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  #1   ^
Old Mon, Jun-14-21, 10:11
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is online now
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Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
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Default Study of Keto and Alzheimer's: Feb 2021

Can't tell if anyone reported on this previously:

Quote:
To the extent that AD is a metabolic condition, the solution is also a metabolic one: change the way the brain gets energy. Owing to the way a ketogenic diet provides an alternative fuel to the brain—transitioning from dependence on glucose to reliance on ketones—it’s a logical and scientifically sound place to start.

Is Alzheimer's a Metabolic Disease?


The results of a report released February 2021, this is especially poignant to me since the FDA just approved yet another Alzheimer's treatment which is very expensive, has side effects not dissimilar to Alzheimer's itself, and will provide false hope and wrong turns for every family suffering from the disease.

3 Experts Have Resigned From An FDA Committee Over Alzheimer's Drug Approval

It's yet another drug which dissolves Amyloid Plaques without having any effect on the symptoms or progress of the disease.

It's all the more discouraging when there is better science to be had, that will actually work. The ideas these drugs seem wedded to are another misconception: much like cholesterol's role in heart disease.

Quote:
Why Amyloid Proteins Are Neuroprotective

Additionally, amyloid proteins are neuroprotective. They have numerous functions that suggest they play a vital role in neuronal repair and regeneration. If they were contributing to the disease pathology, then we would expect a drug that reduced secretion of these proteins and formation of the plaques to have a beneficial impact on the illness.

It is noteworthy, then, that every drug developed to target these proteins and plaques has been a failure. They’ve succeeded in that they did reduce secretion of amyloid proteins and plaque formation, but these reductions led to no improvement in the condition. In fact, phase III clinical trials of one such drug were stopped early because in subjects on the drug, cognitive function was declining so much faster than in those on the placebo, and it would have been unethical to continue.

The amyloid proteins are initially protective, but it’s true that when they form into plaques, things can go awry. Think of it like a fever: a fever is initially a protective step. It’s your body’s way of raising your core temperature in order to fight off a pathogen inside you, like a virus or bacteria. But if the fever goes too high, then the fever, itself, becomes a problem. It’s a similar situation with amyloid proteins. At relatively low levels, they’re helpful. It’s only when they build up and start linking together that they form plaques and interfere with cellular communication.

Is Alzheimer's a Metabolic Disease?


My bold. Because that's the point.

It's a very long and detailed post by Amy Berger, but I find her easy to read and so informative.
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  #2   ^
Old Mon, Jun-14-21, 11:21
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deirdra deirdra is offline
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I don't know it for a fact but just know that it is true: the increase in AD is related to the anti-fat, anti-cholesterol, anti-animal-based diet stance of "experts" and governments. Human brains are 60% fat and thrive on cholesterol. Eating animals it what made our species' brains grow bigger and smarter. My brain is sharp as a tack when I eat very low carb real foods and plenty of animal protein. Plant protein gives me brain fog. Inflammation, allergies and intolerances are often the reactions to the body sensing "foreign" proteins that it needs to attack or encapsulate. So why would we want to turn our diet 180 degrees around from the foods we were designed to eat?

Last edited by deirdra : Mon, Jun-14-21 at 11:28.
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  #3   ^
Old Mon, Jun-14-21, 13:40
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cotonpal cotonpal is online now
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Plan: very low carb real food
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Fighting against the anti meat pro plant agenda is like tilting at windmills. Almost everyone I know seems to declare with a sense of moral superiority how they no longer eat red meat.
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  #4   ^
Old Tue, Jun-15-21, 00:24
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s93uv3h s93uv3h is offline
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Plan: Atkins & IF / TRE
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...type 3 diabetes.
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, Jun-15-21, 08:30
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Calianna Calianna is online now
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My mother passed away a little over a year ago - severe dementia, most likely alzheimer's. She was almost 93, so her death was not unexpected at that age. The decline over the previous 10-15 years was primarily cognitive.

She had gotten to the point that couldn't get up out of a chair on her own, and didn't understand anything that was going on around her when she was in a hospital about a year earlier, but was strong enough to (literally) fight the doctors and nurses at the hospital when she didn't like that they were trying to run some tests on her. (this frail old woman that they thought was too weak to do anything on her own was hitting them - hard!)

Oddly enough, during her last 2 weeks, when she was completely bed-ridden, and basically not eating or drinking hardly anything (No IV, so her blood sugar would have been significantly lower than it had been on her primarily starch and sugar based low fat diet - in other words, her body would have switched over mostly to ketones to keep bodily functions going), she seemed to have more clarity of thought than I'd seen in several years. She couldn't talk at that point (hadn't for several months, though she tried), but if you asked her something, she seemed to understand what you were asking, and would either nod or shake her head (ever so slightly - muscle function was minimal at that point).

