(Image: Manchester evening news)
Eighty-two-year-old Syliva, a dementia sufferer, has gotten her memory back after changing her diet.
RELATED STORY:
In 2016, Mark Hatzer began to notice his mother struggling to remember birthdays or arrangements she had made with friends. In December of 2016, after her forgetfulness had become increasingly frequent, he took her to the doctors where she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
However, she deteriorated fairly rapidly and “after a seizure and fall the following March, Sylvia was taken to North Manchester General Hospital”1 (epilepsy is often a side effect of Alzheimer’s). But that wasn’t the worst of it, she stopped recognizing her son. Mark says this point was the lowest in his life (he lost his father to a heart attack in 1987).
“When his mother’s condition became so severe she had to be kept in hospital for her own safety, Mark Hatzer thought he had lost another parent.
Sylvia had even phoned the police accusing the nurses who were caring for her of kidnap.
But a diet high in blueberries and walnuts they have devised together has had such a dramatic impact on Sylvia’s condition that their recipes are being shared by the Alzheimer’s Society.”1
After seeing that rates of dementia were far lower in Mediterranean countries, mother and son copied their eating habits.
RELATED STORY:
They began by incorporating foods like broccoli, kale and spinach, sunflower seeds, green tea, oats, sweet potatoes and dark chocolate with a high cocoa content (as a fun treat). And now, one year later, Sylvia is back at home, can remember birthdays, goes to tea dances and is able to handle most of her own needs. She is thriving; had you known her then you wouldn’t recognize her now.
Mark said,
“When she left hospital, instead of prescribed medication we thought we’d perhaps try alternative treatment. In certain countries Alzheimer’s is virtually unheard of because of their diet.
Everyone knows about fish but there is also blueberries, strawberries, Brazil nuts and walnuts – these are apparently shaped like a brain to give us a sign that they are good for the brain.”1
But that wasn’t all. Mom and son also started practicing “cognitive exercises such as jigsaws and crosswords, meeting people at social groups”1 and Mark got Sylvia a little pedaling device so she could exercise in her chair.
Although it wasn’t overnight, Mark is thrilled to have his mother back and she’s “more alert, more engaged.”1
He said,
“People think that once you get a diagnosis your life is at an end. You will have good and bad days but it doesn’t have to be the end.
For an 82-year-old she does very well, she looks 10 years younger and if you met her you would not know she has gone through all this. She had to have help with all sorts of things, now she is turning it round. We are living to the older age in this country – but we are not necessarily living healthier.”1
Mark and Sylvia’s approach has now been endorsed by the UK’s Alzheimer’s Society; the charity has Mark’s blog about Sylvia’s condition on its website, shares their diet and exercise regime, and puts their recipes on flyers. His law office, Slater and Gordon, has even rolled out new ‘brain-boosting’ menus in their Manchester staff canteen.
But for the pair, the crowning glory is that they have been invited to the Queen’s Garden Party this summer, in recognition of Sylvia’s efforts to give hope to thousands of others affected by dementia.1
Mark says his country (and ours) “is lagging behind other countries, care homes are bulging with people who have been written off. But as people get older they still have a role to play in society. People don’t realize but dementia is the number one killer in this country ahead of heart disease or cancer, but it doesn’t get the same funding, it is a crisis.”1
RELATED STORY:
Want to try boosting your brain now or have a loved one with Alzheimer’s and dementia? Here’s a list of foods you’ll want to add to their diet:
- Fish such as salmon or mackerel and other foods rich in Omega 3 oil or capsules if preferred, taken 2-3 times a day
- Whole grains, 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 (or substitute with nut milk)
- Coffee
- Good quality dark chocolate (with a cocoa content of 70 percent or more)
SOURCE:
