Category: Brain and Nervous System

Older people who are physically active may be protecting themselves from the effects of small areas of brain damage that can affect their movement abilities.

Many older people have small areas of damage in their brains seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as white matter hyperintensities. Higher levels of this damage have been linked to more problems with movement, such as difficulty walking. But this new study found that people who were the most physically active did not have a drop-off in their movement abilities, even when they had high levels of brain damage.

Physical activity may create a ‘reserve’ that protects motor abilities against the effects of age-related brain damage.

The study involved 167 people with an average age of 80. MRI scans were used to determine the volume of white matter hyperintensities in the brain. Compared to those at the 50th percent in activity level measured using the movement monitors, those in the top 10 percent had activity equal to walking at 2.5 mph for an additional 1.5 hours each day.

For the people in the top 10 percent, having greater amounts of brain damage did not change their scores on the movement tests. But for those at the 50th percent activity level, having greater amounts of brain damage was associated with significantly lower scores on the movement tests.

The results remained the same after researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect the relationship, such as body mass index (BMI), depression and vascular disease.

– Neurology

Dr. Keith & Laurie Nemec’s comments on “Exercise increases function despite old age brain decline”:

Do you grasp the power of what this research has shown? It has proven that function and movement rule over structure. What does that mean? Let us state it another way if you keep using it you will not lose it even if they say you lost it on the MRI! Another way to state this is: If you focus on your mission, the purpose God has brought you into this physical realm for and keep going forward in the purpose you cannot be stopped unless you take your eyes off of the mission and put them back on YOU!

There was a similar finding discovered years ago when a high IQ college student developed a regular headache and was sent for a CT scan and to their amazement his brain was not there. 95% of the brain mass or cortex had been replaced with fluid. So the question remains “how can he have such a high IQ with almost no brain?” or as in this present study shown these senior who had brain damage had no loss of function as long as they kept moving?

What is the answer?

God’s ways are not man’s ways. God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts.

We are spirit beings made in the image of God who happen to have 2 pounds of dirt attached to that spirit. We are NOT human beings who just happen to have a spirit.

When God puts a purpose or vision in your heart, in your spirit, go for it and always remember you don’t need a brain or a mind to achieve it all you need is a heart filled with the Spirit of God and you cannot be stopped that is unless you look at the MRI and believe that is YOU.

The medical community agrees that cognitive impairment (CI), ranging from mild to severe, is almost epidemic in the U.S. as the Baby Boomer generation is aging and living longer. Scientists believe one reason is that the human brain begins shrinking after age 25. Structural changes and loss of brain synapses lead to rapid decline in cognitive health.

The human brain has a greater degree of plasticity or ability to adapt and change than scientists previously believed, and new studies, specifically those made in nutritional research, show that magnesium deficiency in adults may play a more important role in CI, and more seriously, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), than previously thought.

The results of one medically significant study suggest that elevation of brain magnesium through dietary intake of magnesium exerts substantial positive effects on brain synapes in a mouse model of AD, actually restoring aging brains to their youthful conditions. The study is the first to show a mechanism for reversing cognitive decline in advanced stage AD mice, and is also the first to show an effective long-term treatment in AD mice. More exciting, though, are the implications of this study for the potential for treating AD in humans.

There is no doubt that magnesium has dramatic effects in preventing synapse loss and reversing memory decline in mice with Alzheimer’s disease.

Cognitive impairment can affect a person’s memory, language, perception, ability to plan and carry out tasks, and judgment. A recently concluded double blind, placebo-controlled human study, the ‘gold standard’ of science, demonstrates that dietary supplementation of magnesium, can significantly enhance human cognitive functions and decrease symptoms of cognitive impairments.”

50 million Americans are magnesium deficit because people do not eat enough foods that contain magnesium. We know that as we age our bodies naturally lose magnesium. For example, drinking coffee or caffeinated products increases the loss. This deficit must be replaced by taking a nutritional supplement.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimates show that approximately 20% of people ages 55 and older will experience some form of cognitive impairment. The number and growth of the aging population in the U.S. is unprecedented. Two factors — longer life spans and aging baby boomers — will combine to double the population of American’s aged 65 years or older during the next 25 year to about 72 million. By 2030, older adults will account for roughly 20% of the U.S. population

–Journal of Neuroscience, ScienceDaily

Dr. Keith & Laurie Nemec’s Comments on Magnesium is Vital to the Brain:

Magnesium is not just about brain health it is about total health. It is the second most important cofactor in all cellular reactions and is critical not only to the brain but also to the heart and all muscular function.

