Does anyone have any tips on how I can help my grandma, help herself.

She has been a product of the Standard American Diet and obesity for years. She smoked from sixteen until into her forties, then quit and put on a lot weight which she hasn't managed to take back off. Because of her weight, she is VERY immobile. (She is 5 foot 7 and about 215 pounds- but with very little muscle mass)

She suffers from congestive heart failure, emphysemia, and COPD. I realize that all of these conditions are based upon her way of life, but she is my grandma, my best friend, and I would like to help if I can.

So far, I have bought her a juicer and a book on juicing, she started that for a couple of days but quit because no one would prepare it for her (I live a hectic life with school and two jobs over an hour and a half away).

Next I told her to incorporate raw vegetables into her diet as well as fruits. I also wondered if she could go raw until dinner. She said since her last heart attack (HA #2), the doctor prohibits her from eating green vegetables because she is on blood thinners and apparently green vegetables thicken the blood. She is not keen on fruit.

Most recently, I got her drinking tea. Green tea infused with pommegranate which is supposed to be very good for the heart and I purchased her pommegranate juice to drink. I am not sure if she is using either of those because she was very sick over the new year (on respirator for a week) and she was so weak when she got off of it that they sent her straight to the nursing home to recover.

My Aunts and Grandfather have talked about it and they have decided not to put her back on the respirator if she needs it. I am so scared.

Is there anything that I am not thinking of that might be a small step to helping her. She is 78 years old. Thank you.

sunlight--
That's a tough one! I'm not sure how you can do more to help her. I'm in a similar situation, with a dear older friend who was sort of a spiritual mentor to me when I was younger, who is (now in her 80s) suddenly very ill with high blood pressure and heart problems, and acute anxiety, and bedridden.

Two thoughts:
a) can you send her a good book about why the raw food lifestyle increases one's well-being?
b) perhaps you can use your own power of intention (prayer, meditation, visualization-- whatever works for you) to help her heal and be open her own consciousness to whatever should be her 'next steps' on the path to better health and vitality.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

I hear you...and it must be very frustrating seeing a loved one in poor health. It is difficult to peer inside a person and find what their TRUE motivation really is. What THEIR life's mission is. For my part, I try to resist the urge to judge what is right for them...and simply to support & aide where I can.

-Where there is life, there is hope...and even beyond that. If SHE is truly motivated, then moving to an all raw or juice diet....with daily sunlight and deep breathing.....can give her vitality back. When vitality returns....then fasting and light exercise will heal almost any condition. This is my personal belief/experience.

-Remember though that what an individual puts in their heads, hearts and mouth, no one can take away.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I am sorry to hear about your grandmother. I truly feel for you, as I've been through something similar myself. I know this will be hard to hear, but first, you must understand that you cannot help someone if they are