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Both men, who were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, claim they overcame the disease with simple lifestyle changes.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease have been the leading cause of death in the UK for the past decade, accounting for 11.4% of deaths in 2022. New medicines can slow the progression of the disease, but there is growing evidence that the symptoms of Alzheimer’s can be ‘reversed’ by something as simple as adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease is divided into two subgroups: familial and sporadic. Only 5% of Alzheimer’s disease patients are familial, hereditary, while 95% of Alzheimer’s disease patients are sporadic due to environmental, lifestyle, and genetic risk factors. Therefore, the most effective strategy to tackle Alzheimer’s disease is prevention and leading a healthy lifestyle. This has led researchers to study the risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s sufferers Sissi Zerbe and Simon Nichols claim they overcame the dreaded disease with just a few lifestyle changes, and they recount their journey in the CNN documentary “The Last Alzheimer’s Patient.”
Zerbe experienced a reversal of his symptoms after taking part in a clinical trial in the US investigating the effect of intensive lifestyle changes on mild cognitive impairment or early dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. The study has not yet been published.
The lifestyle changes include switching to a plant-based diet, regular exercise, group support sessions, yoga and meditation, and Zerbe said she is “feeling a lot better” than she was before joining the trial five years ago, when she was diagnosed with the disease.
Remarkable improvement
Simon Nichols (55 years old) Alzheimer’s patients Nichols, who was featured in the CNN documentary and participated in the trial, has two copies of a genetic mutation called ApoE4, which is known to significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. However, after adopting healthy lifestyle changes, Nichols noticed a significant improvement in his symptoms.
Approximately 25% of the population has at least one copy of the ApoE4 gene variant (called an “allele”), and 5% have two copies. Having one ApoE4 allele increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 3 to 4 times. Having two copies increases the risk by up to 12 times, making it the largest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
These statistics underscore the incredible and remarkable nature of Nichols’ achievement in reversing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease through lifestyle choices alone: His Alzheimer’s biomarkers disappeared in 14 months, which is considerably more effective than most treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
Nichols stressed that exercise and dietary changes were the most important part of his treatment. He was initially prescribed tirzepatide, a drug that regulates blood sugar and suppresses appetite. He also incorporated regular exercise, including strength training three times a week, walking 10,000 steps a day, and jogging or cycling every morning.
Cardiovascular disease is a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and a potential predictor of future Alzheimer’s disease. The heart-brain connection is essential for providing energy and oxygen to brain cells through cerebral blood flow. Therefore, poor heart health means brain cells have less energy to function, increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This is why Nichols’ improved heart health and increased cardiovascular activity led to improved symptoms.
He also enforced dietary changes, eliminating sugar, alcohol and processed foods, and adopted the Mediterranean diet.
The Mediterranean diet is rich in antioxidants that protect brain cells from damage, and research suggests that the nutrients you get from the diet help maintain memory and cognitive ability. A recent large-scale study of 60,000 British people showed that following a Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of dementia by 23%.
Research has linked lack of sleep to Alzheimer’s, so Nichols practices good sleep hygiene to improve her irregular sleep patterns.
The prevailing theory is that sleep helps flush out toxic proteins such as amyloid through the glymphatic system, which would otherwise accumulate and cause dementia, although it’s worth noting that recent mouse studies have cast doubt on this theory.
Scientists at Imperial College London have found that the elimination of toxins actually decreases during sleep, suggesting that sleep may reduce the risk of dementia through other mechanisms that are currently unknown.
These lifestyle changes It has had a huge impact on Nichols’ life: in just nine weeks, she lost nearly 10kg, reduced her body fat by 80% and lowered her fasting blood sugar.
Nichols and Zerbe could say they have “reversed” the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, because conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and insomnia are all risk factors for dementia and can be improved through a healthy lifestyle.
However, it is important to interpret these findings with caution. These are results from only two subjects who participated in the trial. Without more details on the claimed results, it is difficult to determine whether these lifestyle choices truly “reversed” the progression of the disease.
The impact of lifestyle on cognitive function is receiving increasing attention, with more and more scientists studying its benefits. The emergence of new disease-modifying drugs, combined with strict lifestyle changes, may be able to significantly reduce the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
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