About 955,900 Canadians are expected to have dementia by the year 2030. So, how can functional medicine therapies with IV therapy from Toronto help lower cognitive decline risks? 

An integrative clinic like the TFMC can help improve your awareness of cognitive risk factors; in turn, this could hold a special function in personally preventing or delaying dementia. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that dementia is one of the reasons behind death and disability in seniors around the world. Thus, improving cognition is something to consider as we age, especially for maintaining daily functioning and reducing unwanted aging effects. 

With that, modifying some lifestyle, diet, and usage of certain substances could possibly impact your future brain function and health goals. We discuss dementia facts, optimal nutrients that may promote prevention and health benefits, and what we do in our functional medicine IV Lounge. 

Understanding dementia and its causes

• • Dementia is increasing among Canadian seniors; but approximately 3% of Canadians under the age of 65 have it. 
  • Dementia describes conditions that involve a decline in brain function, such as reducing mental clarity and being unable to complete daily activity tasks (i.e. planning). One example is Alzheimer’s disease, which starts out with mild memory issues and may lead to being incapable of conversing with others or reacting to environmental triggers (i.e.  heavy metal toxicity). 
  • It happens when the functioning of nerves (nerve cells) weakens, which can break down connections with other brain cells, prompting nerve cells to die. 
  • Other causes are still being researched, but scientists speculate it’s related to atypical brain proteins or reduced blood to the brain. 
  • Risk factors include: 
    • Hypertension, high blood sugar levels 
    • Obesity, sedentary living (i.e. lack of physical activity)
    • Reaching age 65+
    • Smoking, drinking excessive alcohol
    • Social isolation
    • Low mood 

Dementia affects people differently, as individuals could have other health conditions obstructing optimal health. If your memory has been “off” lately, you should know that proactively strengthening your wellness with a wholesome lifestyle can help nurture brain health. This may include addressing some chief health concerns, such as alleviating nutrient deficiencies, reducing blood sugar levels, curbing chronic inflammation and supporting an intake of major antioxidants, essential nutrients, and more. 

Promoting prevention with vital nutrients

Some dementia risk factors involve whole-body inflammation. So, a functional medicine healthcare provider would likely recommend nutritional changes and gastrointestinal support to instigate beneficial effects with anti-inflammatory components. 

In our private downtown clinic, we would recommend functional medicine lab tests at your complete diagnostic session. We may suggest a personalized nutritional assessment, which looks out for nutritional biomarkers. We can also conduct an organic acids test (OAT) to quantify irregular organic acids, toxins, and oxidative stress that can cause inflammation, brain fog, lack of energy, and other cognitive concerns. 

Suggested Reading: Alleviating Brain Fog in Toronto with IV Therapy and Functional Medicine

Once lab results, past medical history/genetics, diet/lifestyle, and environmental exposures have been analyzed, we customize your treatment plan with integrative functional medicine therapies. These may include IV therapy treatments and/or oral supplementation as adjuvant treatment; doses of nutrients would be tailored for your biology. Some of the recommended supplements may include: 

• • Vitamin D: In a published study from Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, older individuals who took supplemental vitamin D cut their likelihood of developing dementia over 10 years. 

• • Oral glutathione precursors and/or IV glutathione therapy: According to research, low levels of the powerful antioxidant glutathione have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease. But these levels may be boosted with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) supplementation, which helps form glutathione in the body. 

• • Curcumin: This compound has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Studies have shown curcumin to reduce ROS (reactive oxygen species) and help inhibit “…the activity of AP-1, a transcription factor involved in expression of amyloid, which is linked to AD [Alzheimer’s disease],” confirms a paper from the Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology. 

• • NAD precursors: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a coenzyme needed for the human body to thrive. Its precursors have shown promise in helping manage numerous health conditions; in particular, NAD precursors could help preserve cognitive function linked to Alzheimer’s. 
  • Choline: This nutrient creates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter shown to assist with cognition function. Choline could help replenish acetylcholine in dementia patients, as the neurotransmitter tends to be depleted in these individuals.  
  • Omega-3 fatty acids: Low levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in the human body may increase your dementia chances. You may be recommended to take omega-3 supplementation to lessen these shortcomings. 

