The combativeness with dementia seems to be common. One friend's mother became far less combative on a healthier diet and a change in medication.
I'm not a fan of prescription drugs, but I have seen dementia drugs bring a senior citizen back from a psychotic break to near normalcy, without any real changes in diet. The almost immediate near normalcy (wow!) was such a relief that I became far more amenable to drugs for dementia after that.
I had not heard of horsetail for detoxing from aluminum. That is interesting. See page one of this thread for a link to some lion's mane info on how it helps with mental clarity.
I think there is a fine line between enjoying life, especially if it's looking to be a limited time, and optimizing life through diet. And we're all going to make different choices or have more or less control of ourselves in this space.
A friend of my former neighbor lost his feet, actually his
lower legs, to not managing his type 2 diabetes well. I think for those of us who are so committed and knowledgeable about healthy foods, the idea that someone could eat themselves to amputation, or even death, is rather unthinkable. And yet, some of us humans are that broken, or that uneducated, or without enough support to be able to manage things well.
Baby steps are wise. Some times, just replacing a toxic sweetener, or too much sugar with stevia could help. Or finding a sparkling water or stevia-sweetened soft drink to replace the Coke, Pepsi or other drinkable vice. (If you don't think a stevia sweetened soda can be any good, then I don't think you've tried one of Virgil's zero sodas yet!)
Leveling up to helping folks cook a stew with extras to freeze (and from a distance no less!) is amazing by comparison - go Tereza!
Personally, I can replace a lot of sweets with dried fruits, which I use as a transition when I go through a sugar indulgence phase. The sugar tries to suck me in to
"more, more, more! must have more all. the. time. !!" but when I feel that urge now, I can eat some dried fruit, then in a day or two, I don't even need or want the dried fruit so much. It doesn't rule me like more refined sugars do.
So...I couldn't watch Forks Over Knives either, Tereza. For a lot of reasons. While I do respect those who choose vegan or vegetarian diets, I choose and feel healthier on an omnivore diet. And it's possible a different movie might be more your parents' speed--this one:
Fat Head The Movie. The movie explains inflammatory and insulin risky foods and oils compared to healthy and less inflammatory foods and oils. Though it might not be available on Netflix any more.
Currently, I'm thinking of senior couple where the wife is wasting away...too ill, too tired to eat. So they are buying donuts, ice cream, cookies, pizza, whatever, to help her eat and keep some life in her. The husband is in early stages of dementia and is
not near death, though he is partaking in all the inflammatory fun foods, too. Not good for his dementia. But am I going to attempt to pull the plug on the fun foods? No. Not right now.
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