I know.. there are natural cures out there but the drug companies don't want it to cut into their profits so it is hidden on the last page of the internet. There are testimonials and a buy here button! They claim it could also cure...Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), drug-resistant epilepsy, brittle type I diabetes, and type II (insulin-resistant) diabetes... and I guess that wart you have been trying to get rid of for years
I watched my Mom order a cabinet full of this kind of stuff off the internet. All she got for her money was full blown Alzheimer's and very expensive pee.
Ketones are NOT good. Triglycerides and not your friend. They are right about the insulin connection with Triglycerides but you truly do not want type II diabeties which is what it will cause and not cure. Checking for Ketones in the blood and urine is the way they check for Diabetes. Excessive ketones is not good.
It's bad science and praying on the hopes of the loved ones that have a disease for which we do not have a cure. NO, the current medications do not work well if at all. But feeding Mom curcumin, coconut oil, Ginko, vitamin supplements, blue green algae, Vegetable drinks, sun exposure, alpha lipoc acid, Vinpocetine from periwinkle plants, blueberries, nor fish is doing to make this disease go away.
Scientist do not know the root cause of Alzheimer's. There was a theory put forth a few years ago that there was a connection between glucose and Alzheimer's. The last page of the internet has been buzzing since about curing Alzheimer's with various form of keton producing substances. The research is going in very different directions now but the keton connection has remained. I am sure if they suspect a different cause there will be a new cure touted on the last page of the internet to match it... while they blame the drug companies and the research for not finding a cure that they have come up with... based on what the researchers said last year.
Yes, this frustrates me no end because I saw the hope glimmer in Mom's eyes until she realized that she had throw away money on quackery.... Today's snake oil
Deb said it well. Any time there is an illness without a cure (or even any known cause) quacks will crawl out of the woodwork to turn other people's despair into their profit. Medical science is looking for a cure. They are not hiding anything. Who would benefit from the well being of all of its senior citizens more than the state? Why would they suppress a known cure? It is a type of paranoia, like blamng the weather on the weather man.
A healthy moderate life style, fresh fruits and vegetables, exercise and a healthy weight, drinking plenty of water - these things promote health without costing you a lot of money.
Good luck with your Alzheimer patient. I lost my Mom to this disease in 2007 and I know all about quack 'cures'.
Hi well of course I make no promises of cure but if you want to feed things to benefit I can make some suggestions that won't cost a red cent more than a person would have already spent anyway for food.
I would use foods that help the kidney elimate aluminum.
The kidney if in excellent condition is said to help eliminate aluminum. One food watercress is said to help block its absorption into the body.
I would avoid sodas since these are in aluminum cans I would avoid things containing aluminum such as salts, antacids, and deodorants.
Most of the Alzheimer patients I know about did not do much walking for exercise. Getting out to move and getting the circulation of blood through the kidneys may help eliminate the aluminum faster.
I would not use vegetables in the same meal with fruits but have them in separate meals.
Foods that might be useful might include leafy green vegetables.
foods that may benefit kidney's may be watermelon, melon, pears, apples, peaches, loquots, red mombin, date, flax oil, asparagus, celery, artichoke, green beans, eggplant, cauliflower, squash, chestnut, corn, potato, and borage.
Foods containing vitamin E such as whole wheat. And foods containing choline such as soy.
I would avoid cheese it is said to cause headaches from the tyramine
present in the cheese. They suggest cheese should be avoided for everyone but especially in Alzheimer's.
Of course using alchohol never helps the brain be more intelligent. I have seen many things from those who drink to show that alcohol removes some judgement. One guy in our area in front of the bar was hit by a car. Others got into fights after drinking, I call that senseless activity had they not been drinking they could have just walked away.
Foods for the stomach may also benefit since at least one author suggests that the brain is connected to the stomach. (the stomach helps nourish it in addition to the nerve there).
These foods might be all different types of cabbage such as red, green, savoy, chinese, fennel, seaweed, sweet pepper, sprouts, brussel sprouts, collards, broccoli, sauerkraut, okra, kohlrabi, papaya, pineapple, avocado, cherimoya, and pomegranite. An occasional lemon is said to heal more than 100 different diseases. Brown rices could be used, I would avoid the white rice and refined foods. I would avoid ginger, spices, coffee, tea, tobacco, shellfish, shrimp, crab, lobster, crayfish, meats, animal products (hard on kidneys)medicines, and most supplements unless a health professional says there is a real deficiency. Sugar is said to clog the system I would avoid it like the plague. It contributes to candida which can also cause a major brain fog, they have enough as it is.
