Nutritional deficits in dementia

You will not find much online about nutritional deficits in dementia, but I happened on an article that mentioned deficiencies of: Cholesterol, Acetylcholine, Glutathione and Testosterone in men. Then one has things like B12 and vit D, plus as in my mother's case, an excess of Calcium and a deficiency of Sodium. Interestingly enough, Calcium is tied to two pathways:- An unbalanced sodium-pump, which is most probably caused by a toxic thyroid resulting from an accumulation of fluoride and/or heavy metals and the gut pathway, where B12 is linked to Calcium and Intrinsic Factor Protein. My first premise is that "everything means something" and that "every unbalanced factor creates an effect. Think of a row of dominoes collapsing.  A doctor would approach a man with low testosterone by prescribing testosterone medication/supplementation, but in my study I made some new connections and have answered the question, "Why do more women then men get Alzheimer's". The missing link is "Zinc". Zinc which is stored in the sperm, prostate and testes of men and Zinc which is involved in insulin production (the third pathway). Both men and women with dementia would benefit from having Zinc, as it also prevents infection, strengthens the immune system and speeds up healing. I digress, back to Calcium. Guess what? It is tied into Acetylcholine production, so when you have an excess of Calcium, it results into a deficiency of Acetylcholine. I suspect that a the Calcium excess then also causes a deficiency in Magnesium. The best way forward is to detox the thyroid first and then take in Magnesium transdermally via foot baths of Magnesium Sulphate, or EPSOM SALTS.  I would love the time to study and research more in-depth, but no time or money, as a full time carer.  I need a "GO FUND ME" drive, but I have managed to eliminate sugar cravings in my mom by switching to coconut oil, but as only 40% of cholesterol gets through the blood-brain barrier, I recommend that you rub coconut onto the backs, arms and legs of your LO to increase absorption. There is a lot we can do, like make Rosemary wine, avoid manufactured soft drinks and supplement with natural substances, as well as discuss, but it is a daily process and not one most can implement. One of these days when I have had more study time, I will bring out a fully published theorem re the three pathways, but until then realize that doctor's do not study nutrition and there are more questions than answers. Think health and nutrition and make the dietary changes necessary. Do your own study and research.

Toddlers and Tantrums

Some days mom is the toddler and other days it is me.

I have health issues, which make me tired and cranky and so does she.

It does not help that she refuses to get a hearing aid, not do the things she is not supposed to do and has to be watched 24/7 like a toddler. If she is quiet I suspect mischief.

This is short, but I need to move my longer blogs over from LinkedIn.com one of these days.

Today I am too tired and feeling good and sorry for myself to do much of anything.

More health challenges looming, with a big test coming Monday.

My only consolation:- If I die my brother gets mom all to himself and that will be a rude awakening.

ENDS

Wisdom from a Worm

A gardener's lot...

This morning I was suddenly seized by the "Do It" bug, so instead of just feeding my compost worms I started sorting out one troublesome box.

Up to now I had avoided doing anything, even though I knew there was a serious drainage issue, which means waterlogged worms. The worm boxes are stacked up in piles of two each and when full are ruddy heavy, so I had a good excuse all these many months. Unless I have a helping hand, I could not do it by myself.


There is zero money for a gardener, so nothing has happened, but there are days when you are filled with determination and anything can happen.


Well, this morning I decided to try. I lifted up the top box and it came away really easily. The poor wormies up top were basically sitting in their own slodgy sludge, while the lot that had fallen down below were swimming in their own shite.


It took nearly almost a back breaking hour to separate the worms from the shit with my hands wrist deep. That included draining the boxes and restoring order, but I had a good number of insights while doing so.

Sooner, or later you can lift a heavy load by yourself;

Sooner, or later the time will come when you will have to do the shittiest jobs;

Worms drown in water, but are content to swim in shit, so why should I be bothered by what is basically organic sludge;

Things get easier if enough time passes;

Sometimes you do stuff out of a sense of responsibility and other days you care;

Some days you are stronger and filled with more resolve than other's;

Your LO's are a bit like worms. Wiggly and hard to pin down, so you need a lot of patience;

Some LO's can be sneaky like some worms. You just have to keep your eyes peeled. You also have days when you will be moving non-stop in order to keep up;

I have learnt that I can cope with a lot of shit when I have water. Everything washes off in the end. 

