Lugavere is an ε4-carrying forum member in his mid-30s who became passionate about AD prevention after his mother was diagnosed in her 50s. He did a ton of research, wrote a NYT bestselling book (Genius Foods), and offers an engaging 19 minute summary of what he has learned here:
Dementia is preventable through lifestyle. Start now.
Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
Re: Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
Thanks for sharing Marc. I've heard Max interviewed and am currently reading his book Genius Foods. He's done a lot of research, talked to a lot of folks in the know and is very well spoken. I look forward to watching this.
-Theresa
ApoE 4/4
ApoE 4/4
Re: Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
That was a great talk - thank you for sharing it. Nothing new, but it's always good to hear from another voice.
I've often wondered if the government will ever get sued for their faulty food pyramid which shortened millions of lives and likely strongly increased the number of people with dementia in this country. The ADA and AHA etc. are all slowly backing down from their recommendations for whole grains and hoping that no one notices.
I've often wondered if the government will ever get sued for their faulty food pyramid which shortened millions of lives and likely strongly increased the number of people with dementia in this country. The ADA and AHA etc. are all slowly backing down from their recommendations for whole grains and hoping that no one notices.
Re: Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
I'm not quite sure how to begin this, except to say that I found this Ted Talk riddled with problems, starting with Lugavere's title which is "Dementia is Preventable Through Lifestyle. Start Now." Even the Ted folks have a caveat for his talk:
"NOTE FROM TED: Please do not look to this talk for medical advice. We've flagged this talk for falling outside TEDx's curatorial guidelines. This talk represents the speaker’s personal views and experiences with nutrition, mental health, and human biology. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers...."
Let's please, please just be honest in what we know and do not know. We do NOT know what causes Alzheimer's, or e.g. whether amyloid plagues are the cause or the result of AD. We should always insist on the Carl Sagan standard that, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". Even the letter that Lugavere flashes up on the Ted screen doesn't fit with the surety of what he says. When you look up the actual letter in its entirety, the scientists make statements like, "We propose that a concerted effort be made to discover modifiable risk factors for dementia and to exploit those already identified" and “Taking immediate action on the known risk factors could perhaps prevent up to one-fifth of predicted new cases by 2025”. They use key words like "discover" and "could perhaps", which are words that suggest possibility and not certainty.
Believe me, as a homozygous APOE4, I want to believe as well, and I actually follow most of the lifestyle changes that Lugavere suggests. However, we have to be careful when looking for reassurance and hope, and always alert for confirmation bias. Declarative statements and titles sound like answers, and some answers sound pretty darn comforting when you have one or two APOE4 alleles. I do get it. I also want comfort, hope, order, and certainty, but I don't want those at the expense of reason and good science.
"NOTE FROM TED: Please do not look to this talk for medical advice. We've flagged this talk for falling outside TEDx's curatorial guidelines. This talk represents the speaker’s personal views and experiences with nutrition, mental health, and human biology. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers...."
Let's please, please just be honest in what we know and do not know. We do NOT know what causes Alzheimer's, or e.g. whether amyloid plagues are the cause or the result of AD. We should always insist on the Carl Sagan standard that, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". Even the letter that Lugavere flashes up on the Ted screen doesn't fit with the surety of what he says. When you look up the actual letter in its entirety, the scientists make statements like, "We propose that a concerted effort be made to discover modifiable risk factors for dementia and to exploit those already identified" and “Taking immediate action on the known risk factors could perhaps prevent up to one-fifth of predicted new cases by 2025”. They use key words like "discover" and "could perhaps", which are words that suggest possibility and not certainty.
Believe me, as a homozygous APOE4, I want to believe as well, and I actually follow most of the lifestyle changes that Lugavere suggests. However, we have to be careful when looking for reassurance and hope, and always alert for confirmation bias. Declarative statements and titles sound like answers, and some answers sound pretty darn comforting when you have one or two APOE4 alleles. I do get it. I also want comfort, hope, order, and certainty, but I don't want those at the expense of reason and good science.
4/4. Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
Re: Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
Enjoyed that a millennial is stepping up to spread information about prevention of dementia. Even if it is not scientifically factual. If there is ever a pharmaceutical success and we are honest about all the research and testing necessary to get there, it is unlikely that any of us will still be around to benefit. This leaves us with prevention, and developing our community of support. So where he may fall short in some areas, he is certainly speaking with hope, determination, and heart. And for every 4/4, 3/4, 3/3 millennial out there who begin to open their minds to a lifestyle that may prevent the onset of dementia or a better understanding of something they are experiencing with 45 and older friends and relatives that they can't quite understand, this talk is valuable, a good thing.
Re: Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
PBW, I appreciate the fact that a millennial is stepping up as well, and my heart goes out to Lugavere with his mother's early dementia. I have been there, and know that gut wrenching pain, as well as the gnawing fear for oneself. But respectfully, I disagree, when you say "Even if it is not scientifically factual."
You can have heart and soul, promote an idea, and still be honest and wary about drawing direct causal connections. One should not be footloose with facts, and pretend to know more than one actually knows. This is after all, what intellectual integrity is, and when one goes into a public forum like a Ted Talk the bar should be high.
You can have heart and soul, promote an idea, and still be honest and wary about drawing direct causal connections. One should not be footloose with facts, and pretend to know more than one actually knows. This is after all, what intellectual integrity is, and when one goes into a public forum like a Ted Talk the bar should be high.
4/4. Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
Re: Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
Interesting discussion! Indywoman, aside from overstating the prevention angle, I’d appreciate if you would share a few other missteps from your perspective. I often find myself tripping on semantics using words like “prevention” vs. “reducing risk” or “delaying onset.”
