With my personal hopes of becoming a doctor someday, the title of this article immediately peaked my interest. A study by The Archives of Neurology promoted Professor Denise Head to begin an experiment at Washington University in St. Louis. The experiment gathered 201 patients who had not shown any clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's with some who did have a family history. In the experiment, the scientists scanned their brains for amyloid plaques (flashing red lights for Alzheimer's), a variant of the APOE gene, which is involved in cholesterol metabolism, called e4 (multiples the risk for Alzheimer's by 15%), and asked for a history of exercise habits. The reports came in that people who exercised at least 30 minutes for five times a week had less amyloid plaques than those who didn't exercise. Another result was that those he did have the APOE-e4 variant gene had a lot of amyloid plaques, unless they had a history of exercise. The exercise by those who had the variant gene had equal levels of amyloid plaque to those negative e4 variants. This is good news for those patients who know they have a family history of Alzheimer's.
The author of "How Exercise Might Be Able to Help Fight Alzheimer's", Gretchen Reynolds, uses a lot of logos appeals. One of her logos appeals was how well she reported on the experiment performed, its process, its location (Washington University in St. Louis), and its results. Reynolds explained the difficult scientific jargon so that anyone who was not from the science field or didn't know anyone with Alzheimer's could understand difficult things like the amyloid plaques and the APOE-e4 variant. Another logos appeal that Reynolds uses is her quotes from the most relevant person in the experiment, Dr. Denise Head, who conducted the study. The audience can definitely rely on her words and Reynolds for knowing who to talk to. The diction of this article is mainly that of medicine and genetics, such as "amyloid plaques," "APOE," "e4," and "positron emission tomography". However, unlike previous articles that I have read, Reynolds made her article "How Exercise May Keep Alzheimer's at Bay" understandable for most audiences about another positive step in the fight against Alzheimer's.
Source: Reynolds, Gretchen . "How Exercise May Keep Alzheimer's at Bay." The New York Times 18 Jan. 2012, sec. Health: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.
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Alzheimer's is an awful disease. I've had a few family members diagnosed and it's terrible to see someone go through that. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteWoodrow C. Monte, PhD, a food scientist, researcher, and Professor Emeritus of Food Science and Nutrition at Arizona State University, has just published a comprehensive book, “While Science Sleeps, a Sweetener Kills,” which is now available on Amazon.com.
ReplyDeleteThe book presents Dr. Monte’s lifetime of research into the nutritional causes of the major diseases of civilization. His own research, along with the research of hundreds of other scientists, is presented in language the average reader can understand and apply to very easily avoid many of the worst diseases that currently kill the majority of people in the civilized world. Dr. Monte has carefully and thoughtfully pieced together the scientific evidence found in hundreds of scientific studies to show convincingly that the single culprit is methanol – a molecule found primarily in canned fruits and vegetables, tomatoes, cigarette smoke, smoked foods, and the artificial sweetener aspartame. Methanol is converted by the enzyme known as Alcohol Dehydrogenase Class 1 (ADH1) into formaldehyde inside the body’s most sensitive tissues.
It is methanol that makes the aspartame taste sweet, and within ten minutes of consuming it, the methanol is released from its chemical bond. Each liter of diet soda contains the amount of methanol found in a pack of cigarettes, and evidence is mounting that diseases traditionally associated with smoking – most recently, heart disease and stroke – are now being associated specifically with aspartame consumption.
The human body converts dietary methanol into formaldehyde in the stomach, liver, veins and arteries, lungs, pancreas, skin, breast, and brain. Dr. Monte makes a compelling case that it is this process, and the disease that results, that is responsible for the epidemics of a variety of cancers, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases like Lupus and Multiple Sclerosis, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease that have exploded over the past thirty years since the introduction of aspartame in the summer of 1981.
The book also contains information and documentation showing that the product’s manufacturers and their friends in the Food & Drug Administration knew the dangers posed by aspartame, yet buried the evidence and released it for public consumption despite the risk. Furthermore, they knowingly marketed it to those research had demonstrated were particularly vulnerable to its harmful effects – diabetics and pregnant mothers. Since that time, adult onset diabetes has more than doubled worldwide, with diabetics dying from the major diseases of civilization at a much higher rate than the average population.
Deaths from Alzheimer’s disease, in which formaldehyde inside the brain destroys memory function, have increased 10,000% since 1981. Neural tube birth defects are up around 70% in the same period of time despite efforts to compensate with recommended folic acid.
Dr. Monte has decades of experience in food science and nutrition as a researcher, teacher, inventor, industry consultant and consumer advocate who is committed to food additive safety and the prevention of food borne diseases. He is a dedicated scientist with both a Ph.D. and M.S. in Food Science and Nutrition and a B.S. in Biology. He has been a Registered Dietician, Certified Nutrition Specialist AIN, professional member of the American Chemical Society and emeritus member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1985, he was chosen by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars as a Senior Fulbright Scholar. His testimony before Congress was instrumental in the prevention of Sulfites from receiving status of US FDA GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) and the implementation of mandatory labeling for most foods that contain this dangerous additive. More information about Dr. Monte and his work can be found on his website: www.WhileScienceSleeps.com.
ok #1.. I am confused by the post above me. #2, I am hitting the gym after reading this, #3 Nice post!!
ReplyDeleteThe point that is most important to understand is that Dr. Monte's research shows that aspartame (which is in diet sodas and all chewing gum), canned fruits and vegetables, smoking, and tomatoes CAUSE Alzheimer's.
ReplyDelete