Magnesium plays an essential role in a wide range of fundamental cellular reactions. More than 300 enzymes require magnesium as a cofactor. Complexed with ATP, the main carrier of metabolic energy in the body, magnesium is essential for all biosynthetic processes, the formation of energy in the body, muscle function including heart function and often overlooked, magnesium is critical in brain function.

Food sources included: almonds, spinach, avocados, cashews and pumpkin seeds.

We formulated a special multi-chelated form of magnesium to help with all possible magnesium deficiencies affecting both mental/emotional and physical imbalances.

As one of our patients writes: I had to get off clonopin (benzo) and my hands would shake every morning, my mind would spin. Once I took the Magnesium I was not shaking anymore. Thank God for this Magnesium”

New research offers hope for stroke sufferers and people with brain diseases. Scientists say that the brains of animals and humans may produce new cells, the brain cells that can help to form memories. Researchers questioned the brain’s ability to grow new cells. But behavioral neuroscientists at Rutgers and Princeton universities in New Jersey have shown not only that brains of rats produce new cells, but also what they do. “It appears that the new neurons become involved in memory about a week to two weeks after they are generated, and they are involved in memories normally handled by the hippocampus (an area of the brain) according to Dr. Shors of Rutgers. The research suggests that the brain’s recuperative powers may have been underestimated and could be far greater than scientists had previously thought.

-AOL News

Dr. Keith & Laurie Nemec comments on Can We Produce New Brain Cells?:

Every cell in the body is replaced in approximately one year and this includes brain cells. Why is this such a life changing truth for you? Because you reap what you sow. If you have been reaping symptoms like: Fatigue, Pain, Digestive problems (constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, heartburn, reflux) Weakened immune system (reoccurring colds, flu and infections), Sleep problems, Allergies/sensitivities, Weight problems, Emotional highs and lows, Depression and Anxiety.

Or conditions like:  High Blood Pressure, High cholesterol, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Esophagitis/Gastritis, Pancreatitis, Colitis, Hepatitis, Nephritis, Thyroiditis, Adrenalitis, Candida, GERD, Asthma, Allergies/sensitivities, Rashes/hives/acne/dermatitis/eczema, Cysts/tumors

Or diseases like:Heart disease, Stroke, Cancer, Diabetes, Autoimmune disease, Respiratory disease-COPD, Gastrointestinal disease, Neurological disease it is because you are living a normal American life and breaking all or most all of the 7 Basic Steps to Total Health™ which are:

Air—you are not deep diaphragm breathing to oxygenate your body.
Water—you are not drinking 32 ounces of distilled water per 50/lbs per body weight per day.
Food—you are not consuming a diet of living/raw plant food which has the highest energy, bioelectricity, enzymes and bioavailable nutrient content to either maintain or restore your health.
Sleep—you are not sleeping 8.0 hours with 3.0 of them before midnight.
Exercise—you are not exercising 30 minutes every day.
Fasting—you are not fasting from the normal Standard American Diet (SAD).
Prayer—you are taking the time throughout your day to regularly still your mind so you can hear the voice of God spoken into your heart.

So, how can you change and overcome symptoms, conditions or disease? Start planting the 7 Basic Steps to Total Health™ everyday and you will see them start to grow and eventually reap the harvest of Total Health of Body, Mind and Spirit.

Another powerful truth you can see in these findings are that the memories that you have of all the lies that our brain has been programmed with can be released and renewed the Truth. One of those powerful truths is “all things are possible for him who believes (the truth God has place in his/her heart not the lies the world system has placed in his/her mind).

Chronic back pain can shrink the gray matter in your brain by as much as 11 percent in one year, the same amount of brain density that’s lost in 10 to 20 years of normal aging, says a Northwestern University study.

The research, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, found that every year of chronic pain results in a loss of 1.3 cubic centimeters of gray matter, the part of your brain that processes memory and information.
Researchers used structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other analytic methods to compare brain images of 26 people with chronic back pain and 26 healthy people. All of the people with back pain had suffered unrelenting pain for more than a year.

