The Four Pillars of Brain Longevity with Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa by Wynn Free

In our June 2001 issue on Meditation, Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa granted our writer Wynn Free an interview concerning the use of formerly hidden meditations to create optimal health (see The Meditation Pharmacy).

Now, one year later, Dr. Singh Khalsa returns to share with us some of his breakthrough knowledge on how to protect the brain from premature deterioration and memory loss, and how to slow down or stop the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Wynn: What was your inspiration for starting the Alzheimer's Prevention Foundation?

Dr. Khalsa: My inspiration came from looking at the medical literature of that time. I realized that although there was academic interest in the benefits of various natural modalities as related to Alzheimer's, no one had actually implemented them in a clinical arena. So I was the first to do this.

Wynn: What was the conventional medical approach to Alzheimer's at that time?

Dr. Khalsa: They were doing the same thing that they are now, which is basically looking for the magic bullet — the drug that is going to reverse it.

At the time that I got into it, the idea that you could use the word "prevention" and Alzheimer's in the same sentence was considered ridiculous. But since then there's been a lot of work done, and anything from drinking wine to taking Advil has been linked to the onset of memory loss — so it's gone a long way in ten years.

Wynn: What have you found to be some of the most significant ways that people can help themselves, both with protecting from future problems and remedying problems once they have started? What would be a self-help kind of approach?

Dr. Khalsa: The first thing anyone must recognize is that the brain is flesh and blood like the rest of the body. It's an organ, like the heart. It's not a computer. It's not a piece of wood. It's a living thing.

As an anesthesiologist, I've had the opportunity to view the brain while the person's alive, and it's pulsating, vibrating. Blood is going to it.

By considering the brain as an organ in the body, you discover that there are many things that can be done for it. I refer to the "four pillars of brain longevity," and they are nutrition, physical exercise, stress management (especially through meditation), and supplements and anti-aging hormones.

So if you are seeing the indicators of Alzheimer's, you can go on a program of supplements, better nutrition, and high-nutrient enzymes, with lots of vegetables and fruit, and low-fat protein sources, like soy, for example. You can meditate and decrease stress. You can do cognitive exercises to keep your brain active. And there are certain medications and hormones that are important, like DHEA.

And if you do all these things and pay attention to yourself, not only can you prevent degeneration, but you can regenerate your body, mind, and spirit as your grow older.

Implementation of the "four pillars" can stop and in many cases reverse the effects of Alzheimer's. Also the same modalities can be used as preventives, because — as I believe first and foremost — Alzheimer's in most cases is connected to lifestyle. So even if a person has genes which give a predisposition to Alzheimer's, not everyone with those genes is going to get it — just as not everyone with cancer genes gets cancer.

So there is interaction with the environment. People who may be genetically prone to get Alzheimer's can do things to prevent it.

Wynn: Have you experienced that you can totally reverse Alzheimer's after it's reached a serious state?

Dr. Khalsa: No. I can't reverse it after it's in mid-stage. But scientific research that's been published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that, even at the mid-stage level, by giving high doses of vitamin E you can slow the progression of it.

I have taken patients who are in the earlier stages of Alzheimer's and partially reversed their symptoms and slowed the progression of the illness. There's something called MCI, "mild cognitive impairment," where someone has a dense memory loss. People with MCI don't have the other signs of Alzheimer's, such as difficulty with judgment, but they do have a memory problem. For example, they come to the office, and you talk to them, and when they go back to the parking lot they have a difficult time finding the way they came in. They get lost. That's an example of mild cognitive impairment.

MCI progresses to Alzheimer's disease at a rate of 12 percent per year. And although we haven't done any sophisticated studies on it, we've definitely demonstrated clinically that you can slow the progression of MCI and in many cases reverse it. So people with early-stage Alzheimer's really have a lot of hope that they can slow the progression and reverse the symptoms. Just as with MCI, they can improve their memory and not progress to Alzheimer's.

And we've shown that with someone who has benign "age associated memory impairment" — "benign" meaning that it doesn't progress — we've shown that we can help that person increase their mental energy and their memory.

Wynn: How can people identify if they are experiencing some of these things? What are the symptoms?

Dr. Khalsa: People who are getting older and having cognitive decline have difficulty remembering names when they are introduced to somebody. They have difficulty with numbers. They have difficulty remembering where they put things, and recalling learned information. They can remember old stuff, but they have difficulty with new memories. They forget appointments, and can't bring up previously learned, new information.

Now if you are forgetting where you put your keys, and stuff like that, that's not severe. But if you have age-associated memory impairment and it's progressive, then you should get medical care.

And if you put the keys in the oven, or if you don't remember what the keys are for, or if you're constantly getting lost or being confused and unable to handle your normal responsibilities, and people are noticing that you're having difficulty at work — things like that — then it's something to worry about. You should get medical attention at a facility where you will get some testing and be shown lifestyle approaches to prevent the progression of the illness and reverse the symptoms.

Wynn: At what age would you say someone might be susceptible to these symptoms?

Dr. Khalsa: It depends on how much stress someone is under. Stress and depression make things worse. I've seen significant cognitive decline even in the late twenties and early thirties. But typically, it's not until the fifties.

Wynn: Are there clinical tests that objectively measure cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's?

Dr. Khalsa: You can do testing. You can do something called a "mini mental status exam." You can do what I call a "brain longevity scale," which was developed at New York University under the name "cognitive deterioration scale." You can do MRI scans, PET scans, and CAT scans, and you can even take two days of cognitive testing which will pinpoint cognitive decline consistent with Alzheimer's.

But you can't really tell until a person dies and you look at the brain, because you have to identify two things in the brain: one's called plaques, and the other's called tangles. These are physical changes in the brain's chemistry which indicate Alzheimer's. But they can't be measured while the person is alive.

