A Cure for Alzheimer's!
Joey Moncarz
Of course there IS a cure for Alzheimer's and dementia. But you're not going to like it. It will probably be considered “too difficult.” Also, it's not a pill, a shot in your arm, or a wheatgrass smoothie, which are our favorite kinds of cures. No pharmaceuticals needed, no surgeries, nothing that makes CEOs richer, nothing that requires university degrees, or “expert” scientists. It will not make anyone any money. In fact, it will make all money meaningless. That's why no one talks about it. That's why there's no commercials for it on TV. (Don't you know how the “cure-industry” works?) But I'm telling you, there is a cure.
The cure is simply to get rid of the cause.
And the cause is civilization.
Now, I know what you're thinking: “Oh, there he goes again, blaming civilization for everything! Blaming it for that pimple on his nose, blaming it for his girlfriend dumping him, and now blaming it for Alzheimer's!” But it's true, civilization is usually to blame for everything negative. (If we were hunter-gatherers, my girlfriend would have loved the fact that I collected grubs to eat and sat around a campfire all day in my underwear.)
But civilization really is the cause of Alzheimer's, so hear me out. Alzheimer's is just one of the “diseases of civilization,” along with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, obesity, mental illness, and yes, pimples. (Carrera-Bastos 2011; Clatici, et al 2018) Civilization is also the cause of our many infectious diseases, nearly all of which originated in animals. (Carrington 2020; Scott 2018) Civilization is the reason malaria spread so widely – and continues to spread. (Asenso-Okyere, et al 2009; Shah, et al 2019) Civilization is the reason our teeth get so many cavities, why we get gum disease, and why teeth are crooked. (Kahn and Erhlich 2019; Nagel 2010) Civilization (and agriculture) is also the reason the human brain has shrunk ten percent in just the last 10,000 years. (Hennenberg 1998) Thus, all of these human ailments can also be eliminated by getting rid of civilization. You hear that teenagers? Get rid of civilization, and say goodbye to pimples! It's a win-win!
Domestication = Brain Shrinkage
Let's talk about domestication and brains. Civilization is based on the domestication of plants and the domestication of animals. And the fact is, domestication leads to the shrinkage of all domesticated animals' brains. Cow brains are 30% smaller than their wild ancestors. Domesticated cats have 30% smaller brains. Dog brains are 30% smaller than wolf brains. Domesticated pigs have 35% smaller brains. Same for domesticated sheep, goats, chickens, geese, ducks, guinea pigs, gerbils, rats, llamas, horses, donkeys, and camels. (Kruska 1988) They're tamer, more docile, and while very cute and lovable, also dumber.
And just as we domesticated all these other animals, we also inadvertently domesticated ourselves. You didn't think you could lock up cows in paddocks and not also lock up yourself, did you? For example, once we locked up cows, our lives became based on the needs of the cows. Fences for cows also meant fences for humans. We woke up to milk them, we herded them around, we thought about potential predators, we focused on where to find good grazing – thus, our entire mindset became focused to reflect the needs of the domesticated cow, and our lifestyle mirrored our new focus.
We also see this with pets, especially dogs. Once we get a dog, our lives and thinking are, in part, based on the needs and thinking of our dog. We have to walk it once or twice a day, provide food and water, arrange the house to suit the dog, and consider the dog when going on holiday or when having guests. Domestication is a two-way street. That's why dog owners often start to look like their dogs.
And then, of course, we were consciously domesticated. The elite, kings and queens, governments, and religious leaders have always wanted a population as obedient and passive as possible. Since the first civilizations, they used poor diets, draconian regimes, constant wars, slavery, debt, prisons, and religions to pacify us. The more rebellious humans were often purposely killed – the elite did not want them to reproduce! More recently the elite have added police, schools, pharmaceutical drugs, modern technology, and the media, to control and pacify us, with the aim of making us as dumb and obedient as possible. All this is another way of saying that the point of civilization has been to weaken our brains.
From the moment civilizations began, it was bad news for our brains, and Alzheimer's is just one result.
Civilized Diets
There are many aspects of civilization that contribute to causing Alzheimer's. First of all, civilized diets have always been extremely unhealthy. Civilized diets are extremely different to the hunter-gatherer diets that we evolved to eat. This is important because genetically, we're still hunter-gatherers:
...the profound changes in diet and lifestyle that occurred after the Neolithic Revolution (and more so after the Industrial Revolution and the Modern Age) are too recent on an evolutionary time scale for the human genome to have fully adapted.
