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Consuming an adequate diet is necessary to obtain nutrients and to help individuals stay healthy. The following tips are suggestions that have worked for some Alzheimer patients. However, each patient is different; the caregiver will need to determine what may work for a particular patient. Caregivers need to understand the progressive nature of this disease; solutions that work today may not necessarily work in the future.

Many of the physical, emotional, and social changes that occur with aging can cause may people to lose their appetite as they grow older. Not of these problems can be corrected, but interest in eating a well-balanced nutritious diet must be maintained. Nutritional needs do not decrease as individuals grow older, except for a reduction in the amount of calories needed. A well-balanced nutritious diet can be the best defense an individual has for staying healthy and preventing illness. The following suggestions may help increase interest and food intake for older persons who have decrease in appetites.

Tips To Increase Appetite -

• Have the main meal of the day at breakfast or lunch when appetite is larger, keeping the dinner meal smaller .
• Have five or six smaller meals, rather than only two or three larger meals.
• Take a daily walk or have other physical activity to increase appetite.
• Use familiar foods fixed in a familiar way.
• If the patient simply refuses to eat a balanced diet or is not consuming enough calories, consult with the attending physician about using vita­min and/or mineral supplements.
• Try to include at least one food item in the meal you know the patient likes.

Tips To Overcome Mealtime Confusion -

• Make mealtime a routine that occurs at the same time, in the same place, and with as little confusion as possible.
• Make sure physical surroundings are pleasant and calm, avoiding unnecessary distractions.
• Set aside ample time for meals so they are not rushed.
• Serving one food item at a time may result in less confusion.

About the author: By Robert Baird, author for http://www.alzheimersbasics.org/ . This site provides information on caregiver and treatment therapy . If you want to publish the above article then you are welcome to do so, provided you provide a linkback to authors site at http://www.alzheimersbasics.org/.
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Alzheimer’s disease, also known simply as Alzheimer’s, is a neurodegenerative disease that, in its most common form, is found in people over age 65. Approximately 24 million people worldwide have dementia of which the majority is due to Alzheimer’s.

Clinical signs of Alzheimer’s disease are characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration, together with declining activities of daily living and by neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. It is the most common type of dementia. Plaques which contain misfolded peptides called amyloid beta (A?) are formed in the brain many years before the clinical signs of Alzheimer’s are observed. More than 4 million Americans today are affected with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to escalate to approximately 12 million within the next 30 years. This serious disease is plaguing America in such a way that just about every individual has had an experience with someone with Alzheimer’s in one way or another. Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that affects the mind, and more specifically your memory. 1 in 8 individuals over the age of 65 will develop it.

Risk Factors:

We currently don’t know what exactly causes Alzheimer’s, and it remains a disease that is diagnosed by eliminating other possibilities. However, experts have found a number of factors that reoccur in Alzheimer’s patients. It is believed that a combination of the following factors can cause a person to be predisposed to develop Alzheimer’s.

1. Family history of the disease – especially a parent or sibling.
2. Heart-disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, and diabetes.
3. Previous head injury
4. Environmental toxins
5. Advancing age
6. Stress- high levels of anxiety

What Are the Symptoms of AD?

AD begins slowly. At first, the only symptom may be mild forgetfulness, which can be confused with age-related memory change. Most people with mild forgetfulness do not have AD. In the early stage of AD, people may have trouble remembering recent events, activities, or the names of familiar people or things. They may not be able to solve simple math problems. Such difficulties may be a bother, but usually they are not serious enough to cause alarm.

However, as the disease goes on, symptoms are more easily noticed and become serious enough to cause people with AD or their family members to seek medical help. Forgetfulness begins to interfere with daily activities.
Main Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease:

Experts have identified a number of stages to help define and group people suffering from this devastating and difficult disease. With no cure the best thing you can do is be aware of what this disease may bring in the future and use this knowledge to help plan care for your loved one.

The following are the Three Main Stages:

1. Early-State – In the early stage, the individual will suffer memory loss and possibly some other cognitive difficulties, however, they can continue to function independently.

2. Mid-Stage – In the mid-stage, the disease has progressed past basic memory troubles and the individual’s mental abilities have continued to decline. They start to suffer personality changes and physical problems, and in turn become more dependent on caregivers.

3. Late-Stage – The late-stage is the most severe. Individuals will suffer complete deterioration of the personality and loss of control over bodily functions. They will become totally dependent on caregivers for even basic daily needs.

