by Al Sears, MD, CNS

Technology is a gift, and I appreciate all the options we have today that our ancestors could not even imagine.

But there's a price that comes with it.

Toxins from our industrial world are changing the playing field, and one of the most troubling side effects is showing up in my patients at a very young age.

You see, my patients with early-onset dementia have been getting younger and younger.

I used to see the disease start in people in their late 50s. But now I'm seeing more and more patients in their late 40s.

Now, a new study in the Surgical Neurology International journal confirms what I've found. Researchers discovered that people are developing dementia a decade earlier than they did just 20 years ago. (1)

The doctors referring their dementia patients to me aren't sure what's causing the change. But I am. It's the result of our environment.

And the lead researcher of the new study, Colin Pritchard, agrees with me: "The rate of increase in such a short time suggested a silent or even a hidden epidemic, in which environmental factors must play a major part, not just aging,” he was quoted as saying.

Chronic inflammation is the culprit

Today, toxins are everywhere – in the air, in the things we handle, in the household and workplace items we use every day... even in our food and water.

When the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at roughly 2,400 people, it found 215 toxic compounds in their urine and blood. (2)

All these silent irritants create inflammation as your body works to fight them off. Inflammation is an immune response that develops when the body attempts to protect itself from harmful stimuli.

Inflammation isn't always bad. It's the natural defense mechanism our bodies use to protect us.

But continued exposure to toxins causes chronic inflammation, which damages your immune system. And when your immune system breaks down, you become vulnerable to a host of nasty illnesses, including dementia.

Research shows a clear link between inflammation and age-related cognitive decline and risk for dementia. (3)

A natural remedy

A great way for you to protect yourself is a specific form of vitamin E called tocotrienols.

Tocotrienols are potent anti-inflammatory agents that have been shown to directly target inflammatory molecules. (4)

And they also protect the brain. Taking tocotrienol-rich supplements significantly reduces the formation of white matter lesions found in Alzheimer's and dementia patients. (5)

A good way to get the benefits of tocotrientols is to add them to your diet...

My personal favorite source is annatto oil. I first discovered annatto – the extract from the achiote tree – while on a research trip in the Andes Mountains. This substance contains more tocotrienols than any other source, roughly 15 mg per tablespoon.

Palm oil is also a good source of tocotrienols. One tablespoon contains 8 mg.

You can also get tocotrienols from nuts and dark leafy greens. A handful of cashews, almonds or pistachios will provide around 2 mg. And one serving of kale, broccoli or spinach has between 1 and 2 mg of tocotrienols.

Most people can't get enough tocotrienols from their diet, so I recommend supplements...

Make sure you get supplements that contain natural vitamin E – not its synthetic form. Vitamin E in the form of all-rac-alpha-tocopherol-acetate or dl-alpha-tocopherol should be avoided. There are serious questions about their safety and whether your body even recognizes such substances.

I recommend supplementing with 50 mg of tocotrienols per day. Ideally, the purer the tocotrienol, the better. Some vitamin E manufacturers combine tocotrienols and tocopherols, another form of vitamin E. Tocotrienols are far better at fighting inflammation than tocopherols. (6)

Be sure to increase your intake of tocotrienols starting today. They're an extremely effective and inexpensive way to shield your brain from the damage of the poisons that surround us. And unlike most prescription drugs, they come with no nasty side effects.

References:

1. Colin Pritchard, Emily Rosenorn-Lanng. Neurological deaths of American adults (55-74) and the over 75′s by sex compared with 20 Western countries 1989-2010: Cause for concern. Surgical Neurology International, 2015; 6 (1): 123 DOI: 10.4103/2152-7806.161420

2. "Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals,” U.S. CDC 2009

3. Lim A. · Krajina K. · Marsland A.L. Peripheral Inflammation and Cognitive Aging. Mod Trends Pharmacopsychiatry. Basel, Karger, 2013, vol 28, pp 175-187 (DOI:10.1159/000346362)

4. Frank J, et al. Do tocotrienols have potential as neuroprotective dietary factors? Ageing Res Rev,1995.

5. Rink C1,Christoforidis G, Khanna S, Peterson L, Patel Y, Khanna S, Abduljalil A, Irfanoglu O, Machiraju R, Bergdall VK, Sen CK.Tocotrienol vitamin E protects against preclinical canine ischemic stroke by inducing arteriogenesis. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2011 Nov;31(11):2218-30. doi: 10.1038/jcbfm.2011.85. Epub 2011 Jun 15 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21673716.

