Infections That Cause Alzheimer's Disease | Dr. Heather Sandison x Dave Asprey

When we get to Alzheimer's. You said something earlier that Dale Bredesen's also said that some of this is caused by a brain infection. What are the types of infections that are associated with Alzheimer's?

And you know, I wouldn't even say a brain infection. I would say just an infection. So infections in our body can stimulate the, the inflammatory cascade that can lead to amyloid plaque production. So, for example, herpes simplex 1 and cold sores. If you get recurrent cold sores and you have a risk for Alzheimer's, if there's genetic risk for Alzheimer's, I highly recommend that you aggressively prevent those, whether you're using lysine and lemon balm and maybe a little lithium salt, if, or if you're using valcyclovir or acyclovir at the first sign of prodrome. Treating those aggressively is important to preventing Alzheimer's as you age, maybe even doing that prophylactically once a month or again working with a provider to figure out what makes the most sense for you. But. But keeping that under control. Another bacteria associated with Alzheimer's is P. Gingivalis, which is the bacteria associated with gingivitis. So gingivitis increases the risk of cardiovascular, of events, of myocardial infarctions or heart attacks. This is part of why if you have a fake joint, an artificial joint, you might be given some antibiotics before a dental cleaning. This is because those, as those bacteria get introduced into the bloodstream, they can create infections, infections elsewhere. They can also affect heart valves. This is well known that we can have this increase in vascular inflammation after a dental cleaning. We'll see markers of LP PLA 2 go up. And if I see that repeatedly elevated and not associated with the dental cleaning, then I start wondering if there's an infection in the mouth that might also be triggering inflammation and then beta amyloid in the brain. We know that both, both of these infections, both herpes and P. Gingivalis, have been found in the amyloid plaques in the brain on autops, as have the Lyme spirochetes. So we know that beta amyloid is antimicrobial by nature. It's there to protect us. It's not there to give us Alzheimer's. It's there to be protective. And so what we want to do is make sure that the total body burden of infections is as low as possible so we're not in that fight defend inflamed mode.

I love that idea. This means something like a water pick or flossing could potentially reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease. Right.

Flossing is something I review with every single patient because it is that important. Right. Health starts in the gut, but the gut starts in the mouth.

Yeah, I'm always torn. We have these. These mouthwashes like Listerine and all, that kill everything and also kill all the good bacteria in the mouth and are associated with problems with making nitric oxides and cardiovascular problems. Even erectile dysfunction from your mouthwash isn't unheard of. And reductions in blood flow in the brain are associated with Alzheimer's. So clearly, mouthwash might not be the thing to do. But if you have bad bugs in your mouth, shouldn't you take, like, a chlorhexidine or a peroxide rinse or something to kill the bad guys? Like, how do you solve that problem?

Well, so coconut oil, I think, is a great path for that. It's mildly antimicrobial. And doing some oil pulling, this is an ayurvedic tradition that's been used for millennia that I think is a great option for some people. But seeing a biological dentist to look for latent infections for something potentially underneath a root canal or in a cavitation. I've had patients with recurrent sinus infections, and it ends up being an infection beneath a root canal that they didn't know was there because the root is gone. That's the nerve that would tell us that something was inflamed or out of sorts. We don't. We're not aware of it because we're not getting the pain sign. So I do think I'm a fan of biological dentists, and again, I refer to them liberally because they've become really important partners in helping people achieve optimal health and particularly brain health. Because the mouth, I mean, just geographically. Right. The mouth is so close to the sinuses and so close to the brain that there's an interplay between them. And it's easy to have. Infections trigger inflammation in the brain if they're coming from the mouth and sinuses.

You talked about sinuses. I had chronic sinus infections and strep throat for about 15 years when I was younger. If you live in a house with toxic mold and you have recurrent strep throat, it's caused by the toxic mold in your environment forcing the bacteria to make a biofilm. And I don't have them anymore. It's exceptionally rare because I learned how to do that. But so many people have biofilms in their sinuses right next to the brain that are Making lipopolysaccharides, which are bacterial toxins that cause inflammation in the glial cells, the immune cells in the brain. How would listeners go about reducing the risk of something in their sinuses making their brain dysfunctional, whether or not they have Alzheimer's?

Yeah, so two pieces here. I'm sure you've had James Nestor on the show.

Absolutely. He's a good friend.

Okay. Refer back to that episode, because that is, you know, nose breathing, rather than mouth breathing, is crucial to sinus health.

I think most listeners by now at least, have heard of mouth taping, where they do it. I've been doing it even before James Ester came on the show. Even my. One of my teenagers does it. She tried it once, and she's like, dad, this is much better. And. And, you know, I send her rolls of. Of mouth tape, you know, looks like this. And she. She does it regularly of her own accord. She like. I don't like having bad breath and a dry mouth. Not to mention the breathe through the sinuses. So, guys, if you're listening, you want a cheap biohack that's gonna have systemic effects. Close your mouth when you sleep.

Yeah. Breathe through your nose all the time, as much as possible. Yeah. And then same thing in my household. Teenager who loves mouth tape, because less anxiety, clearer thinking, fewer allergies. Hear that from patients as well, all the time. So mouth taping. Cheap, easy. So simple. And then for the sinuses, if you have recurrent sinus infections, I'm a fan of the Neil Med. The. It's a silicone rinse bottle that you can use. I recommend using shower. Do it like you brush your teeth. Do it regularly. What we want to do is get allergens out. So if we inhale allergens, they can stick to the mucous membranes in our sinuses and our nose, and then they can start to accumulate day after day after day. And if we rinse them out, we get a reduction in that trigger of an immune response by getting those allergens out. Now, there can also be microbes in there. They can be biofilms. And biofilms look like mucus, right? So when you get that mucus out, you're getting out biofilms and potentially all the bugs that can be living in there. And I love the neomed. You can do it on its own with distilled water, with warm water. You can add some saline to it. That tends to be very soothing. We also sometimes add some silver, some argentin. Silver, A little bit of that. Just Drop doses, or we'll use biocide, sometimes some antimicrobial agents. And we'll also use a little bit of xylitol. They have the X clear. They have the rinses that you can buy prepackaged, and then a little stevia. Adding a drop or two of stevia is a biofilm disruptor. And so what I typically start people on is very small amounts. Get it going through your sinuses, and then rotate those because they're going to get at different bugs. And then after a couple of weeks, add the stevia. Add that after you've gotten that first layer of bugs out. Now, the other really important part of this is go get some kimchi juice. You can get the $6 kimchi juice that's at the grocery store and get the least spicy one that you can find. And then take a Q tip and put that in the juice and then put it in your nose. That kimchi juice has the particular bugs we think of the good bugs that go into our gut. Well, the sinuses are no different. We don't want to clear out everything and have sterile sinuses. We actually want those good bugs in there. And so you want to re inoculate with those great bugs. I'm here in San Diego. Surfers who have had chronic sinus infections every year after surfing and after the rain goes away completely resolves, they don't get them anymore. So this can be protective and you can prevent future sinus infections. Making sure you have the right sinus bugs in there.

Wow. I've never heard of putting kimchi up my nose. That seems unpleasant. But inoculating your nose with the right nasal bacteria, it's. It's important. I. I believe it's.