In fact, despite various alleles being targets of selection since the Agricultural Revolution, most of the human genome comprises genes selected during the Paleolithic Era in Africa, a period that lasted from about 2.5 million years ago to 11,000 years ago. (Carrera-Bastos 2011)
Specifically, the civilized diet has low variety, relying primarily on wheat, corn, rice, and other cereal grains, which are low in nutrition. The industrial diet is extremely high in sugar, processed cereals, other highly-processed foods, processed milk, food additives, and processed vegetable oils, all of which are extremely unhealthy and cause all of the diseases of civilization. These are often accompanied by alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs, further stressing our bodies. Alzheimer's is considered to be just one result of the chronic inflammation caused by our diets. (Berman 2021; Gaio 2022; Ilich et al, 2014) Inflammation is the body's attempt to remove pathogens and fight off infections and is fine for short periods. Now, however, our bodies are under constant assault.
Pollution and Toxins
In addition to poor diets, there is an unending assault on our bodies and brains from environmental pollutants. These include the pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides sprayed on our food, lawns, public parks, and inside our homes and workplaces. It includes the toxic gases and particles spewed out by automobiles, airplanes, refineries, and factories. It includes the thousands of other toxic chemicals and known neuro-toxins used by industry and endlessly released into the air, water, and land. Air pollution is known to kill millions of people a year, and cause numerous diseases, including Alzheimer's. (Budson 2020; Fuller 2022; PA Media 2022) These toxins in the air already predispose newborn babies to Alzheimer's. (Calderón-Garcidueñas 2018) The onslaught of environmental toxins include civilization's two thousand years of using mercury and lead, two extremely powerful toxins known to damage the brain, and that are still widely used and spewed into the air, land, and our drinking water. It includes the many heavy metals contaminating the land, water, all our food, and even in baby food. It includes the toxins in food packaging and cooking utensils. It includes the toxins in food, dental fillings, vaccines, and nearly all pharmaceutical drugs. It includes toxins released by your computers,tablets, and other electronic gadgets.
It also includes the enormous amount of radiation from cell phone towers, 5G satellites, cordless telephones, baby monitors, WiFi routers, microwave ovens, and medical x-rays. Wireless radiation has been shown to weaken the blood-brain barrier, thus allowing toxins to invade and damage the brain. (Ketcham 2010; Sage and Carpenter 2007, 2008) Sage and Carpenter (2008) review just how damaging wireless radiation is:
The effects are both short-term (sleep disruption, hormone disruption, impairment of cognitive function, concentration, attention, behavior, and well-being) and they are almost certainly long-term (generational impacts on health secondary to DNA damage, physiological stress, altered immune function, electrosensitivity, miscarriage risks, effects on sperm quality and motility leading to infertility, increased rates of cancer, and neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and ALS—at least for ELF exposures)...
A number of different effects on the central nervous system have also been documented, including activation of the endogenous opioid systems, changes in brain function including
memory loss, slowed learning, motor dysfunction and performance impairment in children, and increased frequency of headaches, fatigue and sleep disorders.
Lack of exercise
Besides these external causes, our lifestyles also contribute to Alzheimer's and dementia. First of all, we barely get enough exercise. We sit in front of screens, sit in cars, and sit at work. Excessive siting increases the risk of all of the diseases of civilization, including Alzheimer's and dementia. (Ekelund et al 2016; Katella 2019; Siddarth et al 2018; University of California 2018) The lack of exercise results in a chronic lack of oxygen to the brain. We don't get enough exercise and we certainly don't get enough outdoor exercise, which is far healthier, for both our bodies and our minds. The indoor, sedentary nature of school and work not only makes it more likely that we will develop any of a number of chronic illnesses, but it also deadens our senses and our brains.
Not Using our Brains
In general, we just don't use our brains very much anymore. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle required enormous brain power. Cultures based on the oral tradition require enormous brain power. Those were skill-intensive cultures, whereas ours is a labor-intensive culture. And labor generally requires little mental effort. Very little brain power is required for most jobs. Factory work is repetitive, and office work is deadening. Sitting in a school classroom is often torture. Watching TV and movies requires no mental effort. And that's just the way the elite want us: dumb and easy to control.
