Fun/sad Mark Applegate fact:
I have successfully lost over 100 pounds four times in my life. 50 pounds…probably a half dozen times too. If weight loss had a frequent flier program, I would be flying to the Canary freaking Islands by now…and first class at that. I have lost it on Atkins, Weight Watchers twice, low fat once, Israel Archaeology slave labor once, and my own creation a couple times. I am a descending and an ascending weight mountain-climbing expert at this point. I will reduce successful dieting down for you…and me…to a simple phase:
“Eat less than you burn, try to eat decent things, and drink lots of water.”
You are welcome. Here is your SeniorAge donation link. This pearl of wisdom is worth at least, say, a $100 tax-deductible donation to help seniors. 😉 OK…in reality this advise is good, but there is more to it, much of it psychological in nature. You have to build a support structure to help, create something in yourself akin to willpower and do this lifestyle change day-in and day-out as a way of life, not a diet. OK…my simplistic advise is worth at minimum 2 bits.
Mom, the Sweet 17 and, if being honest, nearly everyone owns something of a sweet tooth. Sweets can be comforting, can provide a quick burst of energy and are typically yummy to many, including, obviously, me. What is worth weighing out is whether it is important that later stage Alzheimer’s/Dementia patients get enough calories, regardless where these calories come from. They often struggle with eating, whether from forgetting how/when, having swallowing issues, or having different tastes in foods. There isn’t many calories going in. However, there are also not many being burned in their typically sedentary lifestyle. So the crux of the argument is, can’t we just give them junk food and let them live out their life in sugar bliss?
There are few guarantees in life, but here are some for you:
First, a few negative considerations:
Diabetes. Many Alzheimer’s patients have multiple, simultaneous conditions, and diabetes is a likely bedfellow with dementia. It kills, simply.
Energy. Sugar rushes lead to sugar lows…and sometimes headaches and worse.
Adverse effects? Possible links of a high-carb diet for exacerbating symptoms in dementia patients, potentially from a Warburg/Reverse Warburg effect. Some even refer to dementia as Stage III Diabetes because of this problem.
This or that? Would mom want her orange mush or her tan mush if she can just wait around for a HoHo? (Note: she is incapable of such scheming and planning ahead.)
Heart disease. Being overweight is a leading cause of heart disease.
A few positives:
Terminal. (Sorry…not very positive) The patients are terminal. They, minus a miracle, are not going to survive more than a few years….a decade would be an outlier. If having a doughnut sparks joy, give’m the stinkin’ Krispy Kreme!
At least it’s something!. Sweets are better than nothing at all. You wither and die with no calories.
X-factor. Could the happiness caused by eating some sweets lighten moods, decrease anxiety, and improve depressiohn?
Edible. These are typically chewable and less likely to cause choking or asphyxiation then other foods.
Sweet 17…the brand new candy bar craze for seniors? (Trademark/patent pending.)
All joking in acrostics aside, letting them fill up and potentially harm themselves with sweets is a real concern. Talk to your or your loved one’s physician extensively about this topic in the context of their health. The real “answer” to this dilemma is probably found, like many things in life, in moderation. Eat your orange mush, your tan mush and your Little Debbie cake….and do it with joy!
Mom was pretty darn happy today in my visit. When I got there a wonderful nurse was feeding her her healthy food. Mom smiled and said “Hey, it is great to see you!!” . That is a better greeting than I get from most people even though she had no clue who I was. Mom’s hair was up in a pony tail for the 2nd consecutive day. Very cute and matched her spunky, if tired, (right at nap time) personality. The rest of the Sweet 17 seemed to be happy and sailing smoothly too. I hung out for a couple hours and kissed her blowhole (the intersection of hair partings on top her noggin) and headed home for another day.
There isn’t much we can be sure of in the caring, treatment and future cure of this stinking disease. Information goes every which way. Keep praying, keep serving, keep advocating, keep loving, keep visiting and keep looking heavenward to a future table where everything is sweet, good for us and is not harmful. That we can truly count on.
#EndALZ
Here is a link about food cravings.
Here is a good link about eating for Alz. patients.
Here is a WebMD piece about eating challenges.