120 Achieving pH Balance to Treat Specific Ailments
rofi brillary tangles.” This blockage thus succeeds in preventing their
accumulation.^19
Many health-care professionals still don’t seem to be aware of vitamin
E’s ability to delay the worsening of Alzheimer’s symptoms. One study
reveals that in middle-aged and older animals, supplements of vitamin E
prevented the conversion of the protein strands in the brain into beta-
amyloid plaques.^20 Another study showed that humans with Alzheimer’s
as well as animals can profi t from vitamin E. Directed by Mary Sano, an
associate professor of clinical neuropsychology at Columbia University,
the study found that patients who took high doses of vitamin E delayed
having to go into a nursing home by seven months.^21 By making more
oxygen available, vitamin E helps to heal infl amed tissues. Additional
oxygen can also prevent the infl ammatory process from happening in the
fi rst place. Vitamin E could also prevent the infl ammation of protein
strands by clearing away toxic acidic waste in the intercellular fl uid sur-
rounding the neurons before it gets the infl ammatory process going. Like
vitamin C, vitamin E removes toxic waste, but unlike vitamin C it’s fat
soluble so it can go through the double-layered fatty membrane sur-
rounding the neurons where the main portion of these protein strands
are located.
Vitamin E is most effective in delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s
because by oxygenating brain tissue it neutralizes the acidic condition
that causes infl ammation. Another effective anti-infl ammatory supple-
ment is huperzine A, a type of club moss that has been used for thou-
sands of years by the Chinese to treat infl ammation. Huperzine A can
cross the blood-brain barrier and in animal experiments has been
shown to soothe, protect, and even regenerate neurons.
Maintaining cellular energy is the best way to protect the brain cells
from the toxicity of acidic waste. Besides thyroid supplements and vita-
min E to normalize thyroid function, and natural progesterone to ensure
a balance of steroid hormone function, coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ-10) and
acetyl-L-carnitine help maintain energy levels in the brain cells: CoQ-10
by transporting electrons that are involved in respiration, and acetyl-L-
carnitine by transporting fats into cells where it is burned to produce
cellular energy.