During her last couple of days, we were playing a lot of comforting music from her life (mostly old hymns, but also some old standards that she would have been very familiar with from the 40's-50's), and she responded very positively - you could see that she was attempting to sing along with the hymns (slight movement of lips and mouth - she knew all the words), and most remarkably of all, she was moving her hands and fingers as if she was trying to play the hymns on the organ. Again, only slight movements (maybe 1/2" this way and that way), but considering that she had gotten to the point where she wasn't moving at all, that small movement was a significant response. When we played some of the old standards, she had a genuine emotional reaction to those - some reactions were happy, others were wistful.

She was on a couple of different meds for alzheimers over the years. One med was so bad that she declined very quickly - sounds like it must have been destroying the amyloid proteins in their protective stage, just making things worse. Once that med was discontinued, she improved somewhat - at least she wasn't acting quite as out of it as she was while on that med.

There were some other incidents during those last couple of weeks when her blood sugar wasn't constantly being spiked, and it was clear that she was thinking fairly clearly, but so much damage had been done that she wasn't capable of expressing herself with anything other than slight movements - but those slight movements were very clear and decisive responses to questions, clear declarations of what she wanted at the moment. (One instance late at night had to do with her favorite color, and wanting a robe in her favorite color draped over the rail on her bed, so she could look at it as she fell asleep - the pointing, scratching at the fabric, and nodding were clear indications of what she wanted)

There were attempts to improve her diet the last few years. I live a couple hours away in a different state, but my brother did his best to make sure she was fed fewer carbs, and was given real butter, and some food cooked in coconut oil each day, but my mother loved her carbs (left to her own devices, she had gotten to the point that she was eating far more carbs than I'd ever seen her eat before - she'd pile an inch of jelly on a piece of bread, even though I'd never seen her use more than a tiny schmear of jelly when I was a kid), and always hated eating anything "greasy", so she'd reject any food that seemed too oily to her, hence why it was so difficult to increase the amount of coconut oil.

I should mention that she was still at home until the end, with round the clock caregiver/companions - all these little signs that she was thinking more clearly right before the end would have been missed entirely if she'd been in a nursing home. This is also of course an N=1 experience - I don't know how other dementia/Alzheimer's patients have reacted during their last weeks or days, when they're not eating lots of starch and sugar, and not on an IV.
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, Jun-16-21, 03:44
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Benay Benay is offline
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It is so sad that dieticians in hospitals still have not heard about the deleterious effects of carbs. So people like your mother and my mother were fed a diet high in carbs and low in proteins. Also cheaper.
On the other hand, because our national dietary guidelines continue to push a high carbohydrate diet as "healthy" and require all organizations that receive federal funding to comply with their dietary guidelines or lose their funding, no matter what dieticians know, they cannot change managements' policies.
When I look back over my life and that of my family when we ate all the "healthy" foods like "Breakfast of Champions" I can see how we were destroying our metabolic systems thinking we were OK. All these decades later we are reaping what we sowed.
What upsets me the most is that our committee that creates these guidelines is creating another generation that will feel the effects as they age. Personally I see it as criminal.

Thank you for your story about your mom. It took me back to the days when My mom was in similar circumstances.
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, Jun-16-21, 04:55
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Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is online now
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My grandfather was clear headed to the day he died, almost. While carrying in his new tv, he tripped and had a severe head injury. Dying about 4 week later.

In his mid nineties!!!

His first wife died if breast cancer. His second wife of dementia. Both thin trim tall women.

What we eat matters as much as how much.

This news in post 1 made the radio news.
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  #8   ^
Old Wed, Jun-16-21, 05:25
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Kristine Kristine is offline
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Plan: Primal/P:E
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Calianna
My mother passed away a little over a year ago - severe dementia, most likely alzheimer's. She was almost 93, so her death was not unexpected at that age. The decline over the previous 10-15 years was primarily cognitive. (...) Oddly enough, during her last 2 weeks, when she was completely bed-ridden, and basically not eating or drinking hardly anything (No IV, so her blood sugar would have been significantly lower than it had been on her primarily starch and sugar based low fat diet - in other words, her body would have switched over mostly to ketones to keep bodily functions going), she seemed to have more clarity of thought than I'd seen in several years. (...) you could see that she was attempting to sing along with the hymns (slight movement of lips and mouth - she knew all the words), and most remarkably of all, she was moving her hands and fingers as if she was trying to play the hymns on the organ. Again, only slight movements (maybe 1/2" this way and that way), but considering that she had gotten to the point where she wasn't moving at all, that small movement was a significant response. When we played some of the old standards, she had a genuine emotional reaction to those - some reactions were happy, others were wistful.
I'm sorry your family had to go through this, Calianna. My granddad also went through a painfully long descent through dementia, and I believe it was called non-Alzheimer's dementia, but IMO, it's like s93uv3h said: type 3 diabetes. Granddad did NOT take care of himself. He had T2D. I'll never forget being about 11 years old, and my dad and uncle had taken him to a doc's appointment. I asked how it went. My dad told me the doc yelled at him, saying, "you're not a schoolboy!!" Granddad had several bowls of corn flakes every morning, plus the usual carbage of the SAD. I'm sure his BGs were a mess.

