My mum is 81 and has had an Alzheimer's diagnosis for about 4 years, she still lives alone and has daily carers going in to see her and my brother visits daily either on his way to or from work. We have POA for her health and financial affairs and I plan on her coming to live with myslf and my partner in the south of France in our new "old" house. I'm sure a healthier diet will be a help when she gets here, as she eats a lot of pre-prepared ready meals, fruit, toast and chocolate biscuits!
So in readiness for her arrival I've been doing some research and stumbled across the link link below. People always say if it seems to good to be true it probably is. The guy, probably an actor, claims to have found a dietary cure for ALzheimers with coconut oil + other spices/foodstuffs from Ballabgah in India. He includes just about enough "credible" sources of info to sound more legitimate, but I don't want to embark down a route of false hope. It's very US-centric and follows the typical "risk-free" and money back guarantees approach that many shopping channels adopt.
I wanted to share the link to his video, but am unable to do that on this forum post. If you type "memory repair protocol recipes" into Google you will find his website.
Is it true/credible? I am deeply scpetical, but don't want to ignore it if it could be true. Also on the flipside, if it's fake it'd probably be good to let people know too.
Lastly if it's fake, does anyone have experience of "good" brain health diets - rich in omega fatty acids etc. - that have helped?
Many thanks
Rupert
When we first suspected that my wife had dementia (around 2013), there was a lot of articles about the benefits of taking coconut oil to combat the disease.
It was suggested that you put some (in it's solid state) on breakfast serial, so I bought some jars of it from our local health food shop. My wife didn't seem to mind it on her weetabix so for 6 months or so, we tried it.
You guessed it - not a scrap of difference, despite the "tales" of dramatic improvements, spouted by "experts" and celebrities.
But then, you'll try anything.
Good luck with the move.
Phil
I've never heard of him. If this was so effective, don't you think we'd all be doing it?
A good diet might be part of trying to avoid dementia (though genes also play a role) but once you have it, you have it, and no amount of eating well will make a difference. It's not like diabetes where you can control your blood sugar levels by what and how much you eat. In actual fact, taste buds in people with dementia change and they often crave sweet things. You might have trouble getting them to eat healthy stuff at all and at one point might have to decide it's better for them to eat biscuits than nothing at all.
So yes you are right to be sceptical. He is selling a cure to desperate people when at present there is no cure.
Last edited: Aug 6, 2017Welcome to Talking point, RupeGW.
My late husband had qualifications in (among other things) naturopathy, herbalism, and various other natural/complementary therapies. He had been a writer, a lifelong scholar, a world traveller and spoke several languages fluently. He was a firm believer in the "mediterranean diet" . Lots of olive oil and olives, fresh veg, etc. Yet, he got Alzheimer's Disease.
Shortly after he was diagnosed, knowing his interests in such things, his doctor (also interested in complementary and natural medicine), suggested we try coconut oil. So we did. It made no difference at all. My husband also tried high doses of B Vitamins, and for the first time in his life, started drinking several cups of coffee per day. His Alzheimer's disease marched forward relentlessly.
I do believe what people with Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia do best on is routine and sameness. Changes in routine, atmosphere or surroundings, such as holidays, trips to hospital, etc. etc. can have a very detrimental effect on their condition, seeming to accelerate the progression of their illness. So, in all honesty, I have to say I would be hesitant about moving your mum from where everything is familiar to her, to your home in France. There may come a time when you just won't be able to manage, and she will need full time care. What would you do then? I understand that it's very difficult being so far away when she is ill. But I really would think carefully and see what other options are available to you.
ps. To echo what Beate has said about it being better to have a person eat biscuits than nothing at all. Eventually, with my husband, it was desserts and bananas. He would eat a banana in the morning. Nothing else. Then he would eat all the ice cream, mousses, etc. that he could get, but would not eat a meal. Foods he used to love, olives, houmus, feta cheese, tomatoes, roast beef, sweet potatoes, all were rejected. But his eyes would light up at the sight of anything sweet and gooey!