One thing I have seen over the years is that nearly everyone who has lost a parent to Alzheimer’s disease is terrified that they may develop the same condition as they age.
So it may be heartening to learn that the U.S. just approved the first blood test for Alzheimer’s. According to Yale Medicine, the test is expected to become available in laboratories starting this month, and will require a physician’s order.
It measures the ratio of two proteins in your blood – tau and amyloid. These are the two foremost indicators of the disease.
The question is, what should you do if the results of this test say that you or someone you love are headed toward dementia. Worse, what options do you have if the blood test indicates someone already has the disease.
Is There a Drug that Cures Alzheimer’s Disease?
There is no question that a mainstream physician will pull out a prescription pad in an effort to “cure” or “control” your symptoms.
After all, we’ve seen many drugs introduced in attempts to halt and reduce Alzheimer’s disease over the past several years.
Patients and families are clamoring for them. And I would love to tell you that each and everyone of them works, but they don’t.
Sure, they’ll stop the decline a little bit… maybe. But not for long.
Here’s the deal…
Amyloid and tau are NOT the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, the three main threats to your brain health are hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, and low level circulating viral infections – the most common being the herpes virus.
The brain reacts to this onslaught of high insulin, high glucose and viral load by creating shields of plaque to protect itself. (Yes, those plaques are protective!)
You can take a drug to reduce the accumulation of plaque, but guess what happens next?
If you do not address the underlying cause of these protein build-ups, they will simply reengage. The wall of plaque will immediately start rebuilding itself.
So these drugs minimally reduce brain plaques, but then the plaques start revamping to protect the brain from further harm. It’s a no win situation.
It’s All About Your Choices!
Up until a few years ago (and for many years before that), Alzheimer’s dementia was labelled as type 3 diabetes.
Mainstream physicians often forget that. They might not ever have been informed about it. But it is a fact.
Thus, the key to beating Alzheimer’s is to control the factors that influence it.
Control diabetes and other metabolic dysfunction, including insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. This is going to involve avoiding those unhealthy carbs and fats, limiting red meat consumption, watching out for added sugars and staying away from processed foods.
Instead, a diet filled with fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, beans, seeds, wild-caught fish, pastured poultry and limited grass-fed beef will go a long way toward reducing metabolic disorders.
Eating a healthy, plant-based diet also helps reduce inflammation that can activate the herpes virus.
Silence the herpes virus. There are two amino acids that are crucial when it comes to silencing (or activating) the herpes virus.
The first, L-lysine works to prevent activation and replication of herpes. The other one, L-arginine works just the opposite. It tends to stimulate the virus.
But this doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to cut arginine out of your diet and load up on lysine. That’s because your body needs arginine to build protein, heal wounds, remove toxic waste from your body and support arterial health.
So more than anything, it’s a matter of balance.
Simply put, all you need to do is ensure that your lysine intake is higher than your arginine intake. And it’s not nearly as complicated as you might think it sounds.
There are many foods that contain both nutrients, but with a ratio favoring lysine. These include…
- Fruits like papaya, mango, apricot, apple, pear, fig, avocado and pineapple.
- Tomatoes, turnips, celery, summer squash and green beans also have a good lysine/arginine ratio. Greens, such as spinach, kale, turnip greens and endive have about equal amounts of lysine and arginine.
- Most fish, including salmon, mackerel and sardines.
- Poultry and, to a slightly lower extent, beef.
Some foods that favor arginine include nuts, seeds, mushrooms, wheat products, coconut, green onions, cucumbers and oatmeal.
But that doesn’t mean you have to avoid these foods. They have health benefits of their own. As long as you get enough lysine to displace the arginine (they compete for the same space in your body) you can avoid reactivating the virus. I recommend supplementing with 1,500 mg of lysine daily.
In the meantime, don’t forget how important it is to maintain a healthy body weight and engage in moderate physical activity on a regular basis!
SOURCES:
FDA Clears First Blood Test Used in Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease. US Food and Drug Admin. Press Release. May 2025.
FDA Approves First Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Disease. Yale Medicine. News Release. June 2025.
Tian Y, Jing G, Zhang M. Insulin-degrading enzyme: Roles and pathways in ameliorating cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. Ageing Res. Rev. 2023;90:101999.
Mullins RJ, Diehl TC, Chia CW, Kapogiannis D. Insulin Resistance as a Link between Amyloid-Beta and Tau Pathologies in Alzheimer’s Disease. Front Aging Neurosci. 2017 May 3;9:118.
Stanciu GD, Bild V, Ababei DC, Rusu RN, Cobzaru A, Paduraru L, Bulea D. Link Between Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease due to the Shared Amyloid Aggregation and Deposition Involving both Neurodegenerative Changes and Neurovascular Damages. J Clin Med. 2020 Jun 3;9(6):1713.
Goldhardt O, Freiberger R, Dreyer T, Willner L, Yakushev I, Ortner M, Förstl H, Diehl-Schmid J, Milz E, Priller J, Ramirez A, Magdolen V, Thaler M, Grimmer T. Herpes simplex virus alters Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers – A hypothesis paper. Alzheimers Dement. 2023 May;19(5):2117-2134.
Nguyen TT, Ta QTH, Nguyen TKO, Nguyen TTD, Giau VV. Type 3 Diabetes and Its Role Implications in Alzheimer’s Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Apr 30;21(9):3165.
Pedrazini MC, da Silva MH, Groppo FC. L-lysine: Its antagonism with L-arginine in controlling viral infection. Narrative literature review. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2022 Nov;88(11):4708-4723.
