Study Finds Pollutants Behind Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s in Young Brains
Mexico City is like our New Delhi, infamous for air pollution and smog. And a perfect place to conduct a study on environmental pollution. While it is well-known that airborne pollutants reach our lungs and circulation, the evidence of it reaching our brains has so far been rare, as the brain is well protected by mechanisms including the blood-brain barrier. At the same time, earlier research studies had discovered that much like most non-infectious or lifestyle diseases, the common neurological diseases too have a genetic component and a lifestyle component. In other words, some of us may carry the genes to develop dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, much like loaded guns, but the triggers that fire them are lifestyle factors like diet and exercise or environmental factors like pollution. I cover this crucial factor in detail in my new book, ‘The Making of a Superhuman’ .
Now, a new study led by researchers at UK’s Lancaster University, and based on dissecting the brains of deceased persons who were living in Mexico City has revealed a shocking fact. Nanoparticles from air pollutants, which are implicated in Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s, were found in the brain stems of all the dissected brains from Mexico City. But the real shocker from this study was the age of these deceased persons – all of them were young people including many children, which means that the entry of air pollutants begins at an early age and accumulates in the body, including in the brain. But the study points to a ray of hope too – the study didn’t find these neurodegenerative nanoparticles in the brains of people living in other lesser polluted areas. But it is a hope shared by only 10% of the world’s population, as 90% of humanity is living in areas where levels of air pollution exceed World Health Organization’s prescribed limits.
As a biohacker, I find more hope in the fact that only some of us will develop these debilitating neurological diseases, as only some carry the gene mutations for developing these diseases. And even if we carry the gene mutation for Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s or for that matter, genes for a few among hundreds of such lifestyle diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cancer etc, it is possible to prevent them by Personalized Epigenetic Lifestyle Modifications. I head a healthcare startup, Vieroots Wellness Solutions, which offers these Personalized Epigenetic Lifestyle Modifications through an AI powered smartphone app called EPLIMO that is based on a Geno-metabolic Test for over 200 health conditions. It is the first such futuristic personal healthcare solution in India, and one of the pioneering such solutions in the world, for those of us who want to take charge of our health and want to live a superhuman life of healthy longevity and productivity. For more information on such a superhuman life, I welcome you to join an exclusive club, Superhuman Tribe,which Vieroots has formed to share such life-changing biohacks.