A couple of weeks ago, I read a research study on Alzheimer's and the plant ashwangandha. Following up on that research I found it had also been proven effective for stress reduction, energy, vitality, anxiety, insomnia, backache and more. I'm always interested in what my readers can grow themselves so I did some more research.

Ashwangandha has a growing season of 200 days in order to mature and produce seeds, too long for areas not in the sub-tropics or tropics unless you have a heated green house. Because of the long growing season, I searched my data base and other resources to see if anything could be grown outside of the subtropic/tropic regions that would have some, or all, of the same effects.

As we age, a substance called amyloid beta (aka brain sludge or B.S.) builds up in our brain cells. Brain sludge is connected with "senior moments," dementia, Alzheimer's and a long list of problems including most of those treated by ashwagandha. One comment on brain sludge read, "It (brain sludge) mucks up your memory, gunks up your neurons and zaps your brain cell energy." Brain sludge isn't necessary, or something that can't be avoided to a large degree. It's a by-product of diet, lack of proper nutrients and the lack of, or incorrect types of, exercise. Poor health is a self-inflicted problem.

My mother suffered from Alzheimer's and she was a sugar junky. She was very sick when we went to visit her. The doctors said she had 6 months to live and if she got out of the hospital she'd have to live in a home for Alzheimer's patients. She was able to recover enough from the severe lung infection and my wife and I took on caregiving. The first thing we did was change her diet, which included eliminating all sugars. As soon as she was able, we got her up and walking. She lived another ten years, was able to balance her own checkbook and do most of her own shopping and cooking. Sugar is a highly addictive substance and when she shopped we had to scrutinize her purchases. If we didn't, she would buy sugar loaded items and mentally she would be right back where she was when we began caregiving her.

Once you have brain sludge, it has to be flushed out and that's not possible if you don't make dietary and lifestyle changes, use some of the items nature has conveniently made available, or all of the above if you want long-term results. But, you have to be patient because natural remedies can take a long time, sometimes as long as it took to develop the problem.

A lot of the information on what I found was done by someone trying to sell you their product. According to the sales information, in order to age with dignity and class you have to buy their product. From my point of view, find out the "secret" ingredient, see if it grows, or can be grown, where you live and, if it does, go plant some.

After wading through a hundred or more pages of research and another 25 or 30 of sales pitch, I finally found what I was looking for: The secret ingredient is: Oregon Grape, Berberis aquifolium, aka Mahonia aquifolium, the shrub type, and Mahonia repens, the creeping or prostrate type. Both varieties of Oregon Grape grow in temperate climate zones. Oregon Grape, and/or the active ingredient berberine, has been used worldwide for centuries to treat more ailments than I have space for. Different parts of the plants are used for different problems. I'll cover Oregon grape and berberine in greater depth in a future article.

Larry R. Miller has been a freelance health and fitness writer since 1982.