I looked into other like-minded talks, like Dr. Wahl’s “Minding your Mitochondria” and found the same standard warning. Then, I specifically identified vegans giving similar talks- absolutely no warnings on any of them. I wish I had the time to evaluate each against the evidence to see if there’s a bit of bias from the TED folks...
I looked into other like-minded talks, like Dr. Wahl’s “Minding your Mitochondria” and found the same standard warning. Then, I specifically identified vegans giving similar talks- absolutely no warnings on any of them. I wish I had the time to evaluate each against the evidence to see if there’s a bit of bias from the TED folks...
Re: Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
Julie, the Tedx guidelines are given at:
http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/ted ... elines.pdf
I do not have time again to go through the entire 19 minute Tedx Talk by Lugavere , but I quickly watched just the first six minutes once more and here are problematic, scientifically unsubstantiated claims in just six minutes.
In short in these first minutes he claims that dementia really isn’t an old person’s disease. However, most scientists agree that the two most significant non-modifiable risk factors for AD are advancing age and genetics.
Lugavere says that 109 scientists stated very plainly In a letter that “we had enough evidence, starting in 2014 to say that dementia and Alzheimer’s is a preventable disease”. Actually, the 109 scientists asked for “governments of the G8 countries to make prevention of dementia one of their major health claims.” They also said in the letter that, “we call upon the Health Ministers of the G8 countries to greatly increase government funding for research on the prevention of dementia.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef7d/3 ... de931c.pdf
Lugavere also cites the Ibadan, Nigeria study and then says, “In other words, if you live in the United States and are genetically at risk, you might move to Ibadan, Nigeria and see that risk disappear.” We have gone over that study on this site, noting that the study was done in 2003 , conclusions reached in that study have not been born out in the larger Yoruba population, etc.
He also says that “we do have enough information to say that today for a significant proportion of people, it (AD) is a potentially preventable disease.” My problem is that he never defines words like “significant” or “enough information” and where he got that information. Actually, in the scheme of things, we are just beginning the difficult process of sorting out the role of genetics/APOE status, and age, then pairing those with the role of factors like socioeconomic status, gender, education, etc. and then pairing each of those with lifestyle changes. There is not a straight definitive, verifiable causal line. Of course reducing stress, getting more sleep, lowering one's blood pressure, and eating more healthily and controlling weight are good for many 21st century illnesses!
So, statements like Lugavere's, may give hope, but they aren’t good science (see pdf at the beginning of this post) and this is probably why the Tedx folks put on the disclaimer.
http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/ted ... elines.pdf
I do not have time again to go through the entire 19 minute Tedx Talk by Lugavere , but I quickly watched just the first six minutes once more and here are problematic, scientifically unsubstantiated claims in just six minutes.
In short in these first minutes he claims that dementia really isn’t an old person’s disease. However, most scientists agree that the two most significant non-modifiable risk factors for AD are advancing age and genetics.
Lugavere says that 109 scientists stated very plainly In a letter that “we had enough evidence, starting in 2014 to say that dementia and Alzheimer’s is a preventable disease”. Actually, the 109 scientists asked for “governments of the G8 countries to make prevention of dementia one of their major health claims.” They also said in the letter that, “we call upon the Health Ministers of the G8 countries to greatly increase government funding for research on the prevention of dementia.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef7d/3 ... de931c.pdf
Lugavere also cites the Ibadan, Nigeria study and then says, “In other words, if you live in the United States and are genetically at risk, you might move to Ibadan, Nigeria and see that risk disappear.” We have gone over that study on this site, noting that the study was done in 2003 , conclusions reached in that study have not been born out in the larger Yoruba population, etc.
He also says that “we do have enough information to say that today for a significant proportion of people, it (AD) is a potentially preventable disease.” My problem is that he never defines words like “significant” or “enough information” and where he got that information. Actually, in the scheme of things, we are just beginning the difficult process of sorting out the role of genetics/APOE status, and age, then pairing those with the role of factors like socioeconomic status, gender, education, etc. and then pairing each of those with lifestyle changes. There is not a straight definitive, verifiable causal line. Of course reducing stress, getting more sleep, lowering one's blood pressure, and eating more healthily and controlling weight are good for many 21st century illnesses!
So, statements like Lugavere's, may give hope, but they aren’t good science (see pdf at the beginning of this post) and this is probably why the Tedx folks put on the disclaimer.
4/4. Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
Re: Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
Indywoman, thank you for taking the time to expound. I agree that the use of precise language is so important in this arena so as not to provide false hope. Your comments are very timely for me as I’m preparing for a panel discussion to be held at the World Alliance meeting in SFO focused on Healthcare Game Changers: Innovations in Science, Policy, & Business for Healthy Aging.
Re. my hypothesis that the TEDtalk series may have some bias, check out this talk by Dr. Neal Barnard. I only made it through the first 6 mins, but I saw many similar exaggerations behind his claims that don’t adhere to the “good science” policy. There was no warning provided with Dr. Bernard's talk.
Re. my hypothesis that the TEDtalk series may have some bias, check out this talk by Dr. Neal Barnard. I only made it through the first 6 mins, but I saw many similar exaggerations behind his claims that don’t adhere to the “good science” policy. There was no warning provided with Dr. Bernard's talk.
Re: Max Lugavere Talk: TEDx Venice Beach
I don't doubt that you are factually correct and I am fine to agree to disagree. I think I watch it with a different perspective. Remembering when I was in my 30's and would educate myself with the most recent science or what I thought was the most recent. I never was invited to Ted Talks but often shared my knowledge and opinion with others, only to discover later that the research was faulty or replaced with newer research. I appreciate your attention to detail and appreciate the energy he has extended toward opening minds and eyes to AD and the possibilities available that we know and are to be in the future.