At least 25 percent of Americans experience back pain, and a quarter of those people suffer chronic and unrelenting back pain.
– Northwestern University, news release

Dr. Keith and Laurie Nemec comments on Back Pain Causes Brain Loss:

The study shows the negative affects that chronic pain can have; it can decrease your brain size and function as much as 11% which is usually seen in 20 years of normal aging. What is pain? It is the body talking. It is a beautiful mechanism created by God to warn you something is not working properly.
Pain is wonderful if you learn to listen to its language, but if you do not communicate with your body and pop pain pills just to cover it up, you are treading into dangerous territory. If the body talks with symptoms and you do not listen, the body will talk louder with conditions like Metabolic Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Fibromyalgia. If you still do not listen by covering up the pain or symptoms with pills, the next step in the body communicating to you is DISEASE. This is the cancer, heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, autoimmune disease, neurological disease, etc…
Learn to listen to your body and make the changes it is asking for. Remember, 90% of all neck and back pain is visceral in origin. That means it is a referral pain from organs and glands being out of balance and overworked.
When you live the 7 Basic Steps to Total Health everyday, you will see your pain decrease and even your mind and emotions improve.

Alzheimer’s disease is a frightening and debilitating brain disorder that causes loss of memory and mental acuity, and ultimately leads to dementia. Alzheimer’s currently affects more than four million people in the United States, and that number is likely to rise as the average American lifespan continues to increase. The disorder typically begins to manifest when patients are in their early to mid 60’s, though early onset Alzheimer’s can occur in much younger individuals.

Typical symptoms include loss of memory, mental confusion, difficulty speaking, and an inability to recognize friends and family members. Ultimately, Alzheimer’s patients will require full time care as their condition worsens and they become unable to care for themselves. While there is no known cure, there are some preventative measures that everyone can take to protect themselves from the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Common Risk Factors for Alzheimer’s

While the precise cause of Alzheimer’s remains unknown, recent research indicates that there are a number of common risk factors associated with the disorder. Age is accepted as a prime factor in the onset of Alzheimer’s, with an individual’s risk increasing exponentially as they enter their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. This may be misleading, however, as all chronic debilitating diseases are likely to worsen as the patient ages. What can be agreed upon however, is that patients with a family history of Alzheimer’s tend to be at a higher risk for developing the disorder themselves, as do individuals with a history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. A history of alcohol and tobacco abuse also seems to be tied to the onset of Alzheimer’s.

The Impact of Diet and Nutrition on Alzheimer’s Disease

Good nutrition is vital to maintaining mental and physical health, and making certain dietary changes can help to ward off the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Adopting a vegetarian based diet rich in organic fruits, vegetables seeds and nuts can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by as much as 40%. Eliminating red meat from the diet, and replacing it with vegetable protein or flax seeds rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids will help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels while promoting healthy brain function. It is also advisable to remove as much processed sugar from the diet as possible, as diets high in sugar have been linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Recent studies indicate that people whose diets included high amounts of nuts, tomatoes, dark green leafy vegetables and fruit were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s in later life. These simple dietary changes not only help to prevent obesity, diabetes and heart disease, they can also help the body stave off the onset of dementia.

Certain nutritional supplements can also be added to the diet to help the body maintain its optimal physical and mental health. Omega-3 Fatty Acids, typically found flax seeds, hemp seeds and walnuts can be taken in supplemental form for those individuals who find it difficult to get the desired amounts from their daily diet. Curcumin, found in turmeric, has been shown to fight the vascular inflammation associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and when taken in combination with vitamin D helps to clear the plaque forming substance amyloid beta from the brain. Resveratrol, a compound found in grapes, has also been shown to be effective in reducing the levels of amyloid beta in the brain.

The Impact of Exercise and Weight Control on Alzheimer’s

Recent research has shown that people who are overweight in their 30’s and 40’s are at greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s later in life. These same studies indicate that weight gain in middle age impairs the brain’s natural functions, and can hasten the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia. In addition to diet, regular exercise helps to maintain a healthy weight, as well as reducing the risks of heart disease, COPD and diabetes. Moreover, regular exercise helps to oxygenate the blood. Oxygenated blood is vital to the healthy functioning of the brain, and helps brain cells to repair themselves. Regular daily exercise also helps with anxiety and stress which, while not strictly linked to Alzheimer’s, puts undue strain on a person’s mental and emotional wellbeing.

Mental exercise is also important to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Crossword puzzles are very good as in any activity that stimulates memory. Remember “if you don’t use it you will lose it.”

Alzheimer’s disease is a frightening disorder that can rob people of their very identity. By making some important lifestyle changes it is possible to postpone, or even prevent, the onset of this debilitating disorder. With good nutrition, regular exercise, and a dedication to keeping the mind active and engaged you can maintain your total health well into your twilight years.

U.S. researchers have found that a low-carbohydrate diet that reduces total calorie intake by 30 percent slowed the development of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine said the diet eliminated the onset of amyloid plaque — an underlying cause of Alzheimer’s — in mice that were genetically engineered to develop the disease.