Take care of the basics. Get whatever tools you need to do what you need to do

If I am more organized, then I can tackle a load of shit!
My thing these days is using a "timer" with an alarm.

I have to wake up earlier, if I am going to get more shit done;

I need to make lists so I get the shit done I need to do;

How you think about something defines how you cope with it. Change your attitude, or mindset to a positive one and find tools to help you cope. In this instance, the worm box was placed on an old commode frame, so it meant I could now tip the lower box half full of water to drain it, without having to lift it up.


Last, but not least "Shit Happens" and there is always a cause and effect. However, pondering the cause does not mean you do not have to deal with the effect. If you have chosen to deal with "all the shit", or it has been forced on you to deal with then "suck it up!"

You can "why me" all you like, but we all make hard choices.



"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are".

When you love someone you take care of them "no matter what it takes". 

My mother and I are "chalk and cheese", "positive vs negative", "Cancer vs Capricorn" and I could go on infinitum, but you get the picture? If I say something is "black", she will insist it is "white".

I love my mother dearly, but there are days I swear a lot and there are days I could cheerfully throttle her.  She nags me non-stop, irritates me considerably and does not understand me in the least, but she is too old to change. so I choose to accept it. It doesn't mean she loves me less. Even when she ALWAYS takes my brother's advice and NEVER takes mine!


If you don't love them, but they happen to be a parent, or sibling and you are their only help, then you do it because you are a decent human being. If you don't get rewarded for your virtue in this life, then you will be rewarded in the next. If you don't believe in the next, then you are just a kind soul who does not believe in a supernatural God and creator of the universe.


Growing up, I was one girl amongst two brothers plus a half brother, so when a dog, or cat kotched on the carpet, or did whatever else they do. I usually ended up being the one to clean it up.

I used to tidy up the house before my mom got home. She left for work early and got home late. On good days it was a half day and we got picked up at school. I was always trying to please her and nothing much has changed. I now accept the fact that I will always try to get her approval, but it seldom happens.

Her youngest son died and she was left with the oldest (golden boy) and moi. Some times you have shitty siblings and that is the case with me. I would not even insult him by calling him a worm. He is just a plain old self-centred shit!


Okay, enough of the family sob story... thinking about shit got me thinking about bowel movements. My little dog has liver damage from a vet giving her too much Rimadryl without any routine liver enzymes blood tests for monitoring, so my new homeopathic vet prescribed homeopathic supplements, a raw diet and Kombucha  to help her liver detoxify and reseed the gut bacteria.

Recently, I skimmed through an article re the gut/brain connection and it suddenly dawned on me that ourselves and our parents have been routinely dosed with antibiotic's for decades, so our intestinal flora must be in pretty poor shape. It is only in the last decade that doctor's started prescribing Probiotic's to take with antibiotics, but I am not sure that one lot will do the trick.



So mom and I will start drinking Kombucha and I am going to make Sauerkraut for the fermented bugs in it and generally embracing natural, or homeopathic remedies.



Many LO's with dementia suffer from repeated UTI's, just like mine. Her doctor put her on Macrodantin, which has dreadful side effects, especially taken full time over a long period. It was only after a duodenal ulcer and resulting haemorrhage last year that resulted in maman needing 5 sachets of blood, did she relent and try my natural remedies.

Things like lemon in Rooibos tea, plain boiled water, Chamomile or parsley tea and the list goes on... It worked and so there have been no more UTI's.

We used "Red Rice Yeast Extract" to treat the high cholesterol and there were none of the side effects she gets from the Statins prescribed, which have found to be one of the causative agents for Alzheimer's.
Finally, I often feel like a worm because I am looking after maman without sufficient finances, so I feel like a failure and we stress about medical bills and a few other's.


Today I decided that I am doing the best I can do in my ability. This journey has been a tough one and we are only half way there, so now and then I will feel like a worm.  I can live with that!

BARFING DOGS AND ALL THE REST

Luckily my mum sleeps through a dog throwing up next to her, while I am instantly awake at the first sound. I have my bladder and over twenty years of diuretic's to thank for that, but today I want to talk about unwanted things that often turn into the biggest gifts.

I will start with "Sheba", our female Alsatian, who landed up in our laps when my sister-in-law no longer wanted her due to her bad behaviour. Eating the quail and other misdeeds put her on the hit list, so she asked mom if she would take her. Of course mom said yes, as our previous two Alsatians were no more.