Modern technology also makes us dumber. The fact that all knowledge is available at the click of a button means we don't have to remember anything. In fact, screen use damages memory. (Carr 2020) The use of screen technologies is shortening our attention spans, making it harder for us to focus, to think, and to learn. All our modern technologies are made to make things easier, which just means we get dumber and weaker. GPS on our phones means we lose spatial and navigating intelligence. Using a calculator for simple arithmetic and relying on a spell-checker are other examples. And just like with all our other muscles, if we don't use them, they get weaker. The more we don't use our brains, the weaker they get.
Shitloads of Stress
On top of all that, the civilized life is full of endless stress. School stresses us, work stresses us, money matters stress us, lack of leisure time stresses us, our parents stress us, our annoying wife or husband stresses us, Covid-19 stresses us, our health stresses us, driving stresses us, feeling like life is meaningless stresses us, the worsening state of the world stresses us, the dog peeing on the carpet stresses us, and the thought of growing old and getting Alzheimer's stresses us. We're always stressed. This chronic stress actually changes the brain. It kills brain cells and causes the brain to shrink. (Ah, another reason our brains are shrinking!) It makes us less sociable and more irritable. It makes us more likely to develop a mental illness. It weakens memory and learning. It causes brain inflammation. And it makes us more sensitive to stress, creating a vicious feedback loop. And finally, it should be no surprise that chronic stress predisposes us to getting Alzheimer's and dementia. (Nield 2021; Sanders 2014; Stomby, et al 2016; Thomas, et al 2007)
And don't think for a minute that pre-industrial civilized life was any less stressful. Most people were either slaves, indentured servants, working 12-14 hour days to be able to pay taxes to the land owner, the feudal lord, or whatever you want to call that demented class of people. The majority of people were almost always either starving, one bad harvest away from starvation, and they rarely ever could afford to eat meat. They were routinely conscripted to fight in wars in which they were nearly always killed or horribly maimed. There was always the risk of their own land being invaded by an army, in which case their house would be burned, they might be killed, the women would be raped, and all their food would be stolen. There were widespread infectious diseases which no one had any idea how to explain or how to treat. And the religious leaders convinced them that it was all their fault and that they should just accept it all and wait until they die.
Lack of Sleep
Finally, we just don't sleep enough. One of the reasons we don't sleep enough is because we're always stressed, which makes it harder to sleep. The other reason we don't sleep enough is because we work long hours, and then often go home and sit in front of a screen for long hours (which further weakens our brains), or find various ways to “unwind” for whatever hours we have left (often in ways which also weaken our brains.) The lack of sleep weakens our immune systems, can give us digestive problems, makes diabetes more likely, makes us more irritable, causes mood changes, raises the risk of accidents, raises the risk of heart disease, weakens our memory, and overall just fucks with our entire bodies and brains. And finally, yes, a lack of sleep makes us more likely to get Alzheimer's and dementia. (Shokri-Kojori 2018; “Sleep” 2007)
The Cause: Civilization
As we can see, civilization is the cause not only of Alzheimer's, but many other diseases and pretty much all your troubles. And just in case you think that hunter-gatherers didn't suffer these disease because they didn't live long enough, you're wrong – they did live long enough. Hunter-gatherers have been found to commonly live to their early-to-late 70s. (Gurven and Kaplan 2007) This is not to say that no one ever got sick among hunter-gatherers. While they did not suffer from these diseases of civilization, they did have their own health challenges (like intestinal parasites and hungry hyenas), and they did age like all animals do.
However, what is more important is that they spent very little time “working” for food, they had enormous amounts of leisure time, they had varied and healthy diets, they were strong, they lived in egalitarian communities, their children had happy childhoods, they looked after their elderly, they felt a deep connection with the natural world, all of life was full of meaning, chronic stress was unknown, and their lifestyle was the most sustainable way of life humans have ever known.
Compared to the success of the hunter-gatherer way of life, civilization has been a complete and total failure. Of course, it never tried to be healthy or beneficial or sustainable, so let's not delude ourselves. On the other hand, if our criteria is destruction, disease, and misery, civilization is far, far superior.
The Many Health Benefits of Ending Civilization
Ending civilization – or “de-civilizing” the world – not only removes the cause of Alzheimer's, but it also removes all the worst parts of life – poverty, inequality, money, slavery, work, bosses, CEOs, politicians, governments, taxes, armies, war, police, prisons, and everything else you hate, such as your idiotic boyfriend or bitchy girlfriend (male idiocy and female bitchiness also being creations of civilization and domestication.)
