I am about ready to explode over this one. Jean Carper, the nationally known CNN medical correspondent has written a book, is the subject of various articles, and is on the TV networks promoting her latest - 100 things you can do to PREVENT Alzheimer's Disease. I listened to one of her interviews. She actually says PREVENT, not delay, not help slow down, but PREVENT Alzheimer's Disease. Here is the article that first got my attention. The other misconception she flaunts is that it is a disease of aging. I am going to write to her and her publishers, and I encourage everyone else to do so. This is such irresponsible journalism, and perpetuates all the myths we are trying to dispell about Alzheimer's Disease.
Yes, I've noticed her helpfulness before, as you will see by the thread entitled "Heads Up! USA Weekend..." which I just ttt'd.
It does seem a mite irresponsible for someone with that kind of bully pulpit to actively promote pop health bytes as means of PREVENTING AD, doesn't it?
We all know that anesthesia can boost one who is PREDISPOSED to AD over the edge. We know and have discussed the risks here on these threads. Antibiotics?? how does this "cure' AD? It does not and no one can live on antibiotics non stop..just can't do it, Cholesterol..well I suppose too much build up can affect the brain insofar as a clump could break off and travel and cause stroke..and eye doctors can see an elevation of cholesterol in the eyes..in the vessels..
While the healthful living tips are just that good tips for good health, this does not cure or prevent AD. The book of tips is irresponsible.
I am with you Joan! I hate, hate, hate, when anyone makes statements like these because we are trying to get people to understand the truth about this disease and then we have these people that make it more difficult for us, as if it wasn't difficutl enough already to dispel peoples "opinions" on things that they know nothing about. Does the email give her address so that I can write to her? I am going to read it as soon as I add my comment.
Maybe we should also contact CNN and suggest someone with correct knowledge of Alzheimers to contradict her claims have equal time. This is a disservice not only to the people with Alzheimers but all caregivers and medical personnel, etc.
Joan- Jean Carper lives in Key West, Fl so you have to make allowances for her./ She also wrote books about How to prevent aging....and she is living proof that it worked for her.... Her website is jeancarper.com, and conveniently excludes her email address. I think her next book will be "How to prevent stupidity" and shud become a best seller. Anyone who has researched Alzheimer's knows that it can only be prevented by buying one of my alzproof aluminum hats, available for only $19.95 +shipping and handling (and fla sales tax). This special hat reflects the neuron emissions back into the head, and actually can prevent dementia. It was tested on laboratory rats, and none of them wearing these hats ever exhibited any symptoms of Dementia. Research strongly supports that these hats are the only sure way to prevent dementia.
The problem with Jean Carper's book and information, is NOT the book and information. Obviously, it's how she packages it. What she says about the advice. None of her recommendations are bad, and most are probably valuable. But she needs to be clear: "By Taking These Important Health Steps, You Can Stay Healthier for Longer!"
I don't know how to fit the subject of Alzheimer's into that thesis in a sound byte, and therein lies the marketing problem. You almost need a subtitle: "Maximizing Your Health MAY Help Stave Off Alzheimer's Disease*" and a small print disclaimer below that: "*At the present time, Alzheimer's is not considered to be a preventable illness, but healthier people may remain functional for longer."
It's all very vague. Publishers don't like vagueness. Shoppers in airport Hudson Booksellers don't like vagueness. But selling false hope seems...well, yes...as we've said, irresponsible, if not downright criminal.
I realize that everything on the Internet is out there for all to see, and there is no such thing as privacy in cyberspace, but I prefer not to publize her home address and house listing on this site. I do consider it an invasion of privacy. The e-mail is sufficient to send her a message voicing your opinions.
Actually, I think Emily's first two paragraphs are say it perfectly.
Jean Carper has written, and had published, a response to Sandra Day O'Connor's New York Times article. What a mercenary, conniving liar. How infuriating! Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/opinion/l07alzheimers.html
Joan - I am warning you, you'd better have a cocktail before reading it.
Someone has got to expose this woman's lies. I think I will go on Amazon and all the other book web sites and post the truth under reviews so that people understand her book is a lie.
Well, according to Ms. Carper, it's our spouses own faults (i.e. personal responsibility) for getting AD.
Actually I DID write a review on Amazon of Carper's book. I got some very interesting responses. I think my name on Amazon is jmom if you look for the review. I say "the more the merrier" and you should definitely write a review. joang
Here is what she wrote in a letter to the editor about Sandra Day O'Connor's article.
To the Editor:
Nobody could disagree that our government needs to spend much more money on Alzheimer’s research. But it is disappointing that the article ignores the great amount of research the National Institutes of Health has already financed on how to possibly avoid this devastating disease. Alzheimer’s is not a totally capricious disease that strikes everyone equally. Nor is it genetically inevitable.
There is considerable evidence that certain lifestyle factors as well as treatable diseases make certain people more prone to Alzheimer’s — for example, smoking, excessive alcohol, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, obstructive sleep apnea, thyroid abnormalities, periodontal disease, high-fat, high-sugar, high-meat diets, and vitamin B12 and D deficiencies.
It is time to make Alzheimer’s a personal responsibility as well as a public one, just as we do with other chronic diseases of aging, like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Jean Carper Key West, Fla., Oct. 28, 2010
The writer was a CNN medical correspondent and is the author of “100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s and Age-Related Memory Loss.”
If everyone goes on and clicks the "yes" button next to Joan's and my reviews, they will be the first reviews that show up (they are listed by default with the most helpful reviews at the top). Then maybe people will save their money.
Me too....Writers will distort any truth to sell books..do not be fooled. On my next visit to the Conch Republic, I will leave a live conch in Ms Carpers air vents..... After all, if the conch does everything as she says, it will not die...nor smell horrendous...... I cannot believe how angry that book makes me.... my dw has a whole library of health books, and she has always been very cautious about her health....and followed many diets religiously.....particularly the Ornish diet...... If I cannot find a live conch (it is illegal to take them from the water), I will substitue it for a ballyhoo......I think they may smell a bit worse when dropped into the car's a/c vent.....
I have sent her an email and it has not yet been returned, so maybe it will arrive. Good for those of you who posted reviews on Amazon. I will have a look later and I may do the same.
Interestingly, the editorial review of the book presents the case (and even the interior content of the book) in a much more balanced way: (I added caps)
IF TRYING SOMETHING NEW CAN DELAY OR OFFSET the effects of Alzheimer's, as former CNN medical correspondent and syndicated "EatSmart" columnist Carper (The Food Pharmacy) contends...Although Carper admits she has not tried all of them....Readers can push mental decline even further INTO THE FUTURE... readers will likely FEEL MOTIVATED TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE: beat the approaching epidemic of a disease commonly viewed as hopeless.
As we have contended, the problem is in the title and presentation.
A further note: The introduction to the book is available by clicking the "Look Inside" link on the book's Amazon page. I've just finished reading it. As I supposed, INSIDE the book she presents her premise in a much more honest way, noting that if you hold the Alzheimer's card, you WILL GET ALZHEIMER'S but may, through careful health efforts, be able to DELAY the onset of symptoms. (thereby dying of something else first.) I am in wholehearted agreement with this notion, and have no intention--in my objection to the book--of suggesting that we go gentle in that good night, so to speak. I absolutely believe in maximizing health and not taking a defeatist attitude.
Another minor quibble--Although Carper is not attempting to present an exhaustive tome on the nuances of Alzheimer's, she does gloss over the early onset/late onset divide in a way that bothers me. In her brief paragraph you would come away believing that there is no such thing as Alzheimer's before 60 apart from the familial kind. All you have to do is ask me to know THAT'S not true!