Brain Health Nutrition – The Alzheimer’s Dementia Sub-Types a la the ReCODE 2.0 Protocol
- Brainz Magazine
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Written by Kate Taylor, Registered Nutritionist
Kate is a Registered Nutritionist and the Founder of Eat Drink Think Nutrition Limited. Kate supports systemic health & wellness through pesonalised nutrition, diet and lifestyle strategies & recommendations, and particularly specialises in Brain health, cognitive function and Dementia risk-avoidance.
As a Registered Nutritionist, my professional focus is on nourishing and supporting the health and healthspan of the Brain (the ‘Brainspan’) through nutrition, diet, and lifestyle. However, in order to achieve this in an optimally useful and personalised manner, it is important to first uncover the root causes and triggers for cognitive decline, to be able to refine and personalise a cognition-supporting programme.
This is why I trained in the ReCODE 2.0 Protocol, which succinctly elucidates distinct trajectories of cognitive decline and helps professionals refine subsequent cognitive health support programmes.
This protocol was devised by the American physician, neurologist, and researcher Dr. Dale E. Bredesen, and it sub-categorises Alzheimer’s Dementia root causes and mediating influences.
Each person’s triggers will be highly personalised to their life and health histories, and while these categories are by no means exhaustive (there are potentially up to 50 contributing factors), the ReCODE 2.0 Alzheimer’s sub-categories offer distinct pathways for analysis, and subsequent professional support and risk-avoidance guidelines. Broadly speaking, these categories are:
Type 1: Hot
Relating to chronic, excessive inflammation throughout the body. We need a little bit of acute inflammation, but when inflammation becomes excessive over a prolonged period of time, it may detrimentally impact our Brain health and cognitive function.
Type 1.5: Sweet
Relating to a diet overwhelmingly oriented around excessive intake of refined sugar, processed, and ultra-processed foods. The body’s ability to regulate its own blood sugar balance and insulin sensitivity is a critical factor in Brain health and cognitive function.
Type 2: Cold
Relating to trophic factors, i.e., functional nutrient (vitamin and mineral) deficiencies in whole-body health. Hormonal imbalances may also be a contributing factor in this category.
Type 3: Vile
Relating to excessive toxicity in the body. Toxic influences may stem from contaminated and polluted air, soil, or water, chronic exposure to heavy metals (including mercury from older dental fillings), excessive plastics, overzealous use of highly chemical or scented cosmetic and home hygiene products, toxic agricultural or industrial chemicals, and excessive exposure to electromagnetic field emissions from the cacophony of electronic gadgets we rely on. Insufficient sleep may also be a contributing factor in this category, since sleep is the optimal time for the brain’s surrounding waste disposal system (the glymphatic system) to clear accumulated waste material.
Type 4: Pale
Relating to a poor vasculature structure and blood flow to the Brain. This may be triggered by an underlying cardiovascular health condition impeding oxygenated blood flow to the Brain. Sleep apnoea (chronic snoring) may also be a contributing factor in this sub-category, since snoring suggests the airway may be constricted during sleep, thus stifling oxygenation.
Type 5: Dazed
Relating to head trauma. This may be triggered by a head injury or injuries, concussion, repeated head impact (as occurs in contact sports), or the aftermath of a Brain injury stemming from a suboptimal health condition.
Nutritional therapeutic programmes and interventions can be applied and actioned for each of these Alzheimer’s Dementia sub-types, but for comprehensive Brain health care, a multidisciplinary support programme should be considered. Nutrition and diet are the benchmarks and the starting point, which has been recognised since 1903 when Thomas Edison commented in The Newark Advocate, “The doctor of the future… will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” Our medical sciences are advancing with phenomenal alacrity, but it is important not to forget that underpinning health, especially Brain health, is a healthy respect for fresh, nourishing food, a balanced diet, and a wholesome lifestyle.
If a functional medicine perspective on nurturing, nourishing, and supporting your Brain health and cognitive function is of interest, the time to act is now. Why postpone what could be actioned today? Investing in your Brain health and Brainspan could just be the wisest decision you will ever make.
Read more from Kate Taylor
Kate Taylor, Registered Nutritionist
Kate is an advocate of proactive and preventative healthcare through optimising and personalising the basics; nutrition, diet and lifestyle. Kate's experiences watching those around her develop and decline from Dementia instilled in her a mindset of 'prevention is better than cure' and that, particularly when it comes to Brain health and Dementia risk-avoidance, the perception 'false hopelessness' should not triumph over health optimism. Whilst sensitive to the fact that Brain health and Dementia risk-avoidance is multifaceted and cannot be solely addressed by nutrition, Kate's professional nutritional aspiration is to empower & inspire people that diet and lifestyle are integral foundations to health, healthspan, and importantly, Brainspan.
References:
Apollo Health (AHNP) Website: The Six Types of Alzheimer’s Disease - April 2020
Rao, R.V., Kumar, S., Bredesen D.E, et.al. (2021). ReCODE: A Personalized, Targeted, Multi-Factorial Therapeutic Program for Reversal of Cognitive Decline. Biomedicines. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines9101348.