There is no set time as to when a person will progress from one stage to the other. One individual may move quickly from the early-stage to the mid-stage, while another may stay in the early-stage for several years. Every person is different. Here is a basic break down of the types of symptoms and their severity for each stage:

How is the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease made?

As of June 2007, there is no specific “blood test” or imaging test that is used for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed when: 1) a person has sufficient cognitive decline to meet criteria for dementia; 2) the clinical course is consistent with that of Alzheimer’s disease; 3) no other brain diseases or other processes are better explanations for the dementia.

Treatment

Currently, there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Doctors sometimes prescribe drugs to improve symptoms that often accompany Alzheimer’s, including sleeplessness, wandering, anxiety, agitation and depression. But only two varieties of medications have been proved to slow the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s.

What can I do to help myself?

The first thing is not to worry unnecessarily. A problem with forgetfulness doesn’t mean that you have dementia.

If you find yourself forgetting certain things, you could try to give yourself memory prompts. If (for instance) you find that you forget to buy food, leave notes in your kitchen cupboards near the back, reminding you to go to the shops. So when you come across the notes, keep them on you until you have bought more food.

This may seem cumbersome, but it’s only an extension of the ‘to do’ lists that people make in everyday life.

About the author: Read out for Anxiety. Check out blood pressure and stress
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There are more than 75 million baby boomers in the United States. And as the biggest portion of this generation approaches retirement age, more and more of its members are becoming concerned about memory problems, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. If you belong to the baby boomer generation, you should be concerned too; the common form of Alzheimer’s disease can afflict anyone who is at least sixty years old. This disease can be more sporadic rather than hereditary, which is why Alzheimer’s has become the most common cause for dementia and other ailments characterized by the decline in brain functioning.

Causes Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Doctors have been continually baffled by what causes Alzheimer’s. But one thing is for sure, as people age, a waxy fibrous stuff called amyloid starts to accumulate in the brain. Amyloid plaque is responsible for the degeneration of various tissues in the body; you can just imagine what this substance can do when it gathers in your brain.

On top of this, as you count the years that you have lived, millions of neurons found in the brain simply stop to send and receive impulses which are the primary means of communication for your brain cells. The overall effect is a total decline in your brain’s ability to organize and handle thoughts. The obvious solution is for your brain to create new perfectly-functioning cells. But before you can even say replacement, your brain tells you that when you are sixty, it is already having a hard time or no longer capable of creating new cells.

Is It Really This Hopeless For Aging People?

The good news is that, various studies and researches about nutrition have been found to directly affect the brain’s functioning. With the right kind of diet, you can protect your brain from Alzheimer’s and reverse the effects of aging to your brain. Although these findings are relatively new, the link between food and the brain sounds promising.

The Antioxidant Story

The most prominent subject in the study about the connection between food and the brain is the one about antioxidants. Basically antioxidants are organic substances that are secreted by plants as a protection from cellular destabilization caused by free radicals. Antioxidants have been also found to effectively counter the oxidative deterioration that happens in the brain as you age.

Where do you find antioxidants? Well, if you take a look at fruits and vegetables that have bright appetizing colors, you have found your ticket away from Alzheimer’s and other brain malfunctions. The bright colors exhibited by certain fruits and vegetables are actually caused by antioxidants; theoretically, the brighter and richer the color of a fruit or vegetable, the higher concentration of antioxidant substances.

If you eat fruits and vegetables that have high levels of antioxidants, you absorb the same substances that protect plants from elements like pollution and extreme weather conditions. Antioxidants in your body will help you reverse most of the effects of aging. From painful joints, to wrinkly skin, to ailing organs, up to a malfunctioning brain, antioxidants seem to be the real fountain of youth.

Generally speaking, foods rich in selenium, vitamins C and E, and beta-carotene are also rich in antioxidants. In the case of vitamins C and E, they boost your immune system in defending against any bacterial or viral attack. Selenium on the other hand has been known to help fight oxidation in the cells. But the most famous of all antioxidants is beta-carotene which can protect you from the harshness of solar radiation.

You can also improve the health of your brain by taking up supplements, such as Neurovar, which are specially formulated for your brain. For more details about brain supplements, visit www.Neurovar.com

About the Author: Sharon Bell is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premiere online news magazine http://www.healthnfitnesszone.com.
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