Forgetting Things... May Be a Sign of...

Good Evening Everyone,

      Does Alzheimer's Disease (Dementia) and Parkinson's Disease run in your family?  If it does and even if it doesn't you may want to read further.  In an article that I just reviewed, researchers have compared Alzheimer's & Parkinson's patients with people of similar age/sex that do not have the diseases.  All patients were over 50 years of age.  For those patients with these diseases, they found significantly low zinc levels when compared to the patients without the diseases.
      Zinc is extremely important in brain function.  More specifically, zinc is needed at the highest level in the hippocampus of the brain.  The hippocampus is mainly involved in short-term memory and is found to be severely affected in Alzheimer's disease.  Zinc deficiency negatively affects other areas of the brain and nerves which can contribute to Parkinson's symptoms.
      This study also reported that people who don't eat much meat have an increased a risk for zinc deficiency (especially elderly patients).  So increasing meat intake (if less than normal) can help with deficient zinc levels in the body.  Using zinc supplements can also help and has been found to be the most consistent way to bring up & keep zinc levels at a normal level.

If supplementing with Zinc, the recommended dosage is 15-25mg per day.  Taking too much zinc can make you deficient in copper (so don't over do it).

Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff
drjeff@brucechiropracticonline.com      

Source:
Subclinical Zinc Deficiency in Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease.  American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, September 14, 2010; Vol. 25; No. 7; pp. 572-575

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