Water between meals 50 ounces per 100 pounds body weight between meals. I would eat 5 hours between meals and the last meal should be several hours before bedtime to avoid fermentation of food from bacteria with its resultant toxin.
It turns out coconut has choline in it but too much fat is not good for the liver needed to detoxify the body. If used it should not be overheated. Why not use the regular coconut, unrefined, the way it comes from the tree?
Last edited by sjb; 02-13-2011 at 08:41 AM.
Reason: addition made
There was a study back n the 70's that showed the presence of aluminum in some Alzheimer's patients. Since then no study has found any link between the presence of aluminum and Alzheimer's. A study back in the 80's found Aluminum levels has no relation to Alzheimer's. The most compelling evidence are those with kidney failure. They are actually treated with compounds that contain aluminum. The kidneys can not expel the aluminum and the aluminum levels do build up in their blood. In these specific people with excessive aluminum levels, for medical reasons, there is not more risk of Alzheimer's than in the general population which is the best proof that aluminum is not the cause of Alzheimer's. Again... it was a possibility that was put forth 40 years ago and had hung around though disprove.
Soda's come in plastic bottles as well but many veggies come in cans with aluminum.
My mother walked on the average of 5 miles a day for most of her life. Each morning she would walk the 2.5 miles to the railroad tracks and back home. She walked until she stated getting lose on her walks.... and how has full blown Alzheimer's. She had a heart cath a few years before her diagnosis and her heart was healthier than most 20 years olds. She has always eating more veggies than meats and taken good care of herself... and she still has Alzheimer's. I am not saying that you should not do these things for your general heath but I am saying they are not a cure or prevention for Alzheimer's. The greatest risk factor are age and genetics. Not much you can do about that At this point they are not even sure exactly what causes the brain to produce the plaques and tangles... but they know some things that don't and one of the early investigated ones was Aluminum
Has anybody tried organic coconut oil as a treatment for Alzheimer's. I would be interested in results (positive or negative)
Hello Don! It is funny you mentioned conconut oil. My dad was diagnosed with being in the last stages of alzheimers 2 yrs ago (bad diagnosis) and he is still funtioning fairly well for an 84 yr old man. My sister is giving him the meds the quack prescribed..Namenda and Aricpet. I am visiting for 7 days and i plan on taking him off those meds as they are good only for the initial start of alzheimers. At any rate..i saw a program where a doctor took her husband to a clinic to enroll him in a AZS(alzheimers study). He wasnt allowed o participate because he scored to low. The following day, his wife (the doctor) was to take him to another study. Prior to going she gave him 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (cold pressed and organic) in his oatmeal. On the way to Tampa, he couldnt not recognize any of the buildings or places along the way. The arrived and he tested for the new program. Suprisingly..he socred 4 points higher than the previous day. The doctor attributed it to the coconut oil. Does it work? I dont know. But I am going to try it for the next 7 days to see how my dad does. Supposedly, the nutrients in the oil are "brain food"!
I get very frustrated with people who try to take advantage of others by recommending supposed cures for diseases that we know have no cure. If a genuine cure was found, it would be headline news. Whenever I see ads for stuff that helps Alzheimers, my growling can be heard all the way to the Attorney General's office. Honestly, does this make any sense at all? What, this stuff is ingested and immediately goes from the stomach to the brain, removes plaque and revives neurons? (Be wary of new posters who show up to recommend something and then disappear...)
Aluminum has been proven not to have any connection with Alzheimers. Another myth.
My husband was very athletic and ate a balanced, healthy meal. He enjoyed skiing, swimming, rode horses, etc. He used his brain every day as a professional. He had no family history of Alzheimers, and no other obvious risk factors. He's one of the approximately 4 million patients in the United States today.
We've heard everything about possible cures over the years, from Vitamin E, Estrogen, Ibupropren, "brain exercises," green tea, and countless products available on TV or health care stores. I suppose if you have the money to throw away (and you won't be heartbroken when your loved-one continues to deteriorate), there's no harm except possibly to the patient who is being given this stuff to ingest. The patient's doctor will know the most current treatments being touted in the medical journals. They're not keeping the cure a secret so that they can make money from the annual appointment that just tells you that your loved-one has deteriorated further.
