Recovering from Alzheimer’s disease is complicated work. Dale Bredesen, MD shocked much of the world with his first book, The End of Alzheimer’s (2017). The science was clear and published in scientific journals, however, doing the protocol to reverse the disease was not spelled out clearly and was confusing.

His second book, The End of Alzheimer’s Program (2019), presented the protocol in much more specific detail but was overwhelming for most patients, families and even caregivers. His newest book, written in part by the successful survivors of Alzheimer’s disease, is by far the most useful for anyone who is suffering from cognitive decline, their family, and caregivers.

The recovery stories of seven people with well-documented early to moderate Alzheimer’s disease are told in detail in their own words. Here are the key takeaways from this book:

Every person is different. The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are varied and multiple. The metaphor is that Alzheimer’s disease is like a leaking roof with 36 different holes that must be plugged to stop the damage.
The nutrition and lifestyle changes are intense and varied from person to person. There is nothing easy about reversing cognitive decline. The person does not have to be perfect every day, but staying on the program is required.
The treatment program centers around a low carbohydrate diet of eating only healthy, real foods, with daily fasting of at least 12 hours and three hours before bed. This results in a low blood sugar and low inflammatory markers, required changes to reverse the disease.
A customized number of brain health supplements are taken by everyone, including what is required for hormone health.
One hour of exercise is required daily.
Hormone regulation should be monitored by a physician, and deficiencies in women and men should be corrected with supplements.
Restorative sleep of six-and-a-half to eight hours daily is maintained, without prescription drugs. Melatonin and magnesium are used to assist relaxing sleep.
Environmental and dietary toxins are checked for and treated.
Chronic infections are checked for and treated.
All causes of stress are reduced or handled in a healthy manner.

A therapist or team of therapists well-educated in the Bredesen protocol (ReCODE) is important to guide a person and family through this process. Not everyone returns to normal cognition, but everyone should benefit from these treatment strategies.

I encourage anyone interested in this topic to read this book and pass it on to anyone suffering from cognitive decline, their family, and friends. The process of reversing Alzheimer’s disease is real if the person works hard enough to achieve optimal health.

The brain, like the rest of the body, wants to be healthy and may return to good health if we stop the insults that cause the problems.

Dr. Scherger is founder of Restore Health in Indian Wells, a clinic dedicated to weight loss and reversing disease. For more information, visit www.restorehealth.me or call (760) 898.9663.