Could nutrients as basic as CoQ10, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B3 actually provide significant protection from Alzheimer’s disease?
Recent medical research says the answer is Yes!
Alzheimer’s is a progressive and devastating brain disorder that affects more than 26 million people worldwide. 5.3 million people in the US alone have the disease, including thirteen percent of adults over 65 and more than half of all US adults over 85.
The Alzheimer’s Association makes the chilling prediction that every 70 seconds, someone in the US develops AD. By the middle of the century, that rate is expected to increase to one new case every 33 seconds.
The disease impairs memory, cognitive function, and physical ability. Though the severity of symptoms varies, it is characterized by dementia – brain impairment severe enough to interfere with everyday activities and social relationships.
A high percentage of people with the disease eventually need full-time care. The Alzheimer’s Association data shows that 69 percent of all nursing home residents and 65 percent of people in assisted living have dementia resulting from the disease.
The cause of AD remains unknown and there is no cure for it, though there are some drugs that are believed to slow its progression. However, some of the most exciting new research is indicating that beefing up the body’s natural defenses is an effective therapy, and some very common nutrients could have uncommonly successful results in preventing and treating the disease.
CoQ10
Coenzyme Q10, a natural substance found in every cell, delivers a one-two punch to the Alzheimer’s-related conditions that cause brain cell damage and death. Blood levels of the coenzyme are typically low in Alzheimer’s patients.
Crucial to the production of energy at the cellular level, CoQ10 enhances immune function and boosts the body’s resistance to damage. And as a powerful antioxidant, it is capable of neutralizing and even repairing the damage done by free radicals, which are believed to be the source of the harmful protein-based plaque typically observed between brain cells in Alzheimer’s patients.
Vitamin D
Long known for its importance in bone health and strength, the sunshine vitamin is now also recognized as extremely important to mood, memory, and cognitive function. Vitamin D is involved in the biosynthesis of neurotrophins, proteins responsible for neuron growth and development. Because neurotrophins can also repair damaged neurons, some believe they have the potential for use in reversing age-related brain disorders including Alzheimer’s Disease.
Levels of the vitamin are typically low to very low in Alzheimer’s patients. A major European study involving 3,300 men between 40 and 80 years of age clearly demonstrated the correlation between D vitamin levels and cognitive function/processing speed, though the findings stopped short of identifying the vitamin as a treatment for AD. Instead, the researchers noted that the association could be simply a “risk marker”, indicating a risk for cognitive decline.
Vitamin B3
Animal tests indicate that high doses of nicotinamide, a readily-available form of vitamin B3, effectively prevented memory loss in mice with Alzheimer’s disease. The research, performed by UC Irvine, concluded that vitamin D had “a very robust effect on neurons”, preventing memory loss in mice with AD and actually enhancing cognitive function in the control group mice, which did not have the disease.
The research results were so compelling that clinical trials with human AD patients are currently underway.
Selecting the best coq10 supplements is not that easy considering the fact that we have many branded products available in the market, all claiming theirs is the best. Nevertheless, it is important to have good information to make the right choice.
Selecting the best depends on many factors like the kind of disease one has, the age of the person, weight etc. Also one should not fall prey to many cheap products made out of synthetic materials.
