My reasons for starting keto and intermittent fasting...

My decision to try keto and intermittent fasting may seem extreme to some, but I have very personal reasons for trying and I will share these reasons with you guys.

My greatest hope and reason for doing the keto diet is to use it as a means of preventing alzheimers disease and maybe later use it as a treatment plan for Jacques ' autism. There are also some people who use keto to treat type 1 diabetes but I will research the pros and cons thoroughly before I decide to implement keto with Jacques.

My family was not lucky in the gene lottery. My mom had early onset alzheimers disease and my uncle has also been diagnosed with dementia.

*"A rare form of Alzheimer’s that affects younger patients is known as early-onset. It occurs in no more than 5 percent of cases and tends to develop before the age of 60. Studies show that in most cases it does run in families. This inherited form of early-onset is known as Familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD).
FAD is caused by any one of a number of different gene mutations on certain chromosomes (i.e., 1, 14, and 21). If a parent carries even a single genetic mutation for FAD, their children have a 50/50 chance of inheriting that mutation. If the mutation is inherited, the child is almost certain to develop FAD." My sisters and I thus have a significant increased risk of developing early onset alzheimer's disease.

I was one of my moms primary caregivers and the toll alzheimers took on her as well as our family was devastating. I will do anything to try to decrease my chances of developing this aweful disease. I read in one of the alzheimer's fb groups I am part of something really sad but I could understand where the lady was coming from. She said that if she was to develop alzheimer's disease that she wanted her children to lead her to the edge of a cliff, then they should put on blind folds and shove her over the cliff. She did not want her children to go through the same things she was experiencing with her loved one now.

I have started the keto diet as well as intermittent fasting with the hope that it will at least decrease my chances of developing Alzheimer's disease.

I will update my progress and experience on the blog and hopefully this will give hope not to my sisters and myself only, but to all going through similar circumstances.

* excerpt from brightfocus.org

Comments

Embarrassing or infuriating?? Both.

This special needs journey has been entertaining. It has been scary. It has been educational. It has been down right depressing at times. It has been humerous. All of these emotions have been present for a while, and we experience most of them daily. It has also been embarrassing. But we got used to the dirty nappies at inoppertune times. We even got used to impolite stares and whispers. All of these moments have been embarrassing in a way, but we got over it and learned how to cope with them. We have recently begun to deal with issues that were not present before. It is embarrassing, but it also reminds me of how uninformed people can be. We attended my niece's birthday party and one of the moms told my sister that she was worried because my son would be attending. She was worried he would try something with one of the girls. Now, for those who don't know Jacques, that is just plain hilarious. It is funny because Jacques doesn't understand sexuality. And it is hilarious be...

Hobbies - sanity saving stuff!

I haven't written anything in a while. Mostly because I've been keeping myself busy, quite productively I must say. I started a whatsapp group more than a year ago, where I sell items I find at thrift stores. I hit an emotional bump in the beginning of the year and stopped the group for a few months. After some self reflection, I started the group again, and it's been keeping me occupied. And thus away from sinking into depression again. Depression as a result of PTSD from special needs parenting. But I have posted about this before, and this post is about positivity and hope. So I won't be going into depressing subjects today. My whatsapp group's name is Interestingfinds. And that's exactly what I sell on the group. Treasures I find in thriftstores and similar stores. I also have a bidorbuy account where I sell similar items. But the whatsapp group has been really therapeutic. I get to interact with other people (electronically) and I have made quite a few fr...

Aging not so gracefully with a special needs child

I have a theory that parenting a special needs child makes a parent age quicker. I do have some evidence to support this theory. Exhibit A - I have a lot more grey hair than my mom had at my age. According to our genetics, I should have a beautiful, grey free head of hair until at least the age of 45 years - I am only 37 years old now and already have 10% silver coverage adorning my head. Exhibit B - I have night sweats. Horrible, yucky, wake up with my hair wet, night sweats. The low or changing levels of estrogen in particular are the cause of night sweats. Perimenopause usually happens between ages 40 and 50. Thank you google, again I am 37!! Exhibit C - I am always tired. If I could I would take a nap every chance I could get. But, with the sleep police (Jacques) always in the vicinity that would be hazardous to my health. He slaps his victims awake without a flinch and usually finds it hilarious as well. Exhibit D - joints I never knew I had are making creaking noises so b...

Our story, our journey.....

Search This Blog