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The Science Behind Why “Low Alcohol” Wine Matters for Your Health

By: The Dr. Perlmutter Team

Alcohol is one of the most controversial topics health and wellness practitioners must navigate. Frequently, readers of this blog ask if alcohol consumption can be a part of a healthy lifestyle — my answer is, it depends.

Many studies have shown that alcohol consumption may have benefits far beyond easing social interaction and improving dance floor performance. A meta-analysis of the literature conducted in 2015 by the Journal of Internal Medicine found that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with reduced risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure. However, that same study also found that heavy drinking, defined as consuming three or more standard-sized drinks per day, is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, abnormalities in heart rhythm, and brain bleeding type stroke. How can alcohol consumption be associated with both an increased and decreased risk of coronary artery disease and stroke? Continue reading

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The Empowering Neurologist – David Perlmutter, MD and Dr. George Tetz

Without a doubt, we spend a lot of time in this forum discussing the influence of bacteria on the health of the gut, and how that translates into risk for disease elsewhere in the body. As it turns out, there are a multitude of other entities residing within the gut that are absolutely worthy of our attention.

Bacteriophages are a type of virus that can infect bacteria and alter their function. First identified in 1917, bacteriophages have been long overlooked in terms of their potential contribution to human disease.

Our interview today is with Dr. George Tetz, one of the world leaders in bacteriophage research. He has identified pathways whereby bacteriophages can alter gut bacteria in such a way so as to modify their function in the human body. His work relates bacteriophage activity with autoimmune conditions, like Type 1 diabetes. He has also found strong connections between bacteriophages and Parkinson’s disease, a subject into which he’ll dive deeper in our discussion. He believes that these bacteria-infecting viruses may also play a prominent role in other neurodegenerative conditions, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and even Alzheimer’s disease.

The implications of the science shared in this interview are many! I will state at the outset that some of the discussion is at a level that might be challenging for the non-researcher to understand, but there are some terrific takeaways and I would urge all of you to celebrate with me the accomplishments of this incredible scientist.

Finally, I mention a YouTube video that graphically illustrates the function of these bacteriophages. It’s very well-done, and worth a look.

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Heavy Metals & Alzheimer’s: Do Toxic Levels Contribute to Disease Progression?

For a long time, there’s been an ongoing dialogue around the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in individuals who have had exposure to heavy metals, like mercury, lead, and aluminum.

Fortunately, researchers in China and the United States recently published a study that would give us some data with which to conduct a more informed analysis. What did they find? Let’s take a look. Continue reading

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Energy Medicine – Fundamental in Alzheimer’s

Energy medicine is now front-and-center as a major consideration in trying to unravel the mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease. It’s now clear that a disruption of cellular energetics is fundamentally involved in the disease.

Multiple research studies have demonstrated that a decline in brain metabolism, specifically the brain’s utilization of glucose, is seen long before there are any clinical manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease. In other words, the first observable event in Alzheimer’s is the finding of reduced brain glucose utilization on a special type of brain scan. This observation presages the clinical manifestations like declining memory, judgment, and executive function by as much as several decades.

Why the brain suffers from this decline in its ability to use glucose as a fuel remains undefined, but new research is making the case that the hormone insulin is playing an important role in this event.

Continue reading