Two people with Alzheimer’s disease publicly claim to have overcome the deadly disease simply by adopting simple but strict lifestyle changes.
A new CNN documentary, “The Last Alzheimer’s Patient,” features Cici Zerbe, who said she felt “a lot better” after switching to a plant-based diet and adopting a serious exercise and wellness routine .
Zerbe, who admitted to missing her beloved veal chops — she hasn’t eaten her favorite dish in five years, she said — credited meditation, exercise and diet specifically for the “opposite” of his symptoms.
Zerbe is participating in a clinical trial led by Dr. Dean Ornish, which explored the impacts of significant lifestyle change on early-onset dementia and mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease. The results are expected to be released next month, the Daily Mail reported.
Gupta also interviewed another study participant, Simon Nicholls, who shared his own similar experience.
Possessing two copies of the APOE4 gene, known to significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease – Avengers star Chris Hemsworth is known to be affected – the 55-year-old saw dramatic improvements after changing his lifestyle. life.
“I was very worried,” Nicholls told Dr. Sanjay Gupta on camera. “I have a three-year-old son and an eight-year-old son. It’s really important to me, as I get older, to try to be there for them in the future.
“There are many (changes) in your lifestyle that you can do to hopefully reverse the disease and give you more time, which is all we need until we let’s find a cure,” he said.
Nicholls appears to have found considerable motivation in his family’s previous experience of dementia: his mother died of what was thought to be Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 70.
“For the last 10 years of her life, she just sat in a chair, rocking, while taking about 14 medications. I would much rather have a longer lifespan and then go fast,” he said.
“Simon was on a mission, as if the Reaper was looking over his shoulder. He was going to kick ass and take names,” preventative neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, who oversaw Nicholls’ case, told CNN.
Isaacson said he was surprised to see Nicholls’ biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disappear in just over a year.
The diet began with a prescription for tirzepatide, found in the trendy drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, approved by the FDA for type 2 diabetes and weight loss, respectively.
In addition to getting vaccinated and undergoing new dietary restrictions — eliminating sugar and ultra-processed foods, switching to a plant-based diet — Nicholls also adopted a serious exercise routine, including weight training . His mornings began with a combination of walking, jogging and cycling.
“When I first saw Simon, he had a bit of a build, like most guys in their 50s. When I saw him at nine weeks, I did a double take. He was totally muscular, even ripped,” Dr. Isaacson said.
“I love going for a sunrise walk every morning for an hour and a half with a podcast. I take 10,000 steps or more every day. I’m very consistent,” Nicholls revealed. “I also do a very slow full body workout with weights three times a week for an hour.”
“In those nine weeks, he lost 21 pounds, or about 80 percent of that fat, and gained muscle, which was great,” Isaacson recalls. “I almost didn’t recognize him.”
Isaacson said he refrained from using the term “reverse,” but noted the excitement over the promising results seen in Nicholls and other patients.
“I don’t use the term ‘reverse’. I don’t know what the opposite means in Alzheimer’s,” Isaacson said.
“But the results we’ve seen with Simon and other patients in our research are extremely exciting.”
New York Post
