New Help for People with Alzheimer’s
Spirulina is a blue-green algae that is a powerhouse of nutrients and antioxidants. A new study suggests that a little bit a day may make a lot of difference for people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Recent research has discovered a link between diabetes and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. A new study set out to see if supplementing spirulina could help people with Alzheimer’s disease with both their blood sugar and their cognition.
The double-blind study gave either 500mg of spirulina or a placebo to 60 people with Alzheimer’s for 12 weeks.
In just that short time, spirulina was able to produce a significant benefit in cognition. The Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) was used to measure cognitive function. After 12 weeks on placebo MMSE scores declined by 0.38. But after 12 weeks on spirulina, MMSE scores improved by 0.3).
CRP, a marker of inflammation, also improved in the spirulina group while it got worse in the placebo group.
And what about blood sugar and insulin? Spirulina helped here too. Fasting glucose went up by a further 2.95mg.dL in the placebo group while dropping by 4.56 mg/dL on spirulina. That’s a significant difference. Insulin, insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity all improved significantly more with spirulina.
This novel study provides what may be the first evidence that spirulina can help both blood sugar and cognition in people with Alzheimer’s.
Phytother Res. 2023 Mar 2;doi:10.1002/ptr.7791
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For much more on natural help for cognition and Alzheimer’s, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.
For comprehensive natural help with Alzheimer’s and cognition, make an appointment to see Linda Woolven now. Linda’s clinic is now open for virtual appointments.
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