Welcome to the group Deb! Your going to love this forum!!

P.S. My husband is also from Illinois.

Teresa

Dots,
That's a good point. But people where I grew up lived well into their eighties and nineties and none ever had dementia or alzheimers. But I'm not sure that is true everywhere.

I read something recently that indicated the 'average' life span is increasing partially because far fewer young people die fron accidents and infection.
smile

There is a form of alzheimers that hits people in their early fifties. That scared me! I'm buying the book Natural Cures today. Maybe he has some info on it because he hates the FDA and drug companies.

I wonder if increases in alzheimers diagnoses especially in the fifties might result from the recent release of pharmaceuticals to treat, not cure, it.

If they can convince us boomers (the largest target market in the country) that we're all getting alzheimers just cause we can't remember anything, it could certainly be profitable for the pharmaceutical companies with the drugs for it.
smile

Hello Everyone

I believe that Alzheimers, like Pam said is a form of dementia and that of course in the past what is known today as Alzheimers, was dimentia.

Anything to do with the mind is related to the spleen, which is the seat of the mind and the element of air. For example when we use the mind too much we deplete the earth in our bodies, which the spleen governs. Air which represents the mind is also governed by metals. Within the last 50 years we have become dominated by metals through technology and metals polluting water and land. Too much metal in the mind/brain and we are affected adversely at the mind and memory level.We have also become more sedentary, staying indoors attached to our computers and technology in order to make a living. Less exercise, less wholesome eating, no fresh air and bad water.

The body is basically made up of 4 major elements, earth, air, fire, and water and the componenets within them. Each of these elements affect specific organs within the body, so it is imperative that we keep our bodies in balance through the kind of air we breathe, water we drink and foods we eat.

It is important to understand that 50 to 75 years ago, the land still had natural bacterias and so the vegetables that we ate or the grains that we prepared had a heck of alot more food value than today. We were also connected to the land more and our communities, since most of our food was from regional sources and we ate what the seasons provided.

In these times we have an enormous amount of choices with regard to food but I don't believe that the benefits outweight the negatives, in essence covering our soils with pesticides and destroying the natural bacterias in the land that provided strong produce, or polluting our air and water for the sake of ever increasing profits is destroying the health of nations.

Alzheimer's ladies is just an imbalance in the way we live, it isn't something that just shows up and is the enemy in old age. We have to come to a place where we are not divorced from our bodies.

Western medicine has taught us that disease is the enemy and it just shows up, like an enemy. Disease is a direct by-product of our thinking patterns, our emotional patterns and our way of being, how we process life and what we ingest, either through food or our thoughts. Our actions will delineate our destiny.

All in all, we do have power over our health and our future, if we educate ourselves with regard to balance, and work to free our minds from fear, as the energy of fear itself depletes the body's systems.

Power, ladies is in each individual's hands...it just depends on what we do with it, and within that power is the ability to understand ourselves and gain knowledge of ourselves....

We are not replicas of other people's misfortune, we are all unique and can create the lives we dream of, for that is the power of the creation force within us, when used with knowledge, wisdom and will.

We are in control of our destiny every single moment and nothing can be held from us...if we but listen the heart within and seek knowledge and knowing, rather than listening to the whim and banter of other's fears.

Most of what we read, see and hear is based on research reports, and views given to the media. A) who is paying for the research reports. Rember ladies most of our universities are funded by pharmaceutical interests and universities hold patents. To whose gain does this research benefit?

All in all, if you 'follow the money' you'll come across more truth than you can deal with sometimes...that's why it is so important to connect with who you are on the heart, mind, soul, spirit and body level. For the knowledge and truth within will lead you on a journey that will free your heart, mind, body, soul and spirit and the journey to that freedom will bring joy and a lightness of being as the layers of past beliefs and fears fall away day after day as you come home into yourself and a knowing that supercedes all fear.

Enjoy the day ladies, it's brighter than you can imagine.

With love
Leigha

My Daddy, who had Lewy-Body dementia was a construction foreman. He exercised daily, extremely, was a health nut, and drank GOOD water. He still was overcome with dementia. He was outside every single day. He was retired ONE year and during that year he was continually active and outdoors as well.

AZ or AD was was first described by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician, in 1906. Alzheimer had a patient in her fifties who suffered from what seemed to be a mental illness. But when she died in 1906, an autopsy revealed dense deposits, now called neuritic plaques, outside and around the nerve cells in her brain. Inside the cells were twisted strands of fiber, or neurofibrillary tangles. Today, a definite diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is still only possible when an autopsy reveals these hallmarks of the disease. Since Dr. Alois Alzheimer's was the first person who discovered the disease, AD was named after him.

One reason I think we are seeing more and more cases are the pesticides being used on plants and I also believe alumnium and radiation exposure have something to do with developing AD. A good investigative article can be found at
http://www.ecotalk.org/Alzheimer'sAluminumPhosphateIndustry.htm

As the article says,...Adding fluoride to drinking water in the U.S. started in the 1950's. "Fertilizer use was not a common practice in the United States until after 1870, when phosphate and lime were applied to crops like cotton and tobacco. By the end of World War II, an era of intensive agriculture began...


JJ

That's fabulous information JJ, hopefully more people will begin to realize the cause and things will change for the better.

With love
Leigha

That's very interesting JJ. Sounds like we're not the only people who see an increase over time. Seems like it's everywhere today and among younger and younger people. I wonder if there is some source of the phosphates, etc. for the woman in Germany?

Excellent information.

Hi Deb, I also live in Illinois, I'm in Decatur. Welcome to the boards.

Hello new friends! I didn't fall off of the earth. I have had company since last Friday afternoon. What a thrill to come back and find so many posts! JJ is right about the history of Alzheimer's disease. It was once thought that losing our memories was just a normal part of aging. We know that it isn't. My dad also died of Diffuse Lewy Bodies Disease (probably). As JJ said only an autopsy can determine this and no autopsy was performed.
The care giving role has fallen to the Boomers and I find that nearly every one I talk to has someone in their circle of friends or family who has Alzheimer's disease. There are 4.5 million Americans affected. I wrote the book because I couldn't find a good resource when I was searching for something. Dad was changing by the hour and we had no idea what would come next. When he was diagnosed the Neurologist didn't even give him a follow up appointment. He was just sent home to deal with it. As he began to hallucinate and become very aggitated and hide things and stay awake all night, etc. I started keeping a journal. The journal is only a small part of the book. I also pulled in experts in the field of research, Geriatric Care Management, a Psychologist, and M.D. and two other families who were caring for a loved one.
I have also decided to get busy with a novel I have had stuck away for several years. It is the opposite of Into the Mist. It is fun and silly and sad and I'm going to get it in shape to publish it.
I'm so glad to find so many sisters here. Sherri you are not too far away from me. I'm down around Alton.
hugs to all.
P.S. Is there a spell checker here? I type fast and don't look back.