Unfortunately, I landed up being her full time carer and I was going through a bad phase of arthritis, tiredness and work related stress at the time. Never the less, I reluctantly took her to a few dog training classes and settled in with her. Mom was away at work a lot, so Sheba became my baby. The problem was, she kept waking me up at night.

It took me a few weeks to realize that the ruddy dog did not need to pee. She was waking me up because I needed to pee! So I always joke and say that I do not have a "Seeing-Eye Dog", but an "IP" dog.

That was about 9 years ago and she is my sentient animal assistant. When she wakes me I get to check on mom. That is important because mom has sleep apnea. If she gets on her back she ends up taking one big gasp and stops breathing.

Then we move onto "Milo", who has been with us now for a few years only. We rescued him when a friend of ours adopted him from the local animal welfare to save his life, but whose husband also wanted shot of.

He jumped straight into the car and headed for mom sitting in the front seat and that was that! Now we always had cats and dogs growing up, but I can truly say that my mum has never been overly affectionate with any of our pets. Until Milo that is!

Somehow he arrived at just the right time. Mum is now 80 and her memory issues and other changes have made life tough for her. Milo adopted her at first sight you can say and I cannot explain it. I can only thank God for it!

He sits on her lap, at her knee if she is ironing and of course, sleeps next to her on the bed. He makes her smile, laugh and gives her happiness that no monetary value can every calculate.

This is one reason why I cannot understand why retirement villages mostly do not allow animals. The benefits for the emotional, mental and physical health of the residents, so far outweighs the bit of work that animals require - that it should be mandatory to keep pets.

Only Milo can get my mom out for mostly a daily walk these days. She is in constant pain from severe rheumatoid arthritis. Her grandkids don't bother much to call, SMS or visit her, so that loving care is missing. However, what she lacks in loving care from other family members, Milo more than makes up for.

We saved Milo and he saved us! He came from an abused childhood having been found tied up with wire in a backyard and was not well fed, or treated. I cannot say that it has been without challenges to get Milo socialized and I still cannot take a bone, or treat out of his mouth, but we have a good game out of it.

So being the only survivor of his whole litter, we have been blessed. Sheba, being the unwanted naughty bitch, has also been a blessing. I have learnt that what looks like a punishment can also be a blessing in disguise.

I have started a new business where I can work from home and be with mom 24/7 and while it is slow to get off the ground, I am not planning to give up anytime soon.

Sometimes if life gives you LEMONS, you just have to make LEMONADE.

I am now researching the nutritional deficits of folks with dementia. Knowing myself as I do. I will not stop until I get all the answers.

PS: "Milo" and "Poddles", my cat have now reached an uneasy truce, which is another interesting relationship. Methinks cat taught dog a wee bit of humility...

ENDS

Money Makes the World Go Round!!

MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND

Feeling like a real failure today.

I thought I had come to terms with living in genteel poverty until my mom announced loudly today, "You have no money".

Right enough as I have only sold two fidget items so far the whole year. Now I have been living by faith in circumstances that are far from easy for a few years now. I thought I had lost all my PRIDE, but hearing my mom say that reminded me that I could still feel humiliated, humbled, belittled, worthless and depressed. 

A failure, loser, waste of oxygen - you get the picture.

Never mind that I cannot pay my outstanding vet bills, optometrist bill, mechanic bill, or clothing account. I can do NADA without money.

Now being a Christian and usually an optimistic, outgoing, positive, cheerful sort - when I get hit by the "blues", it strikes deep and dark.

I ran my own business for over a decade and I even had employees whose salaries I managed to pay most weeks, so I know that I am a tough cookie. Having no money diminishes you and makes you powerless. It takes away your freedom of choice. 

How about this example? Before I could pay a dentist an ungodly amount to do a filling in my errant tooth. Now I am relegated to waiting weeks for an appointment at a local day hospital to see a State dentist, TWICE - only to wait hours on the day and be told the equipment the dentist needs is still broken. Now the dentist has resigned and I have to wait until JUNE for an appointment in the big hospital in the nearest big town.

There are some positives to not having money. I started making my own moisturizing cream, so it saves a mint, mom likes it and there are no preservatives or chemicals in it. Now I am even trying to sell it!

I planted vegetable seedlings to grow, started buying vegetables on special in BULK and blanching and freezing 'em, after peeling and cutting them. I am even contemplating making my own clothes.

Weight loss is another great side effect of penury. I have taken in all the too large items, given away other's, but now seriously thinking of designing my own outfits. I am sick to death of all my clothes!!

