My Mom and Alzheimer's, and Diet Therapies (persevere to the positive part, please)
 

I have mentioned now and then that I am caring for my mom, who has Alzheimer's Disease. I have seen the YouTube testimonial of Dr. Mary Newport and have read Wheat Belly, and Grain Brain. I am reading "Keto Clarity" now.
I was not able to keep my mom on the dosage of CO recommended due to the very loose bowels it gave her. I have now seen some instruction to build her up to it gradually. The only problem is that she hates the oiliness. I started putting it in her coffee but since she takes it w/o any cream that was noticeable right off the bat. I make eggs for her most mornings and have used it for that but how much really makes it into the eggs? And how could I measure how much she gets? It seems a lot of it stays in the pan. I also have spread it on her gf toast, under the butter, but she strives to do things for herself and wants to do her own toast and such. The result of all of this is that I haven't seen much improvement from it. There is more on YT now than her experience, but that was not always the case. For a long time, she was the only one, besides the one fellow in Australia whose father improved. I also have Dr. Newport's book but haven't started it yet.
As for "Grain Brain" and "Wheat Belly", they focus so much on prevention, and that ship has definitely sailed for us. I asked Dr. Perlmutter, on his blog, whether there was any hope for reversal and he gave a vaguely positive answer that didn't really encourage me much. Add to that that he doesn't seem to have his own father (severe case of AD) on the regimen and I got pretty discouraged.
All of this is secondary to the fact that the real hope being held out, other than CO, is the ketogenic diet. It was hard enough to make Mother understand why she couldn't have just a 'bite' of wheat, now and then, and like so very many older people, sugar was the one thing she would light up for. It was her only true joy. She gets pleasure from any diversion from a life with very little stimulation, but true joy is pretty rare. Just tell her you have some ice cream for her, or a gf cake or brownie and she absolutely lights up. She has a manic kind of desire for it. And, she asks for toast or cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch as her default. With meat, she craves ketchup, no matter what it is. Chicken and pork with ketchup seems very incongruous to me, but to her, it's what's called for. I know she's lost her taste buds to a large degree and these things have strong flavors, but that's really only part of it. You can just tell by her reactions. Therefore, I just didn't have the heart to demand she give it up, and it made it seem hollow to keep her on gf without the full dietetic picture in place.
Now for the turning point. Sunday, she woke up in near hysterics. Her eyes run all the time, but when she actually cries, she often has no tears. She told me she had been awake til all hours, worrying about what was wrong with her. I asked her what she thought that was, and she said she had figured out that she had AD. I asked her what she thought that meant and all of her answers were just more of what she has discussed many times in the past. She often bemoans her loss of memory. When I told her that the gf diet she is on was to address it, and that she has a lot going for her that other 87 year olds don't - especially those with AD - she said she was happy to hear it but she was really scared about the loss of her mind. I have often pointed out that memory is only one part of mental function and that she still has good abstract reasoning ability. Well, she was so distraught that I decided to strike while the iron was hot and told her how badly she needed to go off of sugar and starches. She agreed and actually has not forgotten our conversation to the degree that she forgets so much. In the past, when she had something sweet in front of her she would actually say that sometimes she thought it was worth any short term penalty, to be able to enjoy her sweet treats. I tried to point out that it was hardly temporary and would remind her of the (actual) tears she shed over her absent memory. That did little good. She's mentally very stubborn. This time, however, she's still aware of our conversation from Sunday morning, once I reminded her that that's why she can't have grape jelly (this morning) on her gf toast. I know she won't be able to have much of that, but I am waiting until I finish the book and have the whole diet picture.
The point of all this is that I am encouraged that we can see some reversal and that she won't fall prey to the depression that befalls so many AD patients. If we can hold on throughout the natural longevity she has inherited, maybe we can avoid very many years in a nursing home, or with her not knowing her loved ones. We'll see.

Your mom is lucky to have you caring for her, Ann. Nobody could do it better than you are doing. You certainly deserve the title of CARETAKER - meaning: you do it with great CARE.

Your mother is fortunate to have you to care for her. I look forward to reading about progress with the ketogenic diet. Does your mother like peanut butter? I have a terrible sweet tooth, but I have found that a mixture of equal parts of coconut oil and organic nothing added peanut butter with a good couple of shakes of real cinnamon and refrigerated until solid tastes like peanut butter fudge. I don't use any sweetener and it is very satisfying. And a good way to get in some coconut oil.

