The Power of Food for People with Dementia | Hacker News Reader

The Power of Food for People with Dementia

newyorker.com

118 pointsfortran7730 comments

It gets crazy for people in nursing homes and hospitals that have dementia at times. I used to work security and they'd all line up along the wall and mingle, while waiting to get their medicine. Then they'd take their meds around 4:30 to 5 PM, go have a seat at the table, and eat. Some were assisted.

For the ones who liked to wander, they'd go back to their rooms afterwards, and then not more than 30 minutes later, they'd be lined up again, and have to be told that they just ate and to go back to their rooms.

But breaking it down... food is life, it is what we do when we are around family or friends. It does bring back some memories of earlier times, when certain smells arise.

My grandfather, who had dementia... towards the end of his life, he remembered two very specific meals, which were always his favorite: meatloaf and mashed potatoes and veal parmesan. Fortunately for him, his very last meal was the meatloaf, although pureed, but he smiled as I fed him. He then closed his eyes and never opened them again, dying three days later.

I recently discovered that a significant systemic yeast infection in my mom has been responsible for a large part of her cognitive decline and maybe even dementia symptoms. Currently treating it with diet avoiding feeding the yeast and various things to actively fight and kill off the yeast. Noticed a significant clarity of thought that hasn’t been there for years, which is wild to me. Did not think yeast could be such a significant influence

Is the diet based on removing fast carbs like sugar, bread, potatoes, etc?

Any kind of toxicity (including microbial) has a potential to cause a cognitive decline. The reasons why it happens are complex, but it boils down to energy. All such diseases have a common trait: they cause disruption of ATP production at the cellular level, affecting mitochondria. Then comes a domino effect: without sufficient energy supply, cells start to degrade. At early stages, it mostly affects high-energy cells like those in the brain and the rest of nervous system. Then comes the liver and muscles (including heart). At the end stage, the effect may cause a multiorgan failure and even death.

A reason why diets affect this situation so much is two-fold. First, a diet affects microbiota, causing stagnation and proliferation of selected species. Second, the diet affects cells and its organelles, especially mitochondria. For example, some acquired mitochondrial damages can be reversed by a sufficient supply of vitamins and minerals in combination with the right balance of carbohydrates and fats in the diet.

It is worth to mention that one has to eliminate the initial disruption factor that caused the problem in the first place. Be it infection, poison, or something else. Otherwise, the chances of recovery are dim.

What do you recommend as ideal foods to improve the microbiota? Are there any non-obvious foods, such we kefir?

What is a sufficient supply of vitamins and minerals? Are well talking joe rogan level or just taking a multi vitamin per day?

> What is a sufficient supply of vitamins and minerals?

General rule: Get your 100% daily values of everything. If you have worries about specifics of nutrition for yourself, a nutritionist or similar specialist would be the best option, as it also depends on any underlying conditions you have.

Considering just how toxic the modern day diet is, I’d say most people are in big trouble

Unirary tract infections cause the same symptoms and impact, speak to any decently experienced elderly care worker

This was a plotline on HBO's "Succession."

How did you figure out the link between yeast and cognitive decline?

Almost everything online wrt yeast seems like Goop-level pseudoscience.

Would you mind sharing the name of the disease / symptom / yeast?

I’m celiac and always looking at food related illness.

SIBO/SIFO/Candidia/gut dysbiosis more broadly.

Wow! Mind giving a few specifics on the diet changes? I’m guessing removing sugar is one thing?

Toddlers put everything in their mouth because their tongue is their most developed sense at that point. It tells them more than looking at it or touching it with their hands.

My impression is we lose last what we gained first, plus taste is strongly influenced by smell and smell is known to be a powerful memory trigger.

The larger goal of the Dinner Party, as Broder calls the event, was to explore the power of food in triggering memories, improving quality of life, and enhancing neuroplasticity—things that are difficult to achieve with medicines.

Maybe doctors will eventually sort this. This paragraph gives me hope.

The fact smells, bad or good, act as strong triggers of memory should be indicative that this area is worth exploring in relation to dementia. For me texture works to some extent in a similar fashion. I can remember the feeling of textures of different items that I haven't touched since I was a child and the act of trying to make myself remember the feeling of touching them, brings memory back in a different that is more "vivid" than just thinking about their shape (color).

https://archive.ph/OpWs4

Obviously it's easy to say now, but: dementia came for my grandfather in his late 80s, and if it comes for me, I fully intend not to let it get me.

That's something I have thought about as well, but realistically I fail to see how this is possible to escape it completely, since most of the time, when you have dementia, you simply don't realize you have it (or, you deny it).

Yes, I think that's a big part of what makes it so scary. Maybe the part of you that would do /anything/ to avoid dementia will be the first thing to go.

Having unfortunately watched my mother in law go through Alzheimer, at no point in the process was she willing to admit or even really aware (other than for very short flashes) that she had a problem.

FWIW, my grandfather had dementia and knew it before he passed, and for a long time when it was developing.

The interesting part is he could not remember the word for it, but the part of his brain that knew what dementia was, still functioned.

So he would say, "I have that thing that starts with the letter d, where I can't remember things".

I also remember after he passed, going through things in his home, and finding papers and things he had collected, which were his reminders to himself that he had seen in himself that he couldn't remember.

I think for me, one of the most emotional moments I had was finding this poem printed and sitting on his desk: https://www.ellenbailey.com/poems/ellen_112.htm

I still miss him and was in awe of the fact that he was going through the stages of dementia but still remembered me, and was aware of it. I think being aware of it almost made it worse, in my opinion.

That poem is beautiful. Thank you.

Agreed: this is why I expect to make this decision — if I have to — (much) earlier than most people would expect.

For me personally I would like to determine the level of deterioration for lack of a better word where this is done on my behalf. Like an AI monitoring my cognitive levels and pulling the stops at a certain level. I understand how controversial and dystopian this sounds and how many problems this may cause on a society level but it would let me go on a lot longer than if I had to take care of things myself.

I wonder how true that is. There are plenty of people who do know it when it starts happening, because it's not a sudden change - so they'll have bouts of complete clarity.

In Oregon, there is/was an effort/lawsuit by one person in early stages of Alzheimer's to allow for physician assisted suicide after diagnosis. Currently one of the requirements is such that it precludes being used by dementia patients. Just Googled it - she had to move to another country to get that assisted suicide.

There are other anecdotes of people being aware they're falling into dementia. I know a famous writer whose mother knew it and asked him to kill her before it got worse (he refused).

So I wonder what proportion do and what don't.

I have never had to witness this with someone close to me. Do you think there is a window where you realize what's going on and still are capable of exiting on your own terms?

I remember a case where a famous person in Germany (Gunther Sachs - [0]) ended his own life because he suspected having Alzheimers. It was controversial because he never got an official diagnosis and there was some suspicion he didn't even have it.

[0] https://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/gunter-sachs-germ...

I hope there will be a window. And my wife knows my preference. I’d hate for her to have to face that decision without me.

just dropping this one, I've been collecting for a while but only recently started jotting it down into my repository.

https://github.com/cutestuff/FoodDepressionConundrum/

My life completely turned around in 2017, when I switched from a normal diet to low carb and later to carnivore. I'd notice that when I only eat meat I'd feel like life is worth living. Recently found notes from 2016, I'd eat something like a high fructose fruit and 4 days later I'd think about suicide.

> Max Lugavere enters the chat

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