The irony of course is that I could look for a job with accommodation included and head off to make my fame and fortune, but then mom would be left to the tender mercies of my brother and his wife. So that is not an option...

Naturally, when I tried to advise her, or question mom on her retirement portfolio, I was told that it was 1) none of my business and 2) my brother would give her money if she needed it.

Somehow my mom is blind to the act that my older brother suffers from "Chronic Infantosis". The whole world revolves around him and how he feels. This does not mean he is a totally bad guy. Every now and then, he will help out.

Just this weekend, he came to the rescue when pipes burst in the ceiling, so I am grateful for the bit of help he gives us, but so very angry that he cannot see that his mother needs financial assistance. I started a new business and those take time to grow. An average of three years. I am doing my best, but it is simply not good enough!

What hurts the most is not being able to buy mom all the nutritional supplements she needs, or even the small things that she likes and simple stuff like denture cleaner. Well, we just embrace the homeopathic natural alternatives like salt, bicarb and coconut oil.

No one should work like a slave for 60 years and then have to stress about money at the end of their days. Especially when she bent over backwards to give us everything she never had growing up as a poor white Afrikaner.

However, she is not the only one in dire straits. We have a 78 year old female friend in really bad health, with constant pain who has to work 6 days a week for a pittance. Her son owns three properties and has no financial problems. She asked him for help and he has ignored her.

I am upset that I can offer her no kind of help except prayer. In the past I was the one always giving to those in need whenever I was could. I like to help. I am the practical one. In fact, I am great at making other people money in my experience.

Even as a landscaper, I ended up mostly fixing up other "so-called" professionals messes. I am a lifelong "fixer upper" and I am wondering if that that is what all care giver's have in common. We cannot pass on by. We pick up stray animals, sick plants and broken furniture to mend. Our compassion always moves us to take action.

If my 50 years on earth has taught me one thing, it is this.

It is not what people SAY that matters, but what they DO that counts!

So many caregiver's end up with the bulk of the burden of care on their shoulders, despite family and friends promising to help. They have to live with constant advice and negative input on their caregiving, but do not get the actual practical help, or extra money from the one's doing the talking.

So maybe that is a second trait of carers. We DO as well as TALK!

So I have "spoken" enough now. Time to sort out maman's supper and sit down and watch the soapies with her. Santle hantle batho. (Stay well people)

NB: I have straightened up my shoulders and picked up my head. Remind myself to keep on trucking and that I am doing the best I can do. My mom is 80 years old and has always done her best for me. It is the least I can do for her. No regrets!

Ciao, Mel

DAMNED IF YOU DO, DAMNED IF YOU DON'T!

So this morning my brother sent over two workmen to fix some leaky pipes and I was online, so my mom had to go out and deal with them. Not something that happens very often, because I always jump up and sort everything and anything out. Today I did not, but mom had a minor meltdown.

It was too much for her to cope with, so her brain started doing funny things. She feels it literally, but I am not surprized. There are a lot of misfiring neurons and all kinds of biochemical processes that are not working as they should.

Altogether too much activity and ultimately - too much stress. Today was not a good day, but other days she is all down my throat for being too concerned. Those days she starts yelling that she is not senile, does not need a baby sitter and so on.

So a while back I decided to give her some space, because I am always watching out for her falling and any number of other physical mishaps and my mom is really like a naughty toddler. When your back is turned she has climbed up on a rickety chair, or table, because she wants something done. NOW!

The other day it was weeding the rockery. She has two artificial knees, a dodgy lung and a first degree cardiac block, plus bad arthritis, so she can barely stand upright properly and does not do that much walking around. So now I let her do that for the ten minutes max, or whatever length of time she can manage before she can go and rest. Of course, I end up also being roped in, when I had decided I need to do X, Y and Z that day.

I am supposed to be making Alzheimer fidget products, but I get very little work time worked in. Pardon the pun!

Now I cannot be sure if my mom has Mild Cognitive Impairment, or is in the early stages of some, or other kind of dementia, which is usually Alzheimer's statistically. There is a pretty good reason, or two for that:-

* Her elderly GP was not interested in doing any tests;

* Her comprehensive medical aid plan specifically excludes "Alzheimer's";

*  Mom is in denial, so refused to even go for free testing at a memory research place not too far from us;

She has lost the names of people, places, things and her short term memory, but she can still draw a clock face properly and the stats give me a little hope. Only 20% of folks with MCI go on to develop full blown dementia.