My mother is a classic example of the perfect anti Alzheimer lifestyle: she ate well, lots of fruit and vegetables, little fat. She kept active -- the last time she went swimming was at age 96 the day before she fell and broke her hip.
She walked 13 blocks to her senior center to save the 50 cents bus fare. She also walked for fun and exercise.
My Mom graduated from college at age 67. Then she volunteered to be the exercise leader at her senior center, took a course to be trained for that position, and did it for over 25 years every weekday, a 30 minute 'chair exercise ' program for senior adults.
She had a wonderful memory. Mom remembered things I had long forgotten. She had phone numbers and birthdays in her head.
All this took a downhill slide when around age 91 she began to be forgetful, and deteriorated until she died of Alzheimer's at age 99, having forgotten how to swallow, not knowing who we were, and having nothing but a mild upper respiratory illlness.
I could say that her healthy eating and life style kept her mentally well much longer. Perhaps she would have gotten dementia 20 years earlier if she had been sedentary and overweight. Who knows? I place my bet on medical science, not quacks. However, at least coconut oil doesn't harm you (I prefer a real coconut!) .. many of the other radical 'cures' do!
Martha
Last edited by Martha H; 02-15-2011 at 04:48 AM.
Reason: sp
Hi Don so if the results turn out good, how does a person know if it isn't someone trying to sell something at the other end?????? Coconut does have some saturated fat in it. I hear if a lot of it is taken and it sticks in the heart and even blood vessels of the brain then what? I could understand something taken in ordinary amounts but taken in large amounts in my mind maybe a red flag with a grain of salt. If that is decided on I would proceed cautiously.
Last edited by sjb; 02-15-2011 at 09:37 AM.
Reason: Punctuation
You have to be leery of testimonials because most of not based of good scientific observations and there are so many variable at work. Mom has good days and bad days. There are days she can not call my name and days that she can. Just because she ate oatmeal for breakfast and called me by name at noon doesn't mean that oatmeal is a cure of ALZ.... because tomorrow she will not call me by name.
The problem is, there is no real hope that anybody can give use. As humans we need hope so we search for it. That is why snake oil salesmen have been in business as long as human's have had coins to pay for it. Buy here buttons are a dead on give away that somebody wants to strip you of your money in exchange for false hope.
I had a long discussion with my friend who is a pharmacist last night. The way that substances work in the body, pharmaceutical and natural, is what pharmacist do. I made the comment that I saw no benefit from Namenda or Aricept. His come back was... "I have known this for a long time but that is the only hope they have to offer and the doctors get a HUGE kick back for prescribing these drugs." There you have it. Snake oil salesmen selling snake oil for profit and kick backs. He has also rattled off a long list of medications commonly taken that negatively affect cognition and memory. That is why looking at what you take is more important than taking something else to fix what might be caused by what you are taking. And as beginning said... if there was a cure you would not have to go on disreputable sites to find it. It would be on the front place of everything you looked at. I use a web site rating plug in. It should be known that most of these web sites touting a cure and classified as disreputable by those that view them, have tried them, and been taken of their money.
I am adamant about this because I did watch my Mom's hopes dashes repeatedly by this snake oil salesmen... and my sister's fight for hope through the current medications... while Mom's condition continued to deteriorate rapidly. It feeds denial. Then it creates guilt and resentment because it doesn't work. It puts you on a roller coaster that is emotionally unhealthy for not only the loved one with the disease but the family that loves them.
Love, deb
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Re "Snake oil salesmen selling snake oil for profit and kick backs"
coconut oil is plentiful and dirt cheap. Nobody as far as I can see is trying to sell it to Alzheimer's patients. It just too cheap over the counter at any health food store.
I am simply trying to find people who actually has used it to see if there is any benefit. I have seen testimonials and the work by Dr Newport who gave it to her husband with remarkable results.
Have you tried adding coconut oil as a dietary supplement or not?
If you have tried Coconut Oil I would love to hear from you.
Regards
Don
Last edited by moderator2; 02-15-2011 at 03:39 PM.
Reason: please try to avoid leaving huge quotes in your replies
The study results that were used to get Namenda and Aricept approved have consistently shown that they have little to no effect in the early and mild stages of the disease, nor do the manufacturers claim they do. What limited therapeutic value they do have comes in the later stages of the disease. However, neither alter or slow the progress of the disease. They merely alter the brain chemistry in ways that enable the diminished brain to function more effectively.
