For many years it has been known that heavy metal poisoning is not only detrimental to physical health but mental health as well - but now more and more research is driving this point home.
When considering mental health and cognition it was always considered that aluminium played the greatest role in causing the symptoms related to Alzheimer's and other dementias. However this is no longer the case and for this reason, in the next few articles I am going to look at not only aluminium but also zinc, copper and mercury and their effects on the brain.
So let's begin...
Zinc is a very strange supplement when used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Too little and it will have no effect and too much and it may actually aggravate the condition - therefore balance is the key.
Although zinc is an essential trace element in human biology it is neurotoxic (poisonous to nerves) at high concentrations. Several studies have shown that high levels aggravate plaque formation actually causing more aggregations (or clumping of these plaques and nerve fibres) that are typically found in Alzheimer's patients.
Other studies however, have shown that the level of zinc found in the brains of those suffering from the condition are reduced particularly in the area of the hippocampus - the part related to memory and learning. Supplementation of 10 patient's suffering with Alzheimer's with zinc aspartate / sulphate showed significant improvements in their condition.
Other theories believe that it may be an imbalance of trace metals that allows a toxic overload of heavy metals to build up creating these changes in the brain. An important study shows how they believe it is low general levels of zinc and selenium that cause a toxic build-up of heavy metals in the brain (particularly mercury) as they are its chief mineral antagonists (i.e. they block its absorption) and are known to have a protective role against heavy metal toxicity. However, a yet unpublished study from 1991 showed that dosages of 90mg a day caused a decline in cognition after only 5 days.
Because of this uncertainty I would urge caution with the use of zinc supplements and limit the daily supplementation to 50mg of zinc a day and I would also consider undergoing a detox program to remove excess heavy metals from the system.
It is also important to note that the supplementation of zinc also needs to be combined with copper in a ratio of 10:1 (therefore 25mg zinc to 2.5mg copper) to enhance the correct metabolism.
In my next article I will consider the effects copper plays in the prevention / causation of Alzheimer's and dementia.
I have been involved in Chiropractic and healthcare research for over 20 years. My latest book "The Alzheimer's Alternative" ( http://www.alzheimersalternative.com/ ) is I believe the definitive guide to Alzheimer's disease, alternative treatment and supplementation.
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