Sunny days: bringing light into the lives of Alzheimer's patients.(Brief Article)

Sunny Manning has hundreds of stories about her late father Jack, who, among other pursuits, once owned a gas station in Granger, Iowa. One day a "fancy lady" in a black Cadillac asked him why the town had two water tanks. "One's for the cold water, the other's for the hot," he replied with a characteristic smile.

Jack died from Alzheimer's disease in 1990. Since then, his daughter--the oldest girl of 12 children--has been a tireless volunteer helping people who suffer from the illness that claimed her beloved Dad. At age 52, Manning is also a marvelous example of a woman who's taken charge of her health through supplementation, diet and exercise.

Her paternal grandmother succumbed to bone cancer at age 52, and her grandfather died from Parkinson's disease at 56. Ten years ago, Manning suffered from breast cysts. It was during that time--after consulting her physician--that Manning eliminated almost all red meat and fatty foods from her diet and began using more supplements.

"I take a lot of folic acid," she says. Folic acid is known to promote cellular health and may help fight certain cancers--including colorectal and breast--as well as heart disease. Low folio acid levels have also been associated with Alzheimer's disease.

A study in the June 2002 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates vitamins A, E and C may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, while a December 2001 report in the journal Biochemistry indicated the natural hormone melatonin may also play a role.

Just to be safe, Manning takes them all.

Her regimen also includes glucosamine and chondroitin (for joint function), flaxseed oil (an omega-3 source), a multivitamin (for general well-being and energy), coral-derived calcium (for bone heath), alphalipoic acid (an antioxidant that may slow brain aging), CoQ10 (an antioxidant that supports heart health) and Ester-C (a synthetic form of the antioxidant vitamin C).