Pat

Hi Ann. :) I'm not sure if this is helpful, but I make scrambled eggs/ham in the microwave so I don't "lose" anything I add to it and clean-up is easier for me. As they cool, I add my up to 2.5 oz clarified butter (or regular butter) and my 1 Tbs CO. The scrambled eggs gives the opportunity for more surface area that the butter/CO can cling to. This also works now that I've added veggies like broccoli/cauliflower and spinach. When I do chicken, since I don't like the skin, I make a cheese sauce to pour over it: Up to 2 oz clarified butter or 1 Tbs CO and 2-4 Tbs ricotta, 2 tsp parmesan/asiago/romano, salt/pepper. Sometimes (usually when I have fish for dinner), I will mix CO with ricotta and sweeten with a few drops of monk fruit/erythritol liquid sweetener, smidge of vanilla extract and few shakes of cinnamon and just eat it like a dessert.

This is so good to hear, because I have a strong family history of this, coming from both sides, and I worry. So to think that this diet might help me with that as well, means a lot to me!

What about the chocolate/coconut oil bombs? Or the muffin in a cup made with coconut oil and flaxseed?

And I make "bread" for a sandwich from only flaxseed and water, in the microwave.

I have also been making Coffee gelatin pudding, and have been wondering lately if I could add coconut oil to that?

Thanks, Pat. I'll try that for her.

I appreciate all these tips. I've seen some other ideas for incorporating CO and I'll be doing those too.

I've tried the bark candy but it's actually kind of carby, for not much sweet impact. I have discovered liquid stevia, though, so that might make a big difference.

Hi, sorry to be late on this but I am so impressed with your journey for your mom. In no particular order:

How's her mineral supplementation? The comment about no taste got to me - if a person is low on zinc and magnesium that can happen. It did to me. Very common after years of a diet heavy in sweets and starches (which depletes minerals).

In the Lutz book, he says that the oldest people see improvements in health by restricting to 72 grams a day or even 90. This is from the thinking that you don't have to be in constant ketosis to get a better metabolism. Overnight is fine like in the old days. The transition might be easier for her.

Custards made with cream or half and half can be rewarding to older people. Or plain old custard pie with an almond flour crust and vastly reduced sweetener.

Are you trying to get her on a ketogenic diet, or a gluten free diet? I'm kind of confused about the toast thing. MCT oil does come in capsules as well, they're big but they go down easy. (unlike magnesium tablets, <CHOKE!>)

It's hard, reversing roles with the person who use to tell you what to eat and have to listen to you fuss about stuff, but she earned it I guess, lol!

The toast is GF bread. She has been gf since July of '13, when she came home to my house after breaking her hip. I have felt like I was making her go to a lot of deprivation when I was only achieving half of the therapeutic benefit, by not also going lc. Now, since she is ready to do the keto diet, I'm hoping she can get some reversal. I haven't made her give up the gf toast yet, as I am not up to that part in the book. I want to have the whole picture before I start making demands on her.

And yes, it's hard on her to let me make the decisions but she is tired of having no memory.

Thanks Seejay. I'll add the zinc and magnesium. I wonder if her sense of smell will respond, too. What did you mean by "Overnight is fine like in the old days"? Her health is actually good, other than the AD. If she had as much as 72 grams/day, I think it would be an increase for most days. I will look at Lutz's book if it's about AD.

Lutz's book is about general health and I can't remember if it touched on AD or mental aspects of carb limits.

What I meant by "overnight like the old days" - it's normal to be in dietary ketosis after the overnight fast, about 5% as I recall. This was from Metabolism 101 in college. Course now that our diets are so changed and 75% of us are overweight, and people eat all evening, maybe that's not happening as much to the average person.

But I was thinking before the 50s when your mom was growing up, and people did not have so very many refined carbs and so very little fresh good fats, and people did not eat all the time all day long - well back then it would be normal to be in dietary ketosis before breakfast.

I see what you mean. Thanks. After I finish reading what I can about ketosis and AD, I will go back to general health books. I'm hoping "Keto Clarity" has enough in it to help me be successful with her.
One thing that is difficult in seeing what works in order to derive some guidance is that it's hard to know what would have happened without doing this or that. She takes Namenda and Donepizil (generic Aracept) but the Namenda is so expensive without the insurance she is now on, that we didn't use it for a couple of years, until she got that coverage. Now, if the pharmacy is out of it - which it usually is - and she goes w/o it for a day or two, I can tell a difference. I hope it is like that with this diet. I never saw that kind of difference with the CO.

yes I see what you mean. Good luck. that's one thing to say for meds, when they work it's usually fast enough to see right away. Not so much for diet and lifestyle.