Dementia

Black and white photo of a young child in a bonnet and dress sitting on an outdoor chair, with one leg extended and an expression of surprise or excitement.

Sepia-toned portrait of a young woman with curled hair wearing a white blouse and a pearl necklace.

Black and white photo of a smiling couple standing close together outdoors with trees in the background.

An elderly couple sitting on white plastic chairs by a lake with trees in the background.

Vintage portrait of a man wearing a dark suit, white shirt, dark tie, and a fedora hat.

Black and white portrait of a smiling young child with curly hair, looking slightly to the right.

They were the Great Americans that were born between World Wars, suffered thru a Great Depression, fought in the Second World War, saw penicillin and TV be discovered, sent their children to Viet Nam and died from chronic diseases like cancer and dementia.

Black and white photo of a woman and a boy standing on grass outdoors, both dressed in vintage clothing and smiling.

Young boy standing outdoors holding a string of freshly caught fish with a house and trees in the background.

Vintage photo of two women standing beside a classic 1920s car on a dirt road.

Black and white photo of a man in a military uniform leaning on a railing outdoors.

Smiling World War II soldier in uniform with chevron patches on sleeve and a brown garrison cap.

My father, who grew up on an Indiana farm, lived through 7 major invasions in WWII. During his lifetime, he went from having cigarettes be a staple in war rations to undergoing major cardiac bypass surgery, developing COPD and dying at 89 from lung cancer.

Black and white photo showing a woman standing between two people in formal attire.

Black and white photo of a man and woman standing outside a house holding a swaddled baby.

Black-and-white photo of a man crouching and smiling next to a young child holding a small kitten outdoors near a vehicle.

Black-and-white photo of a woman standing outdoors holding a baby with trees in the background.

Seven women of various ages gathered around a dining table with Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets and bowls, in a vintage home setting.

My mother was a high school graduate from the Boston area who married her wartime sweetheart, moved to the Midwest and raised two children on Healthy meals filled with Crisco, coca cola, spaghetti-O's, bread with butter and sugar; and if we were good, a candy bar at the end of a week. She died from Dementia.

Smiling elderly woman wearing glasses holding a baby with fist in mouth, seated next to a smiling elderly man in glasses and tie.

Elderly man wearing a striped shirt and cap standing next to an elderly woman in a floral blouse, both smiling.

Elderly couple smiling and sitting together indoors, woman with curly gray hair and floral blouse, man with glasses, gray beard, and plaid shirt.

Elderly woman wearing a white hat, sunglasses, white sleeveless top, and blue plaid shorts, sitting on a green and white lounge chair outdoors.

Elderly woman and others seated around a dining table with lit candles and plates of food.

Elderly woman with glasses sitting in a chair, smiling, wearing a striped shirt with patriotic star and flag patches.

Smiling elderly woman with white curly hair and glasses sitting in a wooden rocking chair on a porch with a man in the background.

Elderly woman with glasses wearing a red plaid shirt and red turtleneck sitting at a table with a white flower in a vase in front of her.

Elderly person lying in bed with a black cat resting on their chest.

Her dementia went over the edge one night when she called me in a fright that my dad had not come home. She had no recall that he had died 4 years earlier. In fact, as her dementia ebbed and waned, my dad disappeared from her memory and she told me toward the end of her life her name was Virginia Freeman. Virginia Schultz had disappeared. When asked about her greatest accomplishment in her life, she stated that graduating from High School was her greatest accomplishment.
When I brought her to my home after my father had died, she was down to #115. My brother, who in his lifetime has topped #400, had been feeding her chocolate covered peanut candies instead of taking her to the grocery. Adequately feeding her did a lot for her mind, for awhile.
Life was also made difficult because during this final stay in my home she began to think I was her mother of whom she was deathly afraid. Her mother use to beat her and her sister as children. My mother's brother did not suffer the same fate, so he lived until 94 with a stable memory.

Man wearing a leather jacket and gloves sits on a motorcycle outdoors with leafless trees in the background.

Today we know not to smoke but we have not been very good about our diets. Fast foods, GMO's, chemicals to help grow or preserve foods are everywhere. Antibiotics have been used so much that we now have strains of bacteria resistant to all antibiotics.
If diabetes or cancer does not get you then around the corner are Alzheimer's, Dementia, MS, and Parkinson's.

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Food pyramid illustrating recommended consumption: eat most grains and cereals at the base, eat more fruits and vegetables, eat moderately meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dry beans, and dairy products, and eat less fat, oil, salts, and sweets at the top.

The Standard American Diet was just that, SAD!

All diseases seem to have inflammation in common. So finding those inflammation "triggers" in dementia, which seem to be shared by developing Insulin Resistance and having an unhealthy "shop talk" between your gut microbiome and your brain, can increase your risk of developing dementia. After all, Dementia isn't called Diabetes III for nothing!
If we are to change the course of Dementia (DM3), we must understand how Lifestyles and the gut microbiome impact the dementia process and be willing to improve those areas we find lacking.
We Americans want a "quick, easy fix" but this disease has none. The drugs that have been developed to make that possible don't work. The 7-minute office visit just won't even begin to touch the discourse this disease will mandate. The "Sugar Addiction" and "Processed food consumption" in our society seems just as concerning as the "Opioid Crisis" and perhaps more deadly.
It will be your individually devoted time and energy to the task of dismantling the SAD-diet, inactivity, sleeping habits and daily stressors that infest your life that will determine your mental clarity as you age; not the medications you take while you run madly thru life.
Being a physician, having walked through this with my mother, my patient's parents, I have learned that it is never too late to change. So, let's start.

Do we continue to eat the "Standard American Diet"? or do we change and eat the Food Pyramid to the right which is the "Ketogenic Diet"?

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I believe that answer will make itself clear as we move through our discussion of Dementia.

Keto food pyramid showing nuts and seeds, berries, green vegetables, some non-green vegetables, oils, eggs and dairy, and meat; with a 'No' list of bread, pasta, sugar, milk, corn, beans, and rice icons crossed out.

Education - Family History

Dedication