Evidence That Pesticides Increase Alzheimers Risk

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Live in Possibility -- original artwork by Laura Koniver, MD
Live in Possibility — original artwork by Laura Koniver, MD

New evidence shows that having measurable levels of

pesticide metabolites in your blood

increases your risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 400%.

 

Published on January 27, 2014 in JAMA Neurology, a new study shows that high levels of DDE (a metabolic by-product of notorious pesticide DDT) in the body was found to cause a 4-fold increase in Alzheimers Disease risk.

This study confirms that if there are serum levels of DDE in your blood (from pesticide exposure) this is crossing your blood-brain barrier and directly affecting your brain.

 

Even though DDT was banned in the United States in 1972, we are now seeing the effects of pesticide use in the generation that grew up exposed to this chemical.

And unfortunately DDT is still found in over 75% of blood samples, partly because of DDT’s long half-life and partly because we are continuing to be exposed to DDT from food grown in countries where DDT is still used.

 

  • This information calls us to honestly face the effects of introducing chemicals into our food supply and shows us that long term effects can no longer be ignored.

 

  • It asks us to be brave, to take a stand, and to be mindful of what be put into our body.

 

  • It also arms us with good news about dementia… and Alzheimers in specific.

 

Yes… believe it or not this is GOOD NEWS.

 

Because this new study confirms the multifactorial nature of Alzheimers…

it’s not strictly a genetic predisposition but an interplay between genetics and exposure that cause a dramatic increase in the expression of the disease.

 

This shows that we have some modifiable risk factors that we can work with to decrease (and hopefully eliminate) your risk of Alzheimers dementia.

 

Things you can do right now to decrease your risk of Alzheimers:

 

#1. Start with eliminating your exposure to pesticides.

Eat organic — so that you know you are consuming foods grown without pesticide exposure.

Eat local — so that you know you are consuming foods grown in a country that has banned DDT.

Support farms that do not use pesticides and go out of your way to thouroughly wash any produce that you consume, ESPECIALLY if that food is imported.

DDT is still used in India and Spain, and The World Health Organization supported reintroduction of DDT for malaria eradication in 2006.

 

#2. Sleep Restoratively

Did you know that poor sleep increases your risk of Alzheimers Dementia progression?

Here is a look at the study results that reveal the importance of resorative sleep in Alzheimers prevention and 9 things you can do today to improve your sleep and decrease your Alzheimer’s risk.

 

#3. Feed your brain these 4 important nutrients to decrease Alzheimers development

 

#4. Vitamin E supplements work better than a Rx to stop Alzheimers progression

I blog about that right here.

 

To your brain’s health and to organic farmers everywhere… your work changes lives and preserves humanity.

I thank you.

xoxoxo, Laura