It wasn't long until his decline started to become obvious. I remember being maybe 15, and he'd ask us the same questions about 5 times an hour. I think I was 29 when he died.

I consider that a crappy way to go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MsArielle
His first wife died if breast cancer. His second wife of dementia. Both thin trim tall women.

What we eat matters as much as how much.
Absolutely. I'm sure a lot of people, including himself, gave my granddad a free pass because he was pretty slim.
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  #9   ^
Old Wed, Jun-16-21, 07:24
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WereBear WereBear is online now
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Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Calianna
She was on a couple of different meds for alzheimers over the years. One med was so bad that she declined very quickly - sounds like it must have been destroying the amyloid proteins in their protective stage, just making things worse. Once that med was discontinued, she improved somewhat - at least she wasn't acting quite as out of it as she was while on that med.


This is the tragedy of statin, autoimmune, and Alzheimer's drugs: they are based on a wrong view of the actual science. So they do far more harm and so little good.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Calianna
but my mother loved her carbs (left to her own devices, she had gotten to the point that she was eating far more carbs than I'd ever seen her eat before - she'd pile an inch of jelly on a piece of bread, even though I'd never seen her use more than a tiny schmear of jelly when I was a kid), and always hated eating anything "greasy", so she'd reject any food that seemed too oily to her, hence why it was so difficult to increase the amount of coconut oil.


My maternal grandmother spent a decade with dementia, though she had high blood pressure her whole life, UNmedicated, and I think it probably had a vascular origin. But the thought of developing it terrified my mother. Who knew about Atkins, and I sent her keto shakes and a blender and protein bars... I knew she had grown to hate cooking except on special occasions, so she just reached for fast and easy. And her death was not entirely explained by the doctors, but I think it was rooted in autoimmune.

In any case: I wished she would eat better, but I know she never was able to stick with it. Which is the story of so many elderly people: diminishing senses, dental issues, lack of other amusements, and the standard elder diet makes it almost impossible. Especially if the process has already started.
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  #10   ^
Old Wed, Jun-16-21, 19:37
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bluesinger bluesinger is offline
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Plan: LC/CancerRecovery
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Location: Nevada Desert, USA
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I don't know if you remember, but I was accepted into the EARLY J&J Alzheimer's Trial here in Las Vegas. Luckily for me, the trial was shut down before I got any pills, placebo or otherwise. I was accepted because my father died of dementia.
Almost everybody on my paternal side of the family eventually developed T2D and Daddy was being treated with opioids for 'burning feet' before it had a diagnostic name. I believe the combo is what proved deadly for him.
I was diagnosed prediabetic in my early 20's which is why it was a no-brainer for me to adopt Atkins in 1972. That choice most probably saved my life and my brain.
The Trial set me down the hole of research on my own. I had my DNA tested to find out my aPOE status. I joined an online forum:https://www.apoe4.info/
I learned that all the degenerative neurological diseases respond positively to LC eating.
As a strong proponent of Science, it's difficult to reconcile the deadly nutritional advice being peddled, when Science itself says the opposite is good for our neurological health:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321471/
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  #11   ^
Old Wed, Jun-16-21, 20:19
s93uv3h's Avatar
s93uv3h s93uv3h is offline
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Plan: Atkins & IF / TRE
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While diet certainly leads with prevention strategies, sleep also comes into play with age and the difficulty in getting enough, and the lack of the deeper sleep cycle that we seniors experience.

The Hidden Connection Between Sleep and Dementia, Dr. Rhonda Patrick video
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  #12   ^
Old Sun, Jun-20-21, 03:25
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WereBear WereBear is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesinger
I learned that all the degenerative neurological diseases respond positively to LC eating.


This statement has lingered with me, because that's what I'm trying to prevent!

Dr. Terry Wahls states, in her book, that all autoimmune is the same. And I consider it -- likewise -- a disease of malnutrition and endocrine unbalance.

I keep thinking of pellagra: a disease, expressed through brain dysfunction, most people have never even heard of. But it happened when they discovered removing the germ of grains let them keep longer. However, when this was a staple, especially among the poor, it also removed almost all B vitamins from their diet. Especially B3: niacin.

When they added niacin back into the grains: the asylums in the South almost emptied, overnight.

They learned about "enriched grains." But it's obvious they didn't learn enough.
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  #13   ^
Old Sun, Jun-20-21, 05:11
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bluesinger bluesinger is offline
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Dr. Wahls and MS.
Dr. Bredneson and AD.
Dr. Perlmutter and Parkinson's Disease.
And we mustn't forget the treatment of childhood epilepsy.
https://keto-mojo.com/article/healt...ical-disorders/
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  #14   ^
Old Sun, Jun-20-21, 20:29
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s93uv3h s93uv3h is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesinger
Dr. Wahls and MS.
Dr. Bredneson and AD.
Dr. Perlmutter and Parkinson's Disease.
And we mustn't forget the treatment of childhood epilepsy.
https://keto-mojo.com/article/healt...ical-disorders/
Dr. Georgia Ede
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