How To Manage Your Differences And Build A Better Relationship

By Dr. Anne Brennan Malec

Marriage is a complex, ever-evolving relationship that challenges partners to remain active in their efforts to maintain the relationship.

While the components of a healthy relationship - passion, commitment and intimacy – may seem abstract, I have found specific actions through my practice as a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist that couples can do to prioritize their relationship and make it last.

• Continue or learn to communicate well.

We all know to be polite to our bosses at work or strangers we meet, but it is often with those we are closest to that we slip into unhealthy habits of disrespect or inattentive listening. Most likely, at the point in your relationship when you plan to get married, you feel close and communicate well with your partner. It is over time that partners become busier, more distracted or simply make fewer efforts to communicate respectfully and openly with their spouses. But communication is a critical component to a healthy marriage.

Couples must schedule time to check in with each other weekly. This "weekly check-in" may seem less necessary in the early years of marriage, but you will appreciate the habit later when work hours become longer and kids enter the picture. Use this time to coordinate schedules, check in about any issues in the relationship, and take time for each other away from technological distractions (that means no phones or TV in the background).

• Create a budget agreement.

One of the most common areas of newlywed conflict is managing a joint budget. Even if you cohabitate with your partner before marriage, it is unlikely that you pooled all of your resources, and there is a lack of education about shared budgets. But money is important for your personal and relational well-being. Talk with your partner about your financial goals and concerns. Your spouse should be an equal partner in financial decisions.

It is helpful for partners to regularly check in with each other about financial changes and decisions (you can easily incorporate this into your weekly check-ins). I advise couples to set a monthly personal budget – say $500 – that each partner can spend on individual expenses without consulting the other. If a partner wants to make a purchase that goes above the agreed-upon amount, he or she should wait until the other partner is consulted and agrees. By forming healthy spending habits and open communication about finances, partners can avoid one of the most common areas of marital conflict and feel closer as equals.

• Share responsibility for maintaining intimacy.

In the early years of a relationship, intimacy seems to come naturally, so many partners take for granted the importance of actively maintaining a sense of emotional connection. This is not the responsibility of one partner, but a requirement that both spouses maintain an interest in fostering intimacy and keeping tabs on ways the other partner wishes to feel loved and cared for (because this does vary from person to person and over time).

Date nights are a simple way to establish time to reconnect during a busy week, and they are essential in the early years of marriage and beyond. Take turns planning an evening for each other, and do not get trapped in thinking it has to be extravagant. If your lives are incredibly busy that week, find a time to relax at home or try to cook a new meal together. Remember that human beings like novelty, so be willing to try new things together.

• Never be afraid to manage your differences.

If I had to pick one major takeaway for couples considering marriage, it is to ensure that you are able to tell your partner when you are upset with him or her. That way your partner stands a chance of trying to fix the problem. Without this, resentment takes root and will continue to grow over time until it is addressed. This is so important because resentment often underlies any deficit in the previous points I made. It may sound basic, but it is often difficult for partners to place themselves in a vulnerable position where they can voice their concerns about the person closest to them. For couples to manage resentment, it is essential that partners create a safe conversational space where each can be heard and listen without feeling defensive or attacked.

It is inevitable that you will have a different perspective than your partner at some point – whether regarding the family budget, division of household labor, or even the right way to show intimacy. Use any and every opportunity in the early years of marriage to practice talking with each other when one partner is upset with the other. Skills such as empathy, active listening and managing anger and frustration can be learned and need to be regularly utilized in couple conversation.

About Dr. Anne Brennan Malec

by Pam Kanaly

Have you ever been in a situation where someone accused you of being dishonest, deceitful, or underhanded concerning the way you dealt with an issue? Perhaps a former spouse battered your integrity by suggesting that you harbored a hidden agenda or an acquaintance assaulted your character and it caught you completely off guard. None of us likes to be unfairly denounced when we know in our hearts there was no deceit what-so-ever.

So what do we do when the sting won't go away or the other person refuses to mend the conflict? Should we let it fester or follow Jesus' example in how He dealt with injustice? Friend, following Christ's advice always leads to emotional freedom. We can move from that initial shock of accusation into that blessed state of spiritual release. But how?

l. Pursue Your Calling.

