As many of our Silver Inner Health Circle team members know my Father died last year after a 10 year battle with Alzheimer’s. I have studied the disorder and lived the caregiver’s life. I have learned much about current theories, and also recognized how little we really know about this condition.
 
     Last year I reported to you about drug research which was halted due to findings that shook the foundations of our current understanding of Alzheimer’s. We have all believed that the amyloid plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients were the cause of the disorder. Therefore it was logical to think that by eliminating these “plaques” we would be able to slow, limit, or eliminate the progression of the disorder. As I reported last year, pharmaceutical giant Ely Lilly abruptly stopped testing of its Alzheimer’s drug Semagacestat, which was an “anti-amyloid” drug, the leading prospect in the battle against Alzheimer’s at the time. This drug was in Phase III of testing, which is a late phase of testing. Of the 3000 patients involved in the study those treated with the drug had more rapid progression, and worsening of symptoms than those receiving the “placebo”. While this not only surprised the researchers as well as everyone else who is knowledgeable on the disorder, it also changed the perception that the “plaques” were the cause of the disorder. We now have to look at the plaques as a protective mechanism of the body. Remember gang, in the medical world we are all given the false impression that “we know better than the body”, but in fact the body does not do anything wrong. Everything that the body does is geared towards self preservation!
 
     As was stated by Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist and functional medicine physician in Naples Florida; “It may not be such a good idea to try to get rid of the Beta-Amyloid. Beta-Amyloid may actually be a friend not a foe.” So, if we accept that the Beta-Amyloid plaques are protective in nature then what are they protecting us against? Emerging evidence is leading to a link between certain “viral invaders” in the brain that trigger an inflammatory response which the plaques are actually protecting the brain from.
 
     Let’s briefly review the negative Health effects of INFLAMMATION on the body. First recall that any condition that you or any friends or family have been diagnosed with that ends in the suffix “itis” involves inflammation. I don’t care if the diagnosis is “arthritis”, “colitis”, “diverticulitis”, or “encephalitis,” they all involve “inflammation” as a primary factor. The prefix just denotes the location of the inflammation. “Arthro”=joint, “colo”= bowel, or colon, cephalo= head, etc.
 
     O.K., so why does the “inflammation” occur in the first place? Well, researchers at the Division of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Southampton, UK found that half of the subjects that they studied with mild to severe Alzheimer’s had systemic inflammatory events such as lung, bowel, and bladder inflammatory processes occurring. This inflammation could be measured using certain blood tests which could be monitored. These researchers found that there was a doubling of the rate of decline in cognitive abilities in patients with such bodily inflammation. The subjects in the study with the lowest levels of “inflammation” showed no cognitive decline over a 6 month period.
 
     I know that you are all now wondering about the link I have referenced in the title of this article between Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV1) (The virus that causes “cold sores” the mouth region) and Alzheimer’s. This link comes from a 14 year study of 512 elderly individuals with no signs of dementia at the start of the study. The study performed in Bordeaux, France showed a correlation between the presence of antibodies against the HSV1 and developing Alzheimer’s. The researchers actually found that these high antibody levels, and therefore the presence of the HSV1, was a “bigger risk factor” than the “Alzheimer’s gene (APOE-4).
 
     I know that we have many Silver Inner Health Circle team members like me who have legitimate concerns regarding their predilection for this disorder and who wish to learn as much as they can about the disorder and what they can do to truly prevent or at least reduce the likelihood that they will manifest the disorder. In this article I have certainly given you some new insights and potential concerns that you need to address. 
 
    Here is what I am suggesting.  First of all do everything in your power to reduce your “Inflammatory Load” One of the best and most complete ways to do this in spite of the fact that it may seem self serving is to sign up for our “Fall Cleanse Event”. This is an opportunity for me to review with you one-on-one the “Belief System, and Life-style Changes” that you can EASILY make in order to divert your life path from an “Inflammation, Acidic, Disease and Sickness Paradigm” to a “Low Inflammation, Alkaline, Health and Wellness Paradigm”. I will teach you the things that you need to do in order to get your life and Health back, and how to maintain it! As these researchers noted you need to eat fruits, vegetables, cheese, yogurt, and fish. Sound familiar to you? 
 
     You need to also incorporate lysine into your diet. Lysine is an amino acid. I have used it in a supplement form in my practice for 25 years to help my patients get over and deal with viral encounters with such things as “cold sores” (HSV1), and “shingles” (Herpes zoster). You must also avoid foods which are high in arginine, another amino acid, which is found in soy based foods like tofu. This should also sound familiar to all of you out there who I have been preaching to about the negative “estrogenic effects” of soy products. Dr. Perlmutter had this to say about his findings regarding supplementation with lysine: “Lysine supplementation poses negligible risk, but tremendous potential benefit for prevention or attenuation of Alzheimer’s."

Let’s start this one with a definition from the “Merck Manual” which is considered the “Bible of Diseases” by many. So, here it is: Multiple Sclerosis is “A slowly progressive CNS disease characterized by disseminated patches of demyelization in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in multiple and varied neurologic symptoms and signs, usually with remissions and exacerbations.” Whaaaat??? Well, I have to tell you that I used to think that I was the “master” of run on sentences until I read that one. So, this is what they just said, and the way that I explain M.S. to my patients. This is a condition that affects the nerves that make up the brain and spinal cord (CNS or Central Nervous System). What happens here is similar to what occurs when the insulation on an electric cord frays and the wires short. You see the “demyelization” that they referred to above is actually the break down of the “insulation” (myelin) of the individual nerves. This breakdown in turn causes “varied neurologic signs and symptoms”, meaning all of the unusual symptoms that occur in an M.S. patient when the “wires (nerves) start to “short out”.