Some of the key nutrients above are available as vitamin IV therapy (custom-made IV drip) or oral supplements, or only as one or the other in our clinic. Please speak with us to discuss which may be appropriate for you. Note: Vitamin D is only available as vitamin D injections.

If you have malabsorption, vitamin drip therapy or booster shots are advisable for a nutritional deficiency, as they can come without unwanted side effects (i.e. diarrhea). IV drips and booster shots don’t require the digestive tract, which means they provide a complete absorption of nutrients; in fact, amounts of nutrients can be lost with oral supplements. Contact us to start working on preserving your cognition – keep reading, as we have major antioxidants, NAD+, amino acids, intravenous high-dose vitamin C, folic acid, the famous vitamin infusion Myer’s Cocktail, and more safe ingredients on the menu!

About our functional medicine-based IV therapy 

Working towards optimal functioning and healthy longevity can be cumbersome. But our personalized service of health care can tackle the root of your health concerns. Our approach to wellness, along with our tailored-made scientifically formulated IV therapies, can help prevent chronic illness symptoms, while giving you the confidence to make healthy lifestyle decisions. 

We tailor treatment plans for your biology, and intravenous infusion may be applied as adjunct support therapy. Intravenous drips are administered in our IV Lounge, where we freshly compound natural ingredients into IV administration. Intravenous therapy sessions are monitored by our medical doctor, naturopath, registered nurse or nurse practitioner.

When combined with functional medicine programs, a healthy diet and exercise, IV nutrient therapy could help “renovate” your immune function, energy levels and overall wellness. Next to cognitive function, our IV Lounge team can adapt nutritional drips for health issues linked to fatty liver disease, cellular functioning, liver detoxification, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune conditions, skin elasticity, recovery from injuries, menopausal symptoms, alcohol overindulgence, muscle recovery, blood pressure regulation, and more. 

If you have questions about blood testing or hormone testing, or about our multidisciplinary approach to wellness (i.e. allopathic medicine, bio-identical hormone treatments, naturopathy, etc.), let us know! IV therapy from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre, along with lifestyle modifications and integrative therapies, could contribute to an improved quality of life. Request your initial consultation with us today! 

Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. Consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website.

 

References

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Campbell JM. Supplementation with NAD+ and Its Precursors to Prevent Cognitive Decline across Disease Contexts. Nutrients. 2022 Aug 7;14(15):3231. doi: 10.3390/nu14153231. PMID: 35956406; PMCID: PMC9370773.

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“Dementia: Overview” from the Government of Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, modified November 4, 2022, viewed on August 31, 2023. 

“Dementia numbers in Canada” from the Alzheimer Society of Canada, viewed on August 30, 2023. 

Ghahremani, M, Smith, EE, Chen, H-Y, Creese, B, Goodarzi, Z, Ismail, Z. Vitamin D supplementation and incident dementia: Effects of sex, APOE, and baseline cognitive status. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2023; 15:e12404. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12404

Littlejohns TJ, Henley WE, Lang IA, Annweiler C, Beauchet O, Chaves PH, Fried L, Kestenbaum BR, Kuller LH, Langa KM, Lopez OL, Kos K, Soni M, Llewellyn DJ. Vitamin D and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2014 Sep 2;83(10):920-8. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000755. Epub 2014 Aug 6. PMID: 25098535; PMCID: PMC4153851.

Mirmajidi, S., Asghari Jafarabadi, M., Vahid, F., Shivappa, N., Hébert, J. R., & Ebrahimzadeh Attari, V. (2021). The association of dietary patterns with dietary inflammatory index, systemic inflammation, and insulin resistance, in apparently healthy individuals with obesity. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86993-7

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