Something else that gives me hope is the recent research finding that brain cell, or neuronal death only happens in the final stages of Alzheimer's, which apparently took the researchers by surprize.

SO - REASONS TO HOPE

As the human body is constantly renewing its cells in every part of it, I believe it is possible to jump start NEUROGENESIS if the imbalances in the body are reversed.

If there are nutritional deficits in the body, then they can be reversed and the most important of these is CHOLESTEROL. Who knew that it has a protective function in the brain cells and nerve interactions.

If only it were that simple. The sodium-pump balance is also out of whack with folks with dementia. My mom's Calcium levels were up and her Sodium was down. One would think that supplementing with salt would sort that problem out, but you have to factor in Magnesium and Potassium.

Magnesium is decreased by the intake of saturated fats, so that is another reason to switch to healthy white plant based fats like coconut oil.

The great news is that the best way to increase your Magnesium levels is pretty simple. Transdermally via a simple EPSOM SALTS foot soaking. A cup or two in some nice warm water and a 15-20 minute period. I am setting mom and I up for a minimum of once a week, but I would recommend daily foot soaks be added to the coconut oil rubs until blood levels of Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium and Potassium are all normal.

You see I am still in the early days of my research, but one thing is very clear. It is a bit like a stacking game where stuff is knocked down, starting with the first piece. The trick is to find out where the biochemical processes start going out of whack and reversing them in that order.

So insulin balance, sodium pump, sufficient brain cholesterol levels of HDL and so on. Acetylcholine and Glutathione are crucial two anti-oxidants that are also deficient. The former ties in with Calcium (excess Calcium leads to a deficiency of Acetycholine) and the latter ties in with Magnesium (Glutathione is needs itfor synthesis).

Men with dementia are deficient in Testosterone and that ties in with a major Zinc deficiency and of course, Zinc is involved in maintaining Insulin balance.

EVERYTHING MEANS SOMETHING!

I am not Einstein, but researchers are not seeing the 'wood' for the trees. They are so focussed on finding chemical drugs to prevent, or cure dementia that they are missing the obvious. (126 drugs currently being trialled)

A homeopathic vet made this very clear to me when my little fur baby ended up with a rare liver disorder called "Hepatucaneous Syndrome" caused by Rimadryl, or Carprofen.

Why? The vet decided her rear leg lameness was due to arthritis, despite the fact that she had just had surgery on an anal abscess.

I will never forgive myself for ignoring my own better judgement. 

He had to know more than I did! My common sense and intelligence I put to one side, because I did not know enough. I did not have the facts to compute.

NB: Just like we assume that the health, medical profession know what the hell they are talking about. (When it is their advice which has largely caused the Alzheimer epidemic in the first place, but more about that another time).

To cut a long story short. Although he put her on natural supplements that would help her liver, she declined until I feared she was going into kidney failure. She ended up being on an intravenous drip for 9 days and despite being fed horrendously expensive food, was still losing weight. When I pointed this out, he gave up and referred me to a homeopathic vet in a nearby town.

He meant well, but he was totally ignorant despite all his years of study!!!

As the homeopathic vet taught me: You have to:- 

WEED

FEED

SEED

Her liver had not been detoxified, so no amount of supplements could help. So this smart lady has something pretty simple that did the trick. She also had probiotic supplements and all sorts that would help and did. She also had a raw food range with built in supplements I could feed her on after. She even gave me a Kombucha SCOBY so I could make my own.

Olive was starting to recover and actually put on weight. Her death was my fault. Overheating due to being too long in the car. I won't go into the seizures she suffered and the worst two days of my life until she died in my arms. I will never forgive myself, but I am pretty sure that I was burnt out. ( I had spent over a year and a half battling to keep my fur baby alive. Juicing, special foods and supplements, cleaning lesions, carrying her around and a hellava lot more, but it was a labour of love. I had never let her overheat until that day).

Unfortunately, she had to be mouth fed and given water and walked by me and my little Madam always wanted to go where ever I went, so I had the routine down pat, but I slipped up!

I will be sure to somehow get a break sorted from my mom soon, because care giver burn out is a serious problem.

The only breaks I have had in over ten years are three hospital stays. About 4 days in Cape Town in 2014 staying with my cousin after a neuro consult, while waiting for a bus back home and 9 days in a neurology ward in 2015. Plus a three-day stay for an umbilical hernia op in 2014.

