing to identify hidden triggers of inflammation and help people reduce the inflammation in their bodies naturally. John L. successfully implemented targeted dietary changes after receiving a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease and was able to regain the ability to write legibly and think clearly within weeks. Today, more than five years later, he has been so successful in avoiding inflammation that his doctors are questioning the validity of the initial diagnosis.

You can do it, too! Get started today with my free Anti-Inflammatory Kickstarter Course (coming soon)!  Contact me for a free initial phone consultation to see if you could improve your health and wellbeing from removing inflammation from your body.

While I’m excited to see that the mainstream scientific and medical community is beginning to look at the immune system as a target for treating dementia, they are still focused on pharmaceutical treatments designed to alter how the immune system expresses itself. Wouldn’t you rather heal naturally simply by reducing the inflammation in your body?

After all: no inflammation = no symptoms. If you didn’t have any symptoms, would you still be sick?

Coconut Oil: Good or Bad for Your Health?

Lately there has been some noise in the press about coconut oil being unhealthy and even poisonous due to it being a saturated fat. I am here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth as coconut oil is good for you in so many ways.

I thought we had begun to accept that fats are necessary for health and not the demons that we had been taught from the flawed studies released in the 1980s regarding heart health and saturated fats.

Not only have traditional tropical communities have eaten coconut oil without toxic effects for millenium, but recent studies have looked at coconut oil’s benefits for diseased like Alzheimer’s, autism, and even gingevitis. Unless you are sensitive to coconut in general, it’s a safe and effective moisturizer for hair and skin, and can even help heal from a sunburn.

Coconut oil is super beneficial due to its unique make up of medium chain triglcerides (MCTs). Unlike other fats, MCTs are metabolized quickly by the liver and turned into ketones that are utilized by the body in many ways to support health.

The type of coconut oil we want to avoid is “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” coconut oil. Stay away from this stuff for sure.

But coconut oil, which is solid at room temperature and is the only plant-based saturated fat, is definitely healthy and good for you. So eat up.

Of course, some people are sensitive to coconut, and they should stay way from it to avoid sparking inflammation in their bodies. If you’re curious and want to find out if you could be sensitive to coconut, shoot me an email and I’d be happy to talk to you about it!

 

Chronic Inflammation Behind Most Diseases

When the Wall St. Journal asked the question, “What do heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, stroke and cancer have in common?” would you have guessed the answer would be “chronic inflammation?”

To this list of inflammatory diseases, I would add multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and so many more.

As the WSJ suggests, science is realizing that chronic inflammation is found at the core of most, if not all, chronic conditions and auto-immune disorders.

Inflammation is the culprit.

The secret to healing from these disorders? Get rid of the inflammation and the physical manifestations of the inflammation will disappear.

How do you get rid of inflammation? Well, you can use drugs like steroids and NSAIDs designed to decrease inflammation and bring relief, but they come with their own risks and side effects, particularly with long-term, chronic usage.

Customized anti-inflammatory dietary therapies can be incredibly effective at reducing and avoiding inflammation, and may be used alongside any other medications – i.e., you don’t have to stop taking your meds just because you are changing your diet, too.

Therapeutic dietary strategies are empowering: choosing what you put in your mouth is one thing you can do to control the disease that is controlling your life.

Natural Underarm Deoderant

One of the bloggers from 5280 Magazine recently posted about how her aluminum-based antiperspirant/deoderant is leaving ugly yellow stains in the armpits of her white shirts. While her biggest complaint was that these stains were ruining her clothes, my concern centers around the aluminum in her deoderant.

Aluminum is a heavy metal that is bioaccumulative, that means that once it enters your body most of it doesn’t leave (except through breast milk, scarily enough). Accumulation of aluminum builds up over a lifetime and can cause neuro-degeneration, along with other problems. So far, aluminum toxicity has been linked to Parkinson‘s, Alzheimer‘s, and — particularly from antiperspirant/deoderant use — breast cancer.

For years I have been searching for a viable alternative to aluminum-based deoderants and antiperspirants to use in our sweat-phobic culture. For a while I used the Crystal Body Deodorant, which you wet and apply to your armpits, but I was never very satisfied with how it stopped sweat or managed odors.

For a few months I tried Tom’s of Maine Natural Long-Lasting Deodorant, the Lemongrass scent, but didn’t like the way it interacted with my body’s chemistry, mostly it made my sweat acrid smelling. Yuck! (I really like Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Toothpaste, though!)

Then I stumbled across this video from down under on Youtube by HighOnHealth about using “soda bicarbonate” as a deoderant. I thought I’d give it a try and spent several hours scouring several grocery stores before realizing that we call it “baking soda” in America. Since more than one grocery worker sent me to the soda pop aisle to find “bicarbonate soda,” I don’t feel all that foolish. Well, kinda.

Anyway, I’ve been using it for a couple weeks now and have to say that I really like it. I definitely seem to sweat less, and due to the anti-bacterial properties of baking soda, I seem to be odor-free. Watch the video and she’ll give you a step-by-step demonstration of how to use baking soda as a natural underarm deoderant.

I confess, I’m hooked. Let me know if you try it, or if you have other solutions/suggestions for natural sweat control!

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