De-civilizing also helps to prevent Alzheimer's and dementia by activating your brain and requiring you to think. No need to do crossword puzzles, sudoku, and mahjong, because this is much, much better. After all, it will take a lot of thought and planning to disable, disassemble, and destroy the various aspects and institutions of civilization which cause all our problems, while also avoiding the billionaires and governments who will try to stop us so that they can keep destroying, waging war, and fucking with bat viruses.
De-civilizing the world will also require learning many new skills, and learning new skills is an excellent way to exercise your brain and make it stronger. The skills we'll have to learn include learning how to hunt, learning how to forage, learning traditional medicine based on local plants, making small dwellings from only local materials, non-violent conflict resolution, and generally living within the Earth's limits.
De-civilizing the world will therefore get our bodies back into peak physical shape, while also returning us to healthy diets, and removing all the substances and toxins which hurt our brains.
De-civilizing the world will require that we becoming more social, which is also a very good thing for our brains. (Zhu, et al 2022) Without the anti-social institutions of school, work, and screen technologies, we will once again learn how to interact face to face with others, how to tell stories, and how to enjoy the company of people. De-civilizing the world will also mean a return to the oral tradition – and nothing is better for our brains that relying on passing all of our wisdom and knowledge down to younger generations based only on what we can remember. All these will strengthen our brains and help prevent Alzheimer's. Consider the hunter-gatherer way of life to be the ultimate Alzheimer's cure.
The advantages of de-civilizing the world far outweigh the disadvantages. And failure to de-civilize will only lead to more Alzheimer's and dementia. On our current trajectory, dementia cases are expected to triple by 2050. (Paddock 2013) And don't expect pharmaceutical companies to help you out, either.
Actually, failure to de-civilize the world will mean deforestation will also increase, desertification will increase, fossil fuel use will increase, extreme weather will increase, droughts, wildfires, crop failures, and famines will increase, more and more animal and plant species will be driven to extinction, poverty and inequality will increase, the breakdown of society will accelerate, and life on the planet will become more and more miserable, possibly to the point of human extinction.
The cure for Alzheimer's or any other disease will never come from the elite, governments, pharmaceutical companies, lab scientists, or any corporation. The cure will only come when these institutions no longer exist.
Quick, de-civilize! Before you forget!
References
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The cure is simply to get rid of the cause.
And the cause is civilization.
Now, I know what you're thinking: “Oh, there he goes again, blaming civilization for everything! Blaming it for that pimple on his nose, blaming it for his girlfriend dumping him, and now blaming it for Alzheimer's!” But it's true, civilization is usually to blame for everything negative. (If we were hunter-gatherers, my girlfriend would have loved the fact that I collected grubs to eat and sat around a campfire all day in my underwear.)
But civilization really is the cause of Alzheimer's, so hear me out. Alzheimer's is just one of the “diseases of civilization,” along with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, obesity, mental illness, and yes, pimples. (Carrera-Bastos 2011; Clatici, et al 2018) Civilization is also the cause of our many infectious diseases, nearly all of which originated in animals. (Carrington 2020; Scott 2018) Civilization is the reason malaria spread so widely – and continues to spread. (Asenso-Okyere, et al 2009; Shah, et al 2019) Civilization is the reason our teeth get so many cavities, why we get gum disease, and why teeth are crooked. (Kahn and Erhlich 2019; Nagel 2010) Civilization (and agriculture) is also the reason the human brain has shrunk ten percent in just the last 10,000 years. (Hennenberg 1998) Thus, all of these human ailments can also be eliminated by getting rid of civilization. You hear that teenagers? Get rid of civilization, and say goodbye to pimples! It's a win-win!
Domestication = Brain Shrinkage
Let's talk about domestication and brains. Civilization is based on the domestication of plants and the domestication of animals. And the fact is, domestication leads to the shrinkage of all domesticated animals' brains. Cow brains are 30% smaller than their wild ancestors. Domesticated cats have 30% smaller brains. Dog brains are 30% smaller than wolf brains. Domesticated pigs have 35% smaller brains. Same for domesticated sheep, goats, chickens, geese, ducks, guinea pigs, gerbils, rats, llamas, horses, donkeys, and camels. (Kruska 1988) They're tamer, more docile, and while very cute and lovable, also dumber.
