82-Year Old Woman with Dementia Changes Her Diet & Gets Back Her Memory
Sylvia, an 82-year-old woman with dementia, regained her memory after changing her diet.
Mark, who lives in Prestwich, first noticed his 82-year-old mother’s forgetfulness three years ago. After it became more and more frequent, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in December 2016.
The deterioration was quite rapid. When his mother’s condition became so severe that she had to be kept in the hospital for her own safety, Mark Hatzer thought he had lost another parent.
That’s when Mark, 50, “reached the lowest point in his life” when his mother didn’t recognize him.
She had tried to call the police, claiming she had been kidnapped and was being held against her will.
But soon enough, this sad story turned into an inspiration for other people with dementia and their families.
She and her son worked with her care team and developed a customized action plan that included good nutrition, regular walks, social activities, memory games and more.
Her diet, which included lots of nuts and blueberries, had a strong influence on her condition and today her recipes are shared with the public by the Alzheimer’s Society. Her diet is rich in nutritious foods such as kale, spinach, broccoli, green tea, sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, oats and dark chocolate. These foods are also known to be very beneficial for brain health, among other healing properties they possess.
Cognitive exercises such as puzzles and crossword puzzles, meeting in social groups, and a small pedal device so Sylvia could exercise in her chair.
They decided that medication alone was not enough, so they took into account that dementia rates are much lower in Mediterranean countries and copied their eating habits.
Mark explains that the miracle didn’t happen overnight, but after a few months, she began to remember things like birthdays and become herself again, more alert, more engaged. Today she is doing very well, she looks 10 years younger and if you met her, you wouldn’t know that she went through all of this.
Little by little, day by day, they managed to turn things around. It wasn’t a quick fix. Mark is truly grateful for that, as well as for all those who helped them.
Mark and Sylvia’s approach has been supported and endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Society.
The charity publishes Mark’s blog about Sylvia’s disease on its website, shares their diet and exercise program and publishes their recipes on flyers.
In addition, Slater and Gordon, Mark’s workplace, has been supportive, including offering new “brain-boosting” menus in the Manchester law firm’s staff canteen.
Recommended foods for living well with Alzheimer’s and dementia
- Fish such as salmon or mackerel and other foods rich in Omega 3 oil or capsules if preferred, taken 2-3 times a day
- Wholegrains, especially oats
- Wholemeal bread
- Beans
- Sweet potatoes, carrots and swede
- Leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, kale and spinach
- Mushrooms, especially brown varieties
- Nuts, especially Brazils and walnuts
- Berries, especially blueberries, blackberries and strawberries and preferably fresh, not frozen
- Linseeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Herbs and spices
- Tea, especially herbal and green teas, taken without sugar and with low-fat or no milk
- Coffee
- Good quality dark chocolate (with a cocoa content of 70 per cent or more)
Source:mirror.co.uk, bristolpost.co.uk, alzheimers.org.uk