Not even a weekend away for so long I cannot remember. Let's not discuss my non-existent sex life!!!

PS: I started my own business in August 2003, so for over ten years there were also no breaks, so basically I have been working away for 15 years non stop).

When you are caring for an elderly relative, staying away is hazardous to ones health. I stress when I go to town by myself and leave her at home, so end up phoning or texting to check all is well. I work fast and get home quick.

Most of the time, mom and I are together and she does not drive. She will tag along to the shops, but tires in 5 - 15  minutes and either needs to sit down, or cannot handle the noise and people and wants to head for the car. These days she is forgetting the rules of the road and quite frankly, her driving will give me a heart attack!

So, in a nutshell! We have eating the wrong fats all our lives on medical advice. Yellow oils and spread were not healthy, just the opposite!

We swallowed the low fat, low cholesterol myth, because we did not know any better, but neither did they!

We allowed doctor's to prescribe Statin drugs to lower our bad LDL cholesterol, but unfortunately they forgot to mention that they remove ALL the bodies cholesterol and taking co-enzyme Q10 and other recommended supplements is essential, but who reads the literature??

Don't forget our brain uses 20% of all our cholesterol intake and only 40% of that gets through the blood-brain barrier, so rubbing coconut oil on your LO's body as I previously recommended is not far fetched at all!

So we have to detoxify our bodies and brains, then rebalance them with the right supplements and way of eating (LCHF, Banting, Ketogenic and so on), plus regrow our healthy gut bacteria, or probiotic's.

Little by little, I am slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together and I am no scientist. I will have to learn biology, chemistry and study in-depth, but I am committed to finding out the answers, because I have a huge personal stake in a SOLUTION.

Bill Gates can donate hundreds of millions of Dollars to research, but I cannot, so I will do what, I can, where I am, with what I have.

Now to start a GO FUND ME, so that I can hire people to help at home, so that I can dedicate two hours a day to study the research. The information is all available for the most part. Now it is just a question of putting it together so that the WHOLE PICTURE emerges.

SALA HANTLE BATHO. Stay well people!

I will be keeping you posted on my progress. God bless!

Numero Uno

So pleased I saw this web site. I have been blogging for a while now on LinkedIn.com, but is just did not give me much scope.

INTRODUCTION

Well, let's have at it! I am a 50 year old sad sack of a singleton, living in a country house on a farm in South Africa. It is mom and I, two dogs and a cat and more than a few venomous snakes from time to time.

A few years ago mom's memory and other issues became real evident and I knew that I needed to stay home and care for her full time. I closed my landscaping business, which was no great sacrifice as I was thoroughly sick of staff, the sun and the joys of self employment. Not to mention the various aches and pains creeping up in my middle-age dom.

However, as it turned out the joke was on me, because I decided to make a product from home that I could sell worldwide.

Mom was a Nursing Sister for 60 years and for the last two decades, or so, worked in old age homes. So I got up close and personal with the aged and all the various things that befall them.

I saw folks I had come to know over years being diagnosed with dementia, even close family friends, but it was only when my mom's short term memory, attitude, behaviour, logic, reasoning and personality started undergoing definite changes that I realized that she had a major problem.

Luckily, she is still in 'Mild Cognitive Impairment' (M.C.I) stage I hope. Only 20% of folks with it end up getting worse i.e. Alzheimer's, or another form of dementia and this is where my ADVOCACY lies.

When I discovered the fact that folks with dementia are deficient in Cholesterol, Acetylcholine, Glutathione and Testosterone in men, I knew I had to zone in on that. Right now there are 126 drugs being trialled, but nada that I know of research wise being done about nutritional deficiencies.

I am a pretty logical rational person and I have found clear cut evidence of 'CAUSE' and 'EFFECT'. Only roughly 5% of folks with dementia have the genetic disposition for it. If you look at a map of the world and see where the most dementia occurs, then diet clearly plays a part in its development.

In fact, Finland leads the world statistically and it took me moments to suss out why. In the early 1970's based on a doctor's advice the government started a countrywide low cholesterol drive to lower the heart disease statistic's.

They slashed the stats by two-thirds, but ended up with an Alzheimer epidemic instead. The problem is that the brain needs FAT to function. Not just any fat, but healthy cholesterol, or HDL. 