God's Word warns in Matthew 5:11: Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. How can we be blessed by God when we're misunderstood, blamed for wrong motives, misquoted, or even ostracized because of our views? We can remember that as followers of Christ we've been called to endure affronts of all shapes and sizes. Yet, we often forget that instruction, finding ourselves stunned when verbal injuries come our way even though Jesus gave us a heads-up in Luke 17: You will have offenses. Therefore, we need to decide beforehand: Will I plant a seed of bitterness when I'm treated unfairly, or will I position myself for a blessing knowing it is God who defends me?

2. Practice Forbearance.

In Ephesians chapter four Paul shares in a rather comical way how we should act when others either get on our nerves, disappoint, or insult us. He states in verse 2, Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love one another. Most of the time when we've been wrongly blamed, the last thing we want to do is be tolerant of that person and practice restraint. After all, wouldn't it be easier to do what comes naturally and just let it rip, retaliating with all our might? Yet God says that responding with gentleness puts us on the high road, the pathway to inner healing and God's expansive favor. Friends, if we believe in God's sovereignty, then we also must believe that God has allowed the offense. And if that's true, then even the worst others do to us serve a higher profit.

3. Protect Your Heart

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4 to stand guard over our hearts, motives, thoughts and desires because out of them flow our actions and words. So how can we place a garrison over these stations in our inner life? We can pray, Oh, Lord, let the truth about this injustice be known and let Your will be done. By praying in this way, we've shifted the focus to God, our Defender, rather than the other person, our accuser. We can give thanks that God is proving His sufficiency in raising us above our rebuke. By thanking God for this situation, we make Him look great. Such a mindset gives the Father glory.

4. Place Your Reputation in God's Hands

We never think about the value of our personal honor when everyone loves us and thinks we're adorable. Yet it becomes an issue when our integrity is at stake, feeling the curtness of someone else's criticism. So what's one to do with the need to set the story straight? I Peter 2:21-23 gives direction to our way of escape: To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.' When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he ENTRUSTED himself to him who judges justly.

I love that "entrusted" word. Its initial meaning is a bank term, suggesting that one make a deposit or place the concern into another's hands and let go. In times of being unreasonably indicted, God invites us to give the altercation to Him and then examine the hidden person of our hearts. Will we retaliate appeasing our emotions, or will we commend to God our hurt as an act of worship? These instances of undeserved unkindness serve as opportunities to demonstrate to the world how a child of God reacts when crushed under an avalanche of false statements.

Friends, if we don't choose well, God just might allow another denunciation to come our way until we choose to handle it His way. I don't know about you, but I'd rather follow God's advice NOW than find myself two weeks down the road deeper ensnared by the same 0l' injustice.

About The Author:

Pam Kanaly co-founded the national single mothers' conference - Survive 'N' Thrive. Pam exudes a God-given passion for seeing women of God know their value in Christ the King. She's the co-founder of Arise Ministries, having been featured on the 700 Club and other national programs.

by Billy Hallowell

A New York woman died last year after making the ultimate sacrifice for her unborn baby girl - delaying cancer treatment and forging on with her pregnancy.

Elizabeth Joice was first diagnosed with a malignant tumor in 2010, though she was declared cancer-free after undergoing surgery and four rounds of chemotherapy.

After clearing that barrier, she and her husband, Max, wanted to start a family, but doctors told her it would be virtually impossible to conceive.

But Joice was a fighter.

Defying the odds yet again, she and her husband announced that she is pregnant in the summer of 2013, offering up unexpected joy to their friends and family.

Just one month later, after that happy event, Joice found out that her cancer had returned.

She and Max were faced with a horrific choice: Abort the child and begin treatment immediately, start treatment and continue the pregnancy - or delay much-needed medical care in an effort to protect the unborn baby girl.

Joice ultimately decided to delay treatment.

"Having a kid was one of the most important things in the world to her," Max told the New York Post. "She said, 'If we terminate the pregnancy and it turns out I can't have a baby [later], I'll be devastated.' She knew this might be her only chance."

While doctors did remove the mass, they weren't able to discern whether the cancer had grown, as Joice couldn't undergo a full-body MRI, the Post reported.

Though she was due in March, doctors delivered baby Lily in January via Cesarean section so that Joice could begin treatment as soon as possible. But it was too late. The cancer spread and Joice's health declined.

"We said our goodbyes. It was like something out of a movie," Max said. "We sat there and cried. We tried to tell stories, talk about all the great things."

Joice died March 9, 2014 with her husband by her side.

Source: LifeSiteNews, theblaze.com

Editor's Note: