Alzheimer's and gluten (from my medical pay site Ivanhoe)

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:54 pm

Reported November 2, 2011
Alzheimer’s: Untangling a Brain Killer
By Julie Marks, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

1. Take Control of Your Health: In general, the healthier you are, the better your brain! Uncontrolled blood pressure doubles a person’s odds of developing Alzheimer’s disease and raises the risk of vascular dementia by six-fold. Having diabetes doubles a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s , and having high cholesterol in midlife increases the risk of Alzheimer’s later in life by 66-percent. Strokes, sleep apnea, and even depression are also linked to poor cognitive health. Another common condition may be mistaken for Alzheimer’s. Israeli doctors found two women who were previously diagnosed with Alzheimer’s actually had celiac disease -- an allergy to gluten. When the patients removed wheat, rye, barley and oats from their diets, their memories came back. "

I joined a new Facebook family, Memory People. They have many additional branches but I only joined the resources. My eyes can't take anymore.........

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 12:58 am

The cholesterol thing again. Mine is high but I really don't want to take statins.

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 6:52 am

Thanks, Joan,

I am interested in the link between gluten sensitivity and dementia. I have mentioned before that my mom had dementia (from small "strokes" in the brain, not Alzheimer's) the last 10 years of her life, and I suspect she had undiagnosed gluten sensitivity (and maybe MC) during her life. She was in a long-term care setting, and it probably would have been difficult to try GF effectively.

Does anyone else ever worry about this......i.e. what's going to happen to us if/when we need to be cared for by others? Especially someone like me, with SO many food sensitivities. I can't imagine that any "institutional" kitchen could ever meet my dietary needs. Will I be in diapers 24/7 because of the food I will be served? It's a scary thought, IMHO.

Love,

Polly

Martha · Post by **Martha** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:06 am

Polly, I worry about that. My mom has food sensitivities (lactose intolerance, can't eat seeds, pepper, or anything with little pieces like that) and she is now in a full-care facility. I asked her if they can meet her dietary needs, and she said no. My family members tend to live to be really old, so I think I'm doomed to have to deal with the problem.

Love,
Martha

JFR · Post by **JFR** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:33 am

Polly,

I worry too but I haven't come up with any solutions beyond becoming enlightened which is not happening any time soon.

Jean

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 10:38 am

Oh, yes, I sure do worry, Polly. It is very scary to me.

Deb · Post by **Deb** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 10:39 am

That is a worry for me too; even a hospital stay is a scare. I'm hoping that by the time institutional care might be necessary that the world has become a lot smarter about food intolerances and sensitivities. There are more and more of us out here. Surely someone will eventually notice!

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 3:57 pm

I worry about it, too, especially since my mother was in a nursing home for the last 18 years of her life. There's no way that a nursing home would cater to my strict diet. I fear that I'll be in diapers with a raw behind if I'm ever placed in one.

That's probably the reason I'm reluctant to get long-term care insurance. It almost guarantees our family will put us in a home. Why not, after we've paid for the expectation so many years?

Gloria

mzh · Post by **mzh** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:55 am

Oh boy, I never thought of any of this. My mother was in assisted living for 18 months and she had an awful time with her bowels. She went into assisted living because I was caring for her when *my* MC hit and I couldn't take care of her and my aunt, her sister. (Both lived with us for 10 years until I got sick.) Unfortunately I wasn't diagnosed until 2 years after they both died. They both loved bread but in retrospect, that probably killed my mother who also had TIAs that caused her to have Alzheimer-like symptoms. My aunt didn't have GI issues but did have terrible rheumatoid arthritis. Maybe she had a gluten issue that manifested itself that way. If I only knew then what I know now.

And no, I don't have long-term care insurance either. I'd get a reverse mortgage on the house before going into a home, given the dietary considerations. And rather than sending them to assisted living, I'd had gotten lots of home care instead.

Deb · Post by **Deb** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:04 pm

I do have long term health insurance but it also will cover in-home nursing care if desired. I feel like the insurance gives me more options. I personally don't think I'd object to assisted living. The units we have locally are nice, personal apartments with meal plans and nursing care that can be purchased ala carte. Deb

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:44 pm

12 months ago i did worry about 'what ifs' of needing help, as i dont have a partner or children or siblings nearby

now - thanks to lots of reading [thanks Polly

]
i am more at peace, i am living in the now and not wasting energy worrying about things that may or may not happen.

i figure if someone has to care for me, they will follow my MC management plan as they will be the ones having to clean up any mess if they dont!! I am sure by about day 2 of MC mud a few times a day they will get the message!!! he he he he

Polly i think there is a big connection between dementia, alzeimers, Vit D3, toxic inflammation..............
the more common auto immune conditions become, means more inflammation in our bodies, the more damage that is done, the harder it is for cells to rebuild

cjbndtsn · Post by **cjbndtsn** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 6:04 pm

Gabes,
What a great way to look at it. I was reading these others and also started pondering what if's but I was also trying to tell myself...."don't get stressed"!!!! I had so much stress in my life while I was still working that I'm sure that was a big contributor to my MC. I feel so much better and have been trying to stay stress free of most things now that my body is healing. I had friends from Madison, WI come to visit this weekend so I was worrying about making everything perfect around the house since I just bought it a few months ago and they hadn't seen it yet..............late Friday morning I just broke down crying thinking I wasn't going to get everything done. But I settled myself......logged into to read more blogs from the PP people and rested. THen I got up and finished and everything was PERFECT and we had a great weekend.
They brought me all kinds of goodies from a bakery in Madison called "The Silly Yak Bakery" They were wonderful baked goods and a nice treat. (they ship anywhere in the US too)Great name of the bakery too huh?!?!?!? Your right though.....let's take life day by day and be thankful for today.

Thanks

carolm · Post by **carolm** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 6:44 pm

I'm thinking we'd better pool our resources and buy up a set of condos that can be the PP retirement home. Then we can hire our own chef and set our own rules.

Some place very close to a good medical center with a strong, cutting edge GI program.
Better to be proactive, right?

Carol

Christine. · Post by **Christine.** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:21 pm

I thought about it a lot after my diagnosis last year and when I was tending to my mom in a board and care home. Surely the large facilities can't cater to strict dietary needs. I worry that if my mind isn't all there that I will just eat what they feed me. I guess I will have to give my kids strict instructions....lucky them! ( or lucky health aides that have to change diapers). De- pressing.

Speaking of that, I just went to my high school reunion. All those people looked so old! My friend and I remarked how wonderful we looked compared to all those old fogies.....right! Actually it is interesting to see the role of genetics in aging.
Christine

ant · Post by **ant** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:06 am

Carol wrote

I'm thinking we'd better pool our resources and buy up a set of condos that can be the PP retirement home.

Agree. I fear a nursing home that might 'institutionalize' me with the blessing of not up-to-speed doctors and bad policies,

Best, ant