And just as we domesticated all these other animals, we also inadvertently domesticated ourselves. You didn't think you could lock up cows in paddocks and not also lock up yourself, did you? For example, once we locked up cows, our lives became based on the needs of the cows. Fences for cows also meant fences for humans. We woke up to milk them, we herded them around, we thought about potential predators, we focused on where to find good grazing – thus, our entire mindset became focused to reflect the needs of the domesticated cow, and our lifestyle mirrored our new focus.
We also see this with pets, especially dogs. Once we get a dog, our lives and thinking are, in part, based on the needs and thinking of our dog. We have to walk it once or twice a day, provide food and water, arrange the house to suit the dog, and consider the dog when going on holiday or when having guests. Domestication is a two-way street. That's why dog owners often start to look like their dogs.
And then, of course, we were consciously domesticated. The elite, kings and queens, governments, and religious leaders have always wanted a population as obedient and passive as possible. Since the first civilizations, they used poor diets, draconian regimes, constant wars, slavery, debt, prisons, and religions to pacify us. The more rebellious humans were often purposely killed – the elite did not want them to reproduce! More recently the elite have added police, schools, pharmaceutical drugs, modern technology, and the media, to control and pacify us, with the aim of making us as dumb and obedient as possible. All this is another way of saying that the point of civilization has been to weaken our brains.
From the moment civilizations began, it was bad news for our brains, and Alzheimer's is just one result.
Civilized Diets
There are many aspects of civilization that contribute to causing Alzheimer's. First of all, civilized diets have always been extremely unhealthy. Civilized diets are extremely different to the hunter-gatherer diets that we evolved to eat. This is important because genetically, we're still hunter-gatherers:
...the profound changes in diet and lifestyle that occurred after the Neolithic Revolution (and more so after the Industrial Revolution and the Modern Age) are too recent on an evolutionary time scale for the human genome to have fully adapted.
In fact, despite various alleles being targets of selection since the Agricultural Revolution, most of the human genome comprises genes selected during the Paleolithic Era in Africa, a period that lasted from about 2.5 million years ago to 11,000 years ago. (Carrera-Bastos 2011)
Specifically, the civilized diet has low variety, relying primarily on wheat, corn, rice, and other cereal grains, which are low in nutrition. The industrial diet is extremely high in sugar, processed cereals, other highly-processed foods, processed milk, food additives, and processed vegetable oils, all of which are extremely unhealthy and cause all of the diseases of civilization. These are often accompanied by alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs, further stressing our bodies. Alzheimer's is considered to be just one result of the chronic inflammation caused by our diets. (Berman 2021; Gaio 2022; Ilich et al, 2014) Inflammation is the body's attempt to remove pathogens and fight off infections and is fine for short periods. Now, however, our bodies are under constant assault.
Pollution and Toxins
In addition to poor diets, there is an unending assault on our bodies and brains from environmental pollutants. These include the pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides sprayed on our food, lawns, public parks, and inside our homes and workplaces. It includes the toxic gases and particles spewed out by automobiles, airplanes, refineries, and factories. It includes the thousands of other toxic chemicals and known neuro-toxins used by industry and endlessly released into the air, water, and land. Air pollution is known to kill millions of people a year, and cause numerous diseases, including Alzheimer's. (Budson 2020; Fuller 2022; PA Media 2022) These toxins in the air already predispose newborn babies to Alzheimer's. (Calderón-Garcidueñas 2018) The onslaught of environmental toxins include civilization's two thousand years of using mercury and lead, two extremely powerful toxins known to damage the brain, and that are still widely used and spewed into the air, land, and our drinking water. It includes the many heavy metals contaminating the land, water, all our food, and even in baby food. It includes the toxins in food packaging and cooking utensils. It includes the toxins in food, dental fillings, vaccines, and nearly all pharmaceutical drugs. It includes toxins released by your computers,tablets, and other electronic gadgets.
