How can we avoid the degradation products of pesticides that may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease if you carry APOE e4, the so-called Alzheimer’s gene?
Although there is a growing list of Alzheimer’s risk genes, those genes account for less than half of all Alzheimer’s cases. Here’s the most “compelling” piece of data on possible control over the disease: When it comes to identical twins who have exactly the same genes, if one gets Alzheimer’s, the other usually doesn’t. So, we have to think about all the other influencing factors beyond just genetics.
There are a number of chlorinated pesticides, including DDE (a metabolite of DDT), which the US Environmental Protection Agency has classified as a human carcinogen. But in a study—which I mentioned in a video about pesticides and cancer—blood levels of DDE and other pesticides were not associated with increased cancer deaths, but increased risk of death from other causes. This has led researchers to speculate that this may be due to an increased risk associated with diabetes or dementia. I’ve talked before about the link to diabetes. What about dementia?
A research team at Rutgers found significantly higher blood levels of DDE in Alzheimer’s disease patients compared to controls, as you can see below and at 1:22 in my video. Pesticides (DDT) and Alzheimer’s disease.
Autopsy studies show blood levels are a good proxy for brain levels. Those patients with the highest levels were nearly four times more likely to develop dementia caused by Alzheimer’s. And in a petri dish, DDE increases levels of the amyloid precursor protein in human brain cells, providing a possible mechanism. Down again at 1:48 for me videoyou can see the levels of an adhesive protein involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease before and after DDE added to the levels one finds circulating in highly exposed individuals in the general population.
Put all these studies together, and there seems to be a connection, consistent with the data showing a doubling of the risk of developing dementia among those who have been heavily poisoned, as you can see below and at 2:01 in mine. video.
Among US adults, DDT and its derivative DDE are also associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline in general, shown below and at 2:08 in my video.
DDT was widely used in the United States from the 1940s to the early 1970s. At its peak, we were producing around 180 million pounds a year. And it’s still in our bodies to this day, contaminating the blood of more than 90% of Americans, with DDE—a pesticide linked to four times the risk of Alzheimer’s—found in the highest levels ever.
It is still in our bodies because it is still found in food. In a previous video on the topic, I noted that the levels of DDT, DDE, and other banned pesticides and pollutants were significantly lower in breast milk from vegetarian mothers compared to the breast milk of their non-vegetarian sisters. The biggest difference was observed for DDE, which was four times lower in the vegetarian sister. This is what you see in all this kind of dirt. Below and 3:20 mine videoyou can see the levels of dioxins and PCBs found in meat, poultry, pork, processed meats, eggs, fish, dairy products, and all plant foods combined when food samples are collected from supermarkets across the United States.
These toxins travel up the food chain, so it makes sense that the most contaminated foods are meat, fish, and dairy products. Toxin levels have been found to be 5 to 10 times higher in meat, eggs, fish, and milk compared to plant foods. Unfortunately, cooking doesn’t eliminate pollutants like DDE—in fact, it can make them even more concentrated. And this is for a pesticide that may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease if you carry a type called Alzheimer’s APOE e4.
Doctor’s Note
The video I mentioned is this Pesticides and Cancer Risk.
For more videos on Alzheimer’s disease, see the Alzheimer’s topic page.