Wynn: What is the difference in occurrence of Alzheimer's between men and women?

Dr. Khalsa: A lot more women get Alzheimer's than men. First, they live longer. And second, they don't have estrogen, and estrogen is protective. Men, as they age, still make estrogen from their adrenal glands. Women only make estrogen from their ovaries, so they lose all their estrogen as they get older.

Wynn: So if someone believes they have the indicators of memory loss or beginning Alzheimer's, what should they do?

Dr. Khalsa: First of all, they should go see a doctor.

Wynn: Could they get any tips from reading your book Brain Longevity?

Dr. Khalsa: Some people have improved just by reading the book. But I think one should see a holistic practitioner who knows something about the therapeutic approach that I give in that book. Ideally, one should see a neurologist who knows something about it, but most neurologists don't and aren't open to it.

I recommend that people who suspect memory impairment see their regular doctor and get some testing, and then find a holistic practitioner.

Wynn: In Brain Longevity, do you give a particular course of action? Things that people can do for themselves?

Dr. Khalsa: Yes, there is a chart called 40 Days to a Better Brain, and it contains an entire treatment protocol. But I still suggest that people see a practitioner, because the chart is really a menu. You're not supposed to take everything on it. I've had people come to my office with two shopping bags full of vitamins, and they don't really need to do all that.

Wynn: Are holistic practitioners aware of how to deal with memory impairment and Alzheimer's?

Dr. Khalsa: A good percentage know a lot more than they did ten years ago. Many have read my book or heard me speak at a conference. Plus, there are a number of other books on this topic, and it's much more available, appreciated, and understood than it was five years ago.

Wynn: Do you have a personal theory or point of view as to how our spirits work through our brains?

Dr. Khalsa: I do, actually. There's recent research in the field, which is called neuro-theology, where they've used MRI scans to observed what happens in the brain during meditation and prayer. And what they've discovered is that the hippocampus — which is the memory center of the brain — is also a relay station, in that all the impulses go through the hippocampus and are relayed to the other parts of the brain. So when a person meditates, chants, or prays, the impulses go through the hippocampus and then to a lateral part of the brain.

In other words, while a person is having an experience of transcendence, or God, there are indications on the MRI. So I would postulate, although I don't really know the answer, that built-into the design of the brain is that we're supposed to remember that we're spiritual beings after all. Because the memory center is the relay station for spiritual experience.

We often think of ourselves as human beings trying somehow to "plug into" our spirits. Perhaps it's the other way around. Perhaps we're spiritual beings trying to have a human experience. We have to remember that we live in our spirits, not in our bodies.

Wynn: How does prayer connect with all this?

Dr. Khalsa: I don't know, but I suppose that there is a cosmic force in the Universe — the energy called God — and if you tap into it correctly, it can bring you back into the flow and into balance.

On a practical level — the more mundane level — it does affect certain parts of the brain, inducing anything from a basic relaxation response to more advanced healing mechanisms.

I talk a lot about this in my book Meditation as Medicine. Larry Dossey has written extensively about it. No one knows how it works, but my experience of studies that have been done shows that meditation does work. Anyone who has a spiritual bent knows that there's something happening, and anyone who says there's no such thing simply lacks the experience.

I know prayer works. Medical science has only been around for 100 years or so, but prayer and God and consciousness have been around for 25,000 years. And even in the scientific medical literature, there are over 250 studies now proving that the possession of genuine spirituality is consistent with better medical outcomes, less depression, less drug abuse, and a longer life.

When you see the long-term benefits of following a brain longevity program, it's not just that you have a better memory, but also you tap into that spiritual sense of yourself, and develop wisdom — which is the merging of intelligence and experience. It's through this kind of wisdom that people and society as a whole are going to make the world a better place.

Wynn: Is intimacy a positive regarding retardation of the aging process?

Dr. Khalsa: Intimacy, love, community, and support are definitely positive. The McArthur studies show that keeping connected, and service — volunteering — are all life enhancers.

Wynn: Thank you on behalf of the Spirit of Ma'at readership for sharing your experience in all of this.

A Brain Function Test

Are You Experiencing Memory Loss?
Instructions: For each of the following statements, check if the statement is true. Count up the number of checks boxes to get your score.

From time to time, I forget what day of the week it is.

Sometimes when I'm looking for something, I forget what it is that I'm looking for.

My friends and family seem to think I'm more forgetful now than I used to be.

Sometimes I forget the names of my friends.

It's hard for me to add two-digit numbers without writing them down.

I frequently miss appointments because I forget them.

I rarely feel energetic.

Small problems upset me more than they once did.

It's hard for me to concentrate for even an hour.

I often misplace my keys, and when I find them I can't remember putting them there.

I frequently repeat myself.

Sometimes I get lost, even when I'm driving somewhere I've been before.

I often forget the point I'm trying to make.

To feel mentally sharp, I depend upon caffeine.

It takes longer for me to learn things than it used to be.

Write your score here:

If your score is:

12–15 — Your brain is running on empty. You had better see your doctor. You can refuel your brain with foods, vitamins, herbs, yogic exercises, and medicines that make you smarter.

9–12 — Your brain functions are in danger. Check your diet today. You may be able to reduce this cognitive loss with vitamins, brain foods, herbs, and special meditation techniques.

5–8 — Your brain is functioning just fine, but by learning to relax and by eating and drinking smarter, your brain can function at optimal levels.

The above is copyrighted by Dr. Singh Khalsa. It was printed here with his permission from his website Brain-Longevity.com, where you will find instructions, workshops, supplements and mind-body exercises for brain rejuvenation. Also please visit Dr. Khalsa's main website at Meditation-As-Medicine.com