It also includes the enormous amount of radiation from cell phone towers, 5G satellites, cordless telephones, baby monitors, WiFi routers, microwave ovens, and medical x-rays. Wireless radiation has been shown to weaken the blood-brain barrier, thus allowing toxins to invade and damage the brain. (Ketcham 2010; Sage and Carpenter 2007, 2008) Sage and Carpenter (2008) review just how damaging wireless radiation is:
The effects are both short-term (sleep disruption, hormone disruption, impairment of cognitive function, concentration, attention, behavior, and well-being) and they are almost certainly long-term (generational impacts on health secondary to DNA damage, physiological stress, altered immune function, electrosensitivity, miscarriage risks, effects on sperm quality and motility leading to infertility, increased rates of cancer, and neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and ALS—at least for ELF exposures)...
A number of different effects on the central nervous system have also been documented, including activation of the endogenous opioid systems, changes in brain function including
memory loss, slowed learning, motor dysfunction and performance impairment in children, and increased frequency of headaches, fatigue and sleep disorders.
Lack of exercise
Besides these external causes, our lifestyles also contribute to Alzheimer's and dementia. First of all, we barely get enough exercise. We sit in front of screens, sit in cars, and sit at work. Excessive siting increases the risk of all of the diseases of civilization, including Alzheimer's and dementia. (Ekelund et al 2016; Katella 2019; Siddarth et al 2018; University of California 2018) The lack of exercise results in a chronic lack of oxygen to the brain. We don't get enough exercise and we certainly don't get enough outdoor exercise, which is far healthier, for both our bodies and our minds. The indoor, sedentary nature of school and work not only makes it more likely that we will develop any of a number of chronic illnesses, but it also deadens our senses and our brains.
Not Using our Brains
In general, we just don't use our brains very much anymore. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle required enormous brain power. Cultures based on the oral tradition require enormous brain power. Those were skill-intensive cultures, whereas ours is a labor-intensive culture. And labor generally requires little mental effort. Very little brain power is required for most jobs. Factory work is repetitive, and office work is deadening. Sitting in a school classroom is often torture. Watching TV and movies requires no mental effort. And that's just the way the elite want us: dumb and easy to control.
Modern technology also makes us dumber. The fact that all knowledge is available at the click of a button means we don't have to remember anything. In fact, screen use damages memory. (Carr 2020) The use of screen technologies is shortening our attention spans, making it harder for us to focus, to think, and to learn. All our modern technologies are made to make things easier, which just means we get dumber and weaker. GPS on our phones means we lose spatial and navigating intelligence. Using a calculator for simple arithmetic and relying on a spell-checker are other examples. And just like with all our other muscles, if we don't use them, they get weaker. The more we don't use our brains, the weaker they get.
Shitloads of Stress
On top of all that, the civilized life is full of endless stress. School stresses us, work stresses us, money matters stress us, lack of leisure time stresses us, our parents stress us, our annoying wife or husband stresses us, Covid-19 stresses us, our health stresses us, driving stresses us, feeling like life is meaningless stresses us, the worsening state of the world stresses us, the dog peeing on the carpet stresses us, and the thought of growing old and getting Alzheimer's stresses us. We're always stressed. This chronic stress actually changes the brain. It kills brain cells and causes the brain to shrink. (Ah, another reason our brains are shrinking!) It makes us less sociable and more irritable. It makes us more likely to develop a mental illness. It weakens memory and learning. It causes brain inflammation. And it makes us more sensitive to stress, creating a vicious feedback loop. And finally, it should be no surprise that chronic stress predisposes us to getting Alzheimer's and dementia. (Nield 2021; Sanders 2014; Stomby, et al 2016; Thomas, et al 2007)
And don't think for a minute that pre-industrial civilized life was any less stressful. Most people were either slaves, indentured servants, working 12-14 hour days to be able to pay taxes to the land owner, the feudal lord, or whatever you want to call that demented class of people. The majority of people were almost always either starving, one bad harvest away from starvation, and they rarely ever could afford to eat meat. They were routinely conscripted to fight in wars in which they were nearly always killed or horribly maimed. There was always the risk of their own land being invaded by an army, in which case their house would be burned, they might be killed, the women would be raped, and all their food would be stolen. There were widespread infectious diseases which no one had any idea how to explain or how to treat. And the religious leaders convinced them that it was all their fault and that they should just accept it all and wait until they die.