They started the mice on the diet when they were 3 months old, which is considered young adult and is prior to the age when Alzheimer’s-prone mice begin to develop plaques in the brain. They then evaluated the mice at age 12 months, which when plaques are known to be well-developed in the mouse strain. The researchers found less plaque development in mice fed the restricted-calorie diet.

-United Press International

In a unique approach to inflammation research, a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine shows that, in a model of rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation in the joints can be sensed and modulated by the central nervous system (CNS). The research suggests that the CNS can profoundly influence immune responses, and may even contribute to understanding so-called placebo effects and the role of stress in inflammatory diseases.

The central nervous system is fully able to control many previously unanticipated physiologic responses, including immunity and inflammation,” said Gary S. Firestein, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, and Director of UCSD’s Clinical Investigation Institute.

The UCSD research team found that blocking key signaling enzymes in the CNS of rats resulted in decreased joint inflammation and destruction.

“This is an entirely new approach,” Firestein said. Instead of targeting enzymes at the actual site of disease, our hypothesis is that the central nervous system is a controlling influence for the body and can regulate peripheral inflammation and immune responses.”

For many years, researchers have explored developing therapeutic targets by blocking the function of a signaling enzyme called p38 MAP kinase throughout the body. This enzyme regulates cytokines proteins released in response to stress that regulate inflammation in patients with arthritis.

“We observed that the p38 signal is turned on, or activated, in the central nervous system during peripheral inflammation,” Firestein said. “If we blocked this enzyme exclusively in a highly restricted site but not throughout in the body, inflammation in the joints was significantly suppressed.”

Not only were clinical signs of arthritis diminished in those rats where p38 inhibitors were administered into the spinal fluid, but damage to the joint was also markedly decreased. The same dose of the inhibitors administered systemically had no effect.
– PLOS Medicine

Dr. Keith and Laurie Nemec’s comments on how the central nervous system regulates arthritis.
This very interesting study showed that the central nervous system definitely affects the immune system in the inflammatory response in the whole body. This model was with rheumatoid arthritis but extends to all types of immune diseases, auto immune diseases, and inflammatory related diseases. Remember inflammation is the root of all disease, so if the central nervous system affects inflammation, then the central nervous system affects all diseases. It’s important to understand that your nervous system is the first system developed when you were in utero, developing inside your mother. It’s the nervous system itself controls all other systems.

This study showed that the nervous system also controls the amount of inflammation that is made in the body. The interesting thing in this study, was that, they used to target the inflammation at the site of inflammation as in rheumatoid arthritis they would try to affect it in the joint itself, or they would try to affect it in the intestinal tract which is a bigger area but still highly related to rheumatoid arthritis, but in this study, they found that when they targeted the blocking of the enzymes in the nervous system, it decreased the inflammation throughout the whole body showing up in decrease of the signs of the rheumatoid arthritis. Interesting stated in this study was, they said that, not only were clinical signs of arthritis diminished in those rats that the P38 inhibitors were administered into the spinal fluid, but damage to the joint was also markedly decreased. Basically, it decreased the inflammation and the damage from the inflammation. The same dose of the inhibitors administered systemically had no effect, which means when they gave it just to the general body, it didn’t have an effect. But when they put it in the spinal fluid, which meant it went to the central nervous system and the entire nervous system, this caused decreased inflammation.

So what does this mean to you?

This means that you need to balance your nervous system and the most important balancing of the nervous system comes from the thought processes. As it says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he”. So, we want to think with our heart and not with our mind and when we have things in our mind we want to make sure that they are not things that cause us to live in the future or the past, or things that stimulate fear or any other negative emotions, because this in turn will cause a stimulation of the nervous system in a negative way. Fear will be produced and cause a suppressing of the immune system, fear causes more inflammation. Whereas on the positive side, if we are thinking with our mind with what God has put into heart then we are walking in total inner peace, causing the least amount of inflammation production our body, and our immune system and our nervous system will be functioning at the highest level in our body, to maintain all systems of the body.

So, very important for you to understand, that you have to follow your heart, not your mind. The heart is where God speaks; it is where the truth is put into you. The mind is where the world speaks. The world system of lies speaks to your mind. From the mind, the negative emotions of fear are elicited. So when you believe on lies, lies produce the negative emotion of fear. But when you believe on the truth in your heart that elicits the spiritual states of being of joy, peace and love, and these will produce total health in body, mind and spirit. So what can you do to decrease inflammation in your body? To balance the nervous system? To increase your immune system response? You can live the 7 Basic Steps to Total Health each and every day and get a deep revelation of them.