As I read last week about the connection between sugar and Alzheimer's, I felt sad. Because you are likely not familiar with the pieces I shared about losing family members to Alzheimer's and dementia on my Steemit site, I'll give you a quick recap. Nathan's aunt passed away late last year. Shortly thereafter, my grandmother passed on. We had watched both of them decline, but knew my grandmother longest which made her loss both easier and harder. Easier in that she was ready to go. She was in pain and she was tired. Harder in that we'd spent years with her nearby, and she is now gone.
Losing Nathan's aunt was both surprising and not surprising. It was horrible and a relief. We miss her, but we are glad she, also, is no longer suffering just as with Grammie.
The loss of shared history is hard to witness. I am not afraid of it, but I do not wish to place the pain of that process on my children and grandchildren if I can prevent it. So back to that article.
Not so many months ago, I made the decision to go off grains and sugar. I had been struggling with ADHD to the point I felt a lot like a goldfish. I was constantly lost and surprised. The frustration of not being able to grasp what was going on was endless. I would have moments of clarity where I'd realize, "Hey! I can do things!" And then I'd slip back into a fog.
It was so much like what I saw Kathy and Grammie going through I did become afraid. I worried I was losing my mind early, that my children would have me as their dependent before they hit 18. I knew that was unlikely, but my grandmother, may she rest in peace, never took care of her physical self. And I wasn't taking care of my physical self.
Here we are back at the part where I went off sugar and grains. It helped immediately. It continues to help. And days like today when I've had a bit too much sugar via peanut butter--they remind me that I can make positive choices for the health of my body and the sake of my brain.
I'm trying. In addition to staying away from sugar and grains (they really do make me quite sick), I CrossFit. And I think about those I have lost, how I miss them, how I would have liked to have more time with them present and how I can do my best to offer that to my own children in days future.
