Alzheimer's disease

And I just absolutely fell in love with one of these patients.

She was a mom of three in her mid-50s, and she had done what everyone had told her to do, and she had lost the same 30 pounds for the last 30 years, put herself last, and also, um, did cardio and food guide pyramid, and I imaged her brain in her mid-50s, and her brain looked like the beginning of an Alzheimer's patient.

And I don't know about you, but if there's a problem and everybody is saying one thing-

Mm-hmm

This person struggled with obesity and the things that ride with obesity, which we know are metabolic syndrome.

We'll talk about that later because that really is a reflection of muscle.

But diabetes, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, they are thought to ride alongside obesity-

Yep

Alzheimer's is an almost uniformly fatal condition, the third leading cause of death in adults in America.

You know, there's a lot of theories around Alzheimer's and accelerated brain aging, but many of them point to insulin resistance and high blood sugar as one of the hallmarks of accelerated neurocognitive decline.

90% of America's pre-diabetic patients don't know it 'cause you get your annual blood work, you get a pat on the back, "Well, you're not diabetic yet.

Go home and hope for the best." I really reject that in the face of 7.6 million Americans now diagnosed with Alzheimer's, with being pre-diabetic being a huge entree to that event.

I think there are a lot of people that- my age that are dealing with aging parents, and I'm hellbent on turning this around for my mother and to the extent that I can prevent it for other folks, like my kids.

That's a service that I think is well met.

I'm hellbent on getting this message out, that you could rewrite your destiny as it relates to your brain, and you absolutely can do it, and you just need the tools.

In these conditions like Alzheimer's, patients are not losing their memory per se, they're losing access to their memory.

So, so give us the, uh, plot synopsis of this one.

Essentially, this is a story about a gentleman in his early 70s, David, who has been a very high-powered exec, done very well for himself, uh, is divorced, longtime divorced, is, uh, somewhat estranged from his one adult daughter, and he's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

And he decides that he is going to go to Switzerland and go the Digitas, uh, route and, you know, successfully and legally end his life.

And the title comes from, there's a work mate of his who, uh, has been helping David since his diagnosis sort of come to terms with things.

Mm-hmm.

And she started crying, and she was like, "I think I have Alzheimer's."

Oh.

And I was like, again, this is how our family treats things.

I was like, "You're dramatic."

Yeah.

"You don't have Alzheimer's."

Yes.

...

these, you know, four major, we'll just say, destroyers of your health as you age, which are cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, things like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and metabolic dysfunction.

Hormones can protect against all those, regardless of if you're having hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, which I guarantee-

Yeah

They should say, "Uh, uh, uh-uh.

No, no, no.

If we want to prevent cardiovascular disease and bone loss and Alzheimer's," [laughs] or... "then we actually do need to optimize the hormones." So I think...

Am I answering your question right? Like, I do think functional medicine-

You can read the full text of his article on our website, thehub.ca. Our second essay is by Daniel Zechfeld, writing on why Canada should not allow advance consent for medical assistance in dying.

On September 21st, many around the world recognize World Alzheimer's Day, an opportunity to understand Alzheimer's and dementia, raise awareness, and support those who live with dementia.

In Canada, the Alzheimer's Society estimated that as of the beginning of 2025, over 770,000 people were living with dementia.

By 2030, nearly one million Canadians will live with dementia.

But despite days of awareness and efforts to fight the stigma of dementia and Alzheimer's, pro-euthanasia advocates are pushing for easier access to euthanasia for the same people.

The government is facing pressure to permit advance requests, allowing people to die by euthanasia after losing capacity to consent.

Bill S-231, a Senate private member's bill, seeks to allow advance requests.

the federal government's public consultation found widespread support for advance requests in principle, though also many concerns about how they could be implemented safely.

And in return, neighbors did what they could do to help out, especially when her husband Homer, a Korean War veteran, started to experience the early stages of

Alzheimer's.

Also looking out for the Severs was their nephew Frank, who lived on the same property.

And so he was pretty familiar with his aunt and uncle's morning routine.

None whatsoever.

What that notary didn't know is that the uncle had advanced Alzheimer's.

The sister was actively forging the entire thing.

That is just terrifying.

Exactly.

Which brings us right back to that terrifying story you opened the show with.

The sister and the uncle with Alzheimer's.

Right.

I don't want to go over them.

Brain-derived neurotropic factor is huge because it deals with Alzheimer's.

So these are things you can do, practically speaking.

Number three, you guys ready to get convicted? Oh boy.