Lack of Sleep
Finally, we just don't sleep enough. One of the reasons we don't sleep enough is because we're always stressed, which makes it harder to sleep. The other reason we don't sleep enough is because we work long hours, and then often go home and sit in front of a screen for long hours (which further weakens our brains), or find various ways to “unwind” for whatever hours we have left (often in ways which also weaken our brains.) The lack of sleep weakens our immune systems, can give us digestive problems, makes diabetes more likely, makes us more irritable, causes mood changes, raises the risk of accidents, raises the risk of heart disease, weakens our memory, and overall just fucks with our entire bodies and brains. And finally, yes, a lack of sleep makes us more likely to get Alzheimer's and dementia. (Shokri-Kojori 2018; “Sleep” 2007)
The Cause: Civilization
As we can see, civilization is the cause not only of Alzheimer's, but many other diseases and pretty much all your troubles. And just in case you think that hunter-gatherers didn't suffer these disease because they didn't live long enough, you're wrong – they did live long enough. Hunter-gatherers have been found to commonly live to their early-to-late 70s. (Gurven and Kaplan 2007) This is not to say that no one ever got sick among hunter-gatherers. While they did not suffer from these diseases of civilization, they did have their own health challenges (like intestinal parasites and hungry hyenas), and they did age like all animals do.
However, what is more important is that they spent very little time “working” for food, they had enormous amounts of leisure time, they had varied and healthy diets, they were strong, they lived in egalitarian communities, their children had happy childhoods, they looked after their elderly, they felt a deep connection with the natural world, all of life was full of meaning, chronic stress was unknown, and their lifestyle was the most sustainable way of life humans have ever known.
Compared to the success of the hunter-gatherer way of life, civilization has been a complete and total failure. Of course, it never tried to be healthy or beneficial or sustainable, so let's not delude ourselves. On the other hand, if our criteria is destruction, disease, and misery, civilization is far, far superior.
The Many Health Benefits of Ending Civilization
Ending civilization – or “de-civilizing” the world – not only removes the cause of Alzheimer's, but it also removes all the worst parts of life – poverty, inequality, money, slavery, work, bosses, CEOs, politicians, governments, taxes, armies, war, police, prisons, and everything else you hate, such as your idiotic boyfriend or bitchy girlfriend (male idiocy and female bitchiness also being creations of civilization and domestication.)
De-civilizing also helps to prevent Alzheimer's and dementia by activating your brain and requiring you to think. No need to do crossword puzzles, sudoku, and mahjong, because this is much, much better. After all, it will take a lot of thought and planning to disable, disassemble, and destroy the various aspects and institutions of civilization which cause all our problems, while also avoiding the billionaires and governments who will try to stop us so that they can keep destroying, waging war, and fucking with bat viruses.
De-civilizing the world will also require learning many new skills, and learning new skills is an excellent way to exercise your brain and make it stronger. The skills we'll have to learn include learning how to hunt, learning how to forage, learning traditional medicine based on local plants, making small dwellings from only local materials, non-violent conflict resolution, and generally living within the Earth's limits.
De-civilizing the world will therefore get our bodies back into peak physical shape, while also returning us to healthy diets, and removing all the substances and toxins which hurt our brains.
De-civilizing the world will require that we becoming more social, which is also a very good thing for our brains. (Zhu, et al 2022) Without the anti-social institutions of school, work, and screen technologies, we will once again learn how to interact face to face with others, how to tell stories, and how to enjoy the company of people. De-civilizing the world will also mean a return to the oral tradition – and nothing is better for our brains that relying on passing all of our wisdom and knowledge down to younger generations based only on what we can remember. All these will strengthen our brains and help prevent Alzheimer's. Consider the hunter-gatherer way of life to be the ultimate Alzheimer's cure.
The advantages of de-civilizing the world far outweigh the disadvantages. And failure to de-civilize will only lead to more Alzheimer's and dementia. On our current trajectory, dementia cases are expected to triple by 2050. (Paddock 2013) And don't expect pharmaceutical companies to help you out, either.
Actually, failure to de-civilize the world will mean deforestation will also increase, desertification will increase, fossil fuel use will increase, extreme weather will increase, droughts, wildfires, crop failures, and famines will increase, more and more animal and plant species will be driven to extinction, poverty and inequality will increase, the breakdown of society will accelerate, and life on the planet will become more and more miserable, possibly to the point of human extinction.
The cure for Alzheimer's or any other disease will never come from the elite, governments, pharmaceutical companies, lab scientists, or any corporation. The cure will only come when these institutions no longer exist.
Quick, de-civilize! Before you forget!
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