The doctor who uses coconut oil with some success is Dr. Mary Stewart in Orlando, Florida. When Axona was in clinical trials and showing some results but not yet available to the public, she read the patent application and found that the active ingredient was a short-medium chain triglyceride: C6. Upon researching further, she found that coconut oil provided useful levels of C6 and decided to try it on her husband. (Axona was subsequently given FDA approval and is now available by prescription.)
Shortly after my partner was diagnosed with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (the visual variant of Alzheimer's), his sister -- who has a Masters in nursing -- read about Dr. Stewart's success with it and told me about it. I reviewed her website with my partner's neurologist, who is an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. He said that the ketone body theory behind the use of medium chain triglycerides was valid and that there would be no harm in trying coconut oil or, even better, pure MCT oil. (Axona was just coming onto the market, and he was going to begin trying it with some of his patients.)
Links are emerging between diabetes and Alzheimer's, as the Alzheimer's brain is impaired in its ability to metabolize glucose, the brain's normal energy source. This is suspected to be one of the causes of the gradual dying off of brain cells with the disease. As it happens, the brain is one of the organs that can metabolize ketone bodies as an alternative fuel. And medium chain triglycerides are converted by the liver into ketone bodies which are carried to the brain by the portal artery.
The NIH is now beginning to fund research into ketone bodies based on some of the promising results she has gathered and reported from others who have experimented with the medium chain triglycerides.
Current research seems to suggest that ketone bodies can get to the more superficial brain tissues fairly easily, and this is the layer in which the visual processing and motor skills areas lies. The ketone bodies do not get into the deeper tissues as readily, and this is where the memory centers lie.
My partner lost the ability to read, to see icons or the mouse indicator on a computer screen, to tie his shoes, to fasten a seatbelt, etc. He shuffled badly when he walked, and he had had to quit driving because of constantly colliding with stationary objects. Some of these symptoms disappeared completely soon after beginning the oils (the shuffling and the inability to use a computer), and others improved more (tying shoes, fastening seatbelts) or less (reading).
Coconut oil and MCT oil are clearly not a cure for Alzheimer's. However, they might slow the loss of cognition. And they most certainly improve motor and vision skills.
In fact, my partner's Posterior Cortical Atrophy seems to be completely arrested. The typical course of the disease is for the person to become functionally blind and highly impaired in motor skills before general memory loss sets in as the disease progresses to full-blown Alzheimer's. In fact, one of the bad things about PCA is that the patient remains aware long enough to understand that his faculties are disappearing. My partner is now progressing into full-blown Alzheimer's, but he seems mercifully to have been spared the functional blindness and severe motor impairment that was to be his fate along the way.
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Hi Don
My mom is 79 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 5 years ago. She's on namenda and aricept. I started her on coconut oil about 3 months ago. For her, the result was immediate. Two hours after her very first serving she began responding to "mom" again. (Prior she had begun to only respond to her first name, not recognizing herself as "mom" or "grandma"). She also began using my name again, something that had become very hit or miss for a while. Over the past 3 months we have seen remarkable improvements. She is much more alert and engaged and her sense of humor is back full force. Her gait is steadier, she is able to ask for the bathroom appropriately probably 60% of the time, as opposed to her previous complete incontinence. Her language skills are very slowly improving. She uses eating utensils appropriately again- a skill she had pretty much lost.
I believe my mom's response has been more dramatic than average, but my understanding is that most people respond to at least some degree.
I give her a little more than 2 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil 3 times a day. I mush it up with some frozen orange juice concentrate into a kind of sherbet, spread it on sandwiches, melt it into oatmeal, etc. Once I saw the improvement I started also adding unsweetened coconut flakes to everything I could think of, and she drinks coconut milk smoothies every day.
I came across the information about coconut oil from Dr. Mary Newport. I strongly suggest you do a little research and speak to your own doctor. It has been amazing for my mom.
Eileen
Last edited by moderator2; 03-04-2012 at 10:10 AM.
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A few comments... Aricept is recommended for early and mid stages while Namenda is recommended for the later stages. Yet they say to using them together is most effective (which makes no real sense) but nothing in the research indicates that they improve or stop the progression of the disease. At best they may slow the progress minimally in some patients. I am not a fan of these medications because of the extensive side effects with little benefits.