20% of the cholesterol in the body is stored in the brain and why it is so crucial is what it does in the brain. 

It has a major PROTECTIVE function for the brain's nerve cells and for synaptic interactions between cells. Basically, if your brain does not have enough fuel to function it starts 'screaming' for fuel. Unfortunately, most folks interpret that urge for energy as a need to pour on the sugar, but as some of you may already have found out - INSULIN balance in the body is also a major factor in dementia. Some researchers view it as a third type of DIABETEs.

(If only it were that simple...)

SUGAR CRAVINGS

So these afflicted folk start craving SUGAR and lots of it!

Now these sugar boosts usually go together with carbs, but end up doing absolutely NOTHING to help. In fact, they make the situation a lot worse, a lot quicker. 

Once you supplement yellow oils and spreads with a "white" fat like COCONUT OIL, avocado's and olive oil (raw on salads - never heat), your LO will lose the sugar cravings entirely. Happened for my mom and I am pleased to say that I now find the yellow stuff totally nauseating - literally!

We bake with it, fry with it, put on toast and in porridge to get the recommended 3 TBS 2x per day.

Thanks to Dr Mary Newton who did the research when her own husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I got to learn about coconut oil. Preferable "organic unhydrogenated", but if you cannot afford it like mom and I, then the cheaper lot. As it is able to convert KETONES into a kind of fuel the brain can use as energy, it still works.

BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER

The problem is that only 40% of cholesterol that is taken in by the body gets through the blood-brain barrier, so I have taken to advising folks to rub coconut on the arms, legs and backs of their loved one's twice a day to increase the amount of absorption.

As the skin is the largest organ of the body, there is absolutely no reason why this method should not work perfectly, but Bill Gates Dementia Defence group are not interested in funding any of my research trials. I think I have found the reason why more woman then men get Alzheimer's and it is not because they live longer. 

WHY DO MORE WOMAN THEN MEN GET ALZHEIMER'S?

I am an amateur armchair detective and pretty good at it when I have the time to devote to a case. I have the kind of mind that picks on singular facts and makes something out of them.

What stuck out in my mind was the Testosterone deficiency in men with dementia.

It turns out that men store it in their sperm, testes and prostate, but woman of course do not have any of these. So what is the deal?

It turns out that ZINC is involved in the control of insulin levels. So the more Zinc a man has, the higher his testosterone levels. 

Zinc is one of my favourite minerals. I found out about it years ago when I ended up dating a nice guy with the worse acne I had ever seen. It was 'EPIC ACNE', but I have never been one to shy away from a challenge.

None of the specialists could cure it and it was on his face, neck and back and we are talking large active volcanic craters. 

I read up a wee bit and then decided to put him on high doses of Zinc, with multi-vitamins (he smoked) and a medicated face wash.

Lo and behold it worked!

However, the minute he stopped taking the Zinc the volcanic eruptions would start up again.

NB: Some folks have chronic deficiencies of vitamins and minerals.

ZINC is also of major importance to speed up healing, strengthen the immune system and fight infection, so if you have a LO with dementia (man or woman), they should definitely be on a minimum of 50mg Zinc per day (taken after meals).

My mom used to get constant UTI's and was on an antibiotic for YEARS. I reckon it was the reason she ended up with a Duodenal Haemorrhage and nearly bled to death.

Since then and 5 pints of blood later, mom now takes my health advice most of the time. No more meds and no more UTI's!

Unfortunately, mom seldom believes a word I say. So getting her to do anything I suggest is a real battle. She was always gorgeous though and here she sits with a friend of hers out and about. (A rare occasion).

As you can see I did not get her Elizabeth Taylor looks. Tall thin, white skin, black hair and greenish eyes. I took after my gran and dad (build) and ended up with mom's bad genes. Eish!

Mom with my now deceased beloved fur baby, 'Olive" lying on her lap.

One of my fidget blankets. Only recently started making fidget quilts and aprons. Love it!

Well, I can go and on and, but the crux is this:-

Everything means something. You do not have to have your loved on a Statin drug to lower (LDL) high, or bad cholesterol. They remove ALL the bodies cholesterol. There are natural products like RED RICE YEAST EXTRACT.

I now know why my mom had excess Calcium in her blood. It is linked to Acetylcholine mechanism. Why was her sodium out of whack? The sodium-pump balance also gets destroyed. I could go on and on, but this is just a wee introduction. So until next time. God bless! Ciao, Mel