Maintain Your Brain – Appendix B

Life history can provide crucial clues to what is causing Alzheimer’s disease, MCI or SCI. It is therefore important to know if you currently or have ever:

1. suffered head trauma. (Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
2. Had an automobile accident? Played contact sports?)
3. had general anesthesia (and how many times). General anesthesia combines some toxicity of the anesthetics with what is often imperfect oxygenation, and this can affect brain function.
4. have or had dental amalgams. These expose you to inorganic mercury. eat high-mercury fish. This exposes you to organic mercury.
5. take certain medications (especially any with brain effects, such as benzodiazepines like Valium, antidepressants, blood pressure pills, statins, proton pump inhibitors, or antihistamines).
6. used street drugs.
7. drink alcohol (and how much).
8. smoke or smoked cigarettes.
9. been practicing good oral hygiene. Poor oral hygiene can contribute to inflammation.
10. have surgical implants (artificial hips or breast implants, for instance).
11. have or had liver, kidney, lung, or heart disease.
12. snore. This may suggest the possibility of sleep apnea.
13. consume hot-pressed oils (like palm oil). These hot-pressed oils lose some of their vitamin E during the heat processing and therefore may be damaging to your brain.
14. eat foods high in trans fats or simple carbohydrates. These have multiple effects, such as vascular damage and insulin resistance.
15. have chronic sinus problems. These may alert you to exposure to molds and their related mycotoxins.
16. have gastrointestinal problems such as bloating or recurrent diarrhea. This may tip you off that you have a leaky gut.
17. have mold in your house, car, or workplace. Most people do not realize that such exposure is a risk factor for cognitive decline.
18. eat processed foods or nonorganic foods. These often contribute to insulin resistance and toxin exposure.
19. had tick bites. Ticks carry over 70 different pathogens, such as the Lyme disease Borrelia, and the chronic inflammation associated with these may contribute to cognitive decline.
20. take proton pump inhibitors for reflux. These reduce the stomach acid needed for digestion, and therefore reduce the uptake of zinc and vitamin B12, among other nutrients.
21. use makeup, hair spray, or antiperspirant. These relate to toxic exposure.
22. don’t sweat much (one important route for toxin elimination).
23. been constipated (bowel movements also eliminate toxin).
24. don’t drink enough purified water (urine also removes toxins).