Axona did go into clinical trials for "safety". It was proven safe. We now know coconut is safe to eat This is your first phases of any clinical trials. Later phases prove effectiveness of the medication. These later clinical trials were not successful and no effectiveness was indicated. Axona is not a medication for this reason. It is labeled a medical food. The difference between a medication and a medical food is simple. A medication has to have proven to have a beneficial effectiveness and a medical food just has to be proven safe. So the clinical trials did not prove the benefits of Coconut Oil/MCT Oil. It only said it was safe to take.
The snake oil salesman for profit comment had to do with the book profits and speaking fees that are gained in touting this "cure".... and the "buy me here" buttons where you can purchase for a product for a higher price than at your local grocery store! Yes it is a locally available product but the book and speaking profits are substantial.
Alzheimer's disease begins deep in the brain in the Hippocampus and then spreads outwards and back in the brain. The areas that will absorb the ketones is near the surface of the brain and not the areas most affected by the disease early on. The blood brain barrier is a major problem in finding treatments for this disease.
Love, deb
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Hi Don the body digests fat and spreads it throughout the body. Coconut oil is a fat and some of it probably ends up in the brain where it is supposed to go. The Brain does usually have some fatty substances in it that are in the nerve coatings. I have no financial interests in coconut oil but I would prefer it over medicines. As far as the brain barrier goes if it were that much of a barrier as they once claimed then chances are there would be no drug addicts, alcoholics, or smokers of any kind because the substances would not reach the pleasure centers of the brain. Nor would the drug ectsacy be able to make spongiform holes in the brain. I suppose some substances might be filtered out but certainly not all. The blood supply must go through the brain and whatever the liver did not detoxify may end up there to damage it. Peace SJB
Last edited by sjb; 03-04-2012 at 04:58 PM.
Reason: Grammar
SO FAR, IT'S WORKING: I'm the caregiver for my 93 year old mother who has advanced Alzheimer's. After seeing a report on "The 700 Club," I began giving her "pure" coconut oil about four weeks ago. I give her 3, sometimes 4, tablespoons each day spread out over 24 hours. Given her experience with Aricept and Namenda, which seemed to do nothing, the improvement I saw with coconut oil has been amazing. Don't get me wrong, she still has advanced Alzheimer's but, speaking relatively, her improvement has been both significant and consistent.
Several days ago, I also started giving her potassium. From the first dose, the potassium seemed to enhance the effect of the coconut oil. I give her approximately 500 mg. to 800 mg. of potassium a day, either in one dose or two. (Generally speaking, potassium is a chemical found in the intracellular fluid that is required in order for neurotransmitters to activate or inhibit post-synaptic neurons.)
Due to the short time period, I recognize it may be premature for me to post this comment. However, because the improvement I have seen in my mother has been so startling (again speaking relatively), I felt that posting this was warranted.
I have no idea whether the coconut oil and potassium will continue to work. Given the nature of Alzheimer's, I just take it one day at a time. As the saying goes, "only time will tell."
For those who may want to warn me about hyperkalemia, I know about it. Since my mother's kidneys are normal, there should be no problem with the dose I give her but, in any event, I watch carefully for any symptoms of hyperkalemia.
For those who may want to warn me about the high saturated fat content in coconut oil, I know about that too. But, unlike the saturated fat that causes damage, the saturated fat in coconut oil is composed of medium chained fatty acids which, unlike long chained fatty acids, readily dissolve in the blood.
For those who say I should not try coconut oil and potassium on my mother without scientific studies showing its effectiveness, I say that by the time medical science comes up with a remedy, my mother will be dead. Additionally, we're not talking about giving her prescription medication, we're talking about natural substances that I did research before making my decision.
For those who say, the effects I have seen may be only temporary or transient, you may be right. I don't know.
I am not posting the brand of coconut oil I buy because I don't want anyone to think this post is simply a deceptive sales gimmick. I have no interest or connection with the coconut oil industry or those who sell it nor, frankly, do I have any medical background. I simply saw a report on coconut oil and Alzheimer's, then did some research into it, and decided to try it. The results---so far, so good.
Mike
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Mike, no one here would condemn you for trying it .. as former or current AD caregivers we too tired everything, and I do mean everything! I am glad your Mom shows some improvement, and I also applaud your attitude of 'wait and see' and 'one day at a time'. Good luck! My prayer as always is that someday something will be found that cures and restores the mind back to normal, until then it is not wrong to try other cures, remembering that the first rule is 'do no harm' which you are following.
