Vince and I watched a series that ended last night on avoiding Alzheimer’s by Dr. Perlmutter. Most of these types series are free to watch for a period, then you have to pay but often, you can search the internet and find them still available. I believe the name of this one was Avoiding Alzheimer’s.
A few caveats here:
- Dr. Perlmutter is a controversial doctor. I am not endorsing him as a physician. Do I believe he’s pushing what he sells? Yes. I do not know anything about him as a physician but I do believe a lot of what he says about nutrition and yes, I watch his videos and read his books.
- Any research about avoiding Alzheimer’s is speculative at this point. Not much in the Alzheimer’s area has been proven.
- It is almost certain genetics does play a part in our risk of having Alzheimer’s.
- Will I do anything within reason to avoid having Alzheimer’s? Yes!
The series included diet, exercise, stress, sleep, supplements and a couple of other things I can’t remember. Not a good sign! 🙂
I have zero medical training but I can tell you that when we started the keto diet in mid-January and stopped eating/drinking unhealthy carbs, our lives changed. Vince’s cholesterol went from way high and taking meds to 122 and has stayed there now that he’s off the meds. My knee, which had been bothering me for several years and I’d been getting injections every three months, actually stopped hurting. I have not had an injection in my knee in over a year and I have zero knee pain. I initially stopped getting the injections when Vince retired in June, 2018 because of insurance issues but I was so looking forward to getting Medicare so I could again get the injections but after having lost weight and cut way back on unhealthy carbs, I have almost no knee issues. I’m not saying everyone’s knee issues can be solved by losing weight , nor am I saying giving up carbs is the answer for everyone. I had an MRI before the doctor started the injections and he said “Your knee looks great for your age!” So, I didn’t have any bone on bone issues . . I just had a lot of inflammation.
One of the doctors in the series mentioned plant based keto diet vs. bacon based keto diet. Almost every time I mention keto on here, I get comments about it not being healthy. I agree . . it would not be healthy if we were eating a lot of bacon and eggs and the foods so many associate with keto. Yesterday for breakfast, I had one small sausage patty and one egg. We do not eat eggs every day. I doubt that I’ve been eating more than three eggs per week. I do give away a LOT of eggs if you’re wondering.
You saw from my plate yesterday – there’s not much on here that isn’t healthy. The carbs came from the tomatoes, the dressing on the carrots and the coleslaw. I used storebought because it was in the fridge but when that’s gone, I’ll make my own with mayo and the sugar substitute I like – Xylitol. I’m not a fan of sugar substitutes but I use them very sparingly.
There was no rice, no pasta, no bread, no candy, no chips, no soda – I’m completely confident that our diet is good.
Please, if you aren’t already living a healthy lifestyle, with as many fresh vegetables as you feel you should be eating, some whole fruits, exercise and enough sleep, I urge you to do your own research and see if there are things you can change and improve upon.
There are many great diets out there. We just happen to be on keto and find it very easy to follow, and easy to slip off for a week or so and then get back on it. Vince and I talked last night about the “cheat” day once a week and we’re not doing it. The way the keto process works, and what has worked for us is just to stick with it. The foods we’d be “cheating” with are foods we honestly believe are not healthy – wheat products like white flour, pasta; sugar, soda, processed foods. I will grind wheat occasionally and make whole wheat bread or whole wheat pasta but for the most part, we will not be eating those types of carbs at all. It’s just what feels right to us at this time.
As a granny, I want to be around for a long time. I don’t want to be the granny in the nursing home that the family feels obligated to visit, even though I don’t know who they are or who I am. I want to be the granny who has fun with Addie – back to school shopping, attending functions at her school, going fun places with her, maybe some day having our own little garden together.
The way we age – some of it is beyond our control. Some of us will eat the healthiest of foods, maintain a healthy weight, exercise and we will still have health issues but I want to know I’ve done everything I can to stay healthy and active.
Jean says
This is a great post for everyone to at least consider, Judy! “Food for thought”. Thank you.
-Jean <3
Linda in NE says
Sometimes I think Alzheimer’s is an even scarier health issue than cancer. There is way to much of both. I don’t want to experience either one. As difficult as it may be we CAN cut out the sugars & carbs. There just isn’t a lot we can do about the chemicals & pollutants that have contaminated our soil, water and air. Here in farming country we’re exposed to just about every chemical fertilizer, pesticide & herbicide known to man. God only knows what the imported veggies and fruits are treated with. The rate of cancer and dementia/Alzheimer’s is high here. We have a garden & I try to eat reasonably well and take supplements like turmeric, vitamin D3 & others that are supposed to help control blood glucose. I’ve eliminated aluminum & Teflon cookware. There’s only so much we can do.
I’ve heard that rosemary oil is good for memory and that CBD oil is good for any number of things. Haven’t tried them yet and since CBD is still illegal in Nebraska my luck would be that the sheriff would haul me off to jail for using it. Our state refuses to allow anything they could tax to help the state coffers like CBD, marijuana, or casino gambling. They just tax everything else to the point of driving people and business away.
Judy Laquidara says
You are so right. If we had any idea what we’re exposed to – in the air, water, food, cosmetics, cleaners . . we’d probably all crawl in a cave and stay there.
Anne says
As a medical professional who has worked closely with Alzheimer’s patients, I have some of my own thoughts about it.
I also took care of my adoptive parents for 7 years, both with Alzheimer’s and both VERY VERY healthy before, and during the Alzheimer’s.
They both ate a very healthy diet and both exercised daily. Both were in their 80’s when they were diagnosed with SDAT or senile dementia Alzheimer’s type. My father lived for 8 years and Mom lived for 10 or 11 years after diagnosis, though I suspect that it actually started 3 or 4 years before the diagnosis.
I just recently read where they are going to do studies on the possibility of inflammatory issues and Alzheimer’s.
I’ve done the DNA testing and do not have the early onset Alzheimer’s gene.
I don’t know what the answer is, but I have my own theories about things but sometimes I think that they sound a little wacko, so I rarely share them!!!
Judy Laquidara says
Thank you so much for sharing some of your thoughts. That’s one thing about the keto diet for me . . the inflammation problems I had are gone when I’m doing keto. That was one of the things in the videos last night – the possible connection to inflammation and Alzheimer’s.
Hopefully soon there will be some breakthrough and a solid cure or treatment will be found.
You never know . . when tried and true methods aren’t getting where you need to be, bring out the wacko. You just never know what might work.
Barbara says
I would recommend erythritol rather than xylitol as a sweetener. Or monkfruit. Xylitol and sorbitol can cause gut disturbances.
Judy Laquidara says
We’ve tried them all and I like the xylitol better. To me, it tastes more like sugar with no aftertaste. Don’t like monkfruit or sorbitol at all. I bought a small container in January and have hardly used it so we don’t use much of it and haven’t had any issues.
dezertsuz says
Here’s the thing about cancer that I know. It loves sugar! So if you are on a low carb, low sugar diet, you are still doing something to starve cancer cells and maybe keep yourself safer there, too.
ann says
I almost spit my coffee on the computer screen after reading “…and a couple of other things I can’t remember.” Ha ! Thanks for the laugh. I say, we’re all human beings, but we’re not all the same. Find the diet that works for you and stick with it. There’s zillions of choices out there. I’ve done keto and had great luck with it. Love seeing your food ideas.