If you read a little further in your Merck Manual you will come to a word in the M.S. section which will not make any sense to you either (you see those in the “medical field” speak in their own language so that you don’t have a clue as to what is being said). That word is “etiology” which simply means “cause”. Next to etiology is a word which you will see quite often in the Merck Manual and that is “UNKNOWN”!!! You see as I tell my patients as well as everyone who attends my "Family Health and Wellness Programs” the vast majority of diseases and disorders listed in the “Manual” have etiologies which are “UNKNOWN”. They sure know how to treat the symptoms, but in the vast majority of cases they don’t know and certainly don’t treat the “Cause”.

O.K. Dr. Pfeiffer you certainly can criticize and find fault. “So what is your answer?” you might be thinking. Well I have to say that my answer is the same for this disorder as it is for virtually all others... There is one of two things that in my opinion causes this and virtually all other disorders that we may encounter, and that is either a “Deficiency” or a “Toxicity” of something. The key is to make sure that you are supplying “Sufficiency” and “Purity” to the “eco-system” that we call our bodies.

          So what does that mean in this case? The vast majority of the research that I have been reading lately points to a direct causal relationship between a vitamin D deficiency and the disorder that has been labeled Multiple Sclerosis. Let’s take a look at what some of those research studies are showing us.

          Researchers at the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of California have demonstrated that there are multiple factors that will “Up-Regulate” or “Down-Regulate” specific for M.S. One specific factor that these researchers found that exerts a positive effect as to whether the “M.S. genes” will be turned on or off is vitamin D. They specifically show that M.S. risk factors are modulated by vitamin D(3).

There is a really neat study that was published in July of this year in the Journal of Neurological Science. These researchers were more concerned with the prognosis of M.S. which had already been diagnosed in relationship to vitamin D levels. This may be very germane to those of you who are reading this and either have a friend or a loved one who has been diagnosed with this condition, or perhaps you yourself have received this diagnosis. "Please forward this to a friend" Well take heart, because these researchers have demonstrated that your prognosis will be enhanced by bringing your vitamin D levels up to sufficiency. They found that not only has vitamin D insufficiency (“Deficiency”) been shown to be associated with increased susceptibility to M.S., but that the “administration of vitamin D reduces the severity of the disease.” They go on to state that: “… among those with established M.S., those with lower vitamin D levels are at a higher risk for subsequent relapse.”

For those of you who wish to discuss this with your treating doctor, they even go on to encourage “…randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation in M.S.” So, get your doctor to have your vitamin D level tested. It is a simple blood test. I can almost guarantee you that if you are not supplementing (Make this a link to the vitamin D on our store) with a good quality vitamin D supplement that you are DEFICIENT!

In this month's "Think Right":

I like most all of you have had a lot of “Crazy Challenges” (CC’s) occur over my limited lifetime. Notice that I did not say that these CC’s happened “to me”. That’s because I choose to believe that they did not happen “to” me. Instead I choose to believe that they just “occurred” as they do to all of us. That way I remove the “finger pointing”, “whining”, and “blame game” stuff. I just choose to believe that these events have “occurred”, and remove the “why” aspect. Instead I can expend my energy on the “what am I going to do about it” part. I choose to seek solutions instead of wasting time on blaming someone for the situation.

Notice also that I just used the word “believe” 3 times in that first paragraph. I want you to realize that I adapted the philosophy of Henry Ford many years ago, and I have incorporated it into our “Cleanse Program” in order to assist our “Cleansers” in changing their “Belief Systems” in order for them to be successful with “Healthy Eating and Lifestyle” habit changes. Oh, what is the “philosophy of Henry Ford”? It is very simple. He said: “Believe You Can, or Believe You Can’t, Either Way You Will Be Right!”

So what is the first thing that I do when I experience one of my “CC’s?” Well that was one that I learned early and I am willing to bet that many of you did too. Think back now on when you were a kid. For me it was my Mom, but for you it might have been your Dad, a Grandparent, an older Brother or Sister, or perhaps a teacher or coach. At some point perhaps to make you feel better about a particular situation they said to you: “Well you know it could have been worse”, at least X, Y, or Z didn’t happen. Folks that is called a “perspective changer”. It immediately “reboots” your “stink’in think’in”, and resets your perspective on what just happened. I happened to me when I was 18 years old. My “pride and joy” hotrod was demolished in a severe accident. My Brother who was in the passenger seat of that car did it for my Dad when I called him after the event. You see I was explaining to my Dad over the phone that the accident had occurred and that my car was totaled. He immediately began to question what I had done, and begin verbalizing his concerns over the effects that this would have on insurance premiums etc. My Brother, realizing what was occurring asked to speak to Dad. I handed the phone to him, and he explained to our Father that I had broken my arm, leg, and had a severe concussion and head trauma.  This fortunately had not occurred, but Brother Rick was successful in rebooting Dad’s perspective from really unimportant things to very important things for any Father.

I want all of our Silver Inner Health Circle tm. members to realize how critical this point is to your  “Think Right” and your overall Health and Wellness. Those of you who have attended one of our "Family Health and Wellness Programs”  you understand the impact that the “brain” (your “Think Right”) has on the immune system, and your overall “physical” Health. Our FH&WP takes place every second Wednesday of the month and I invite you all to come and participate.  

So, our “Think Right” lesson for you for this month is that you MUST ALWAYS reset your perspective when the inevitable CC’s occur by remembering to say to yourself “It Could Have Been Worse”. 

“I do not despair about our addiction to violence. In order to live longer, we have given up red meat, sugar, salt, tobacco, caffeine and alcohol. Surely we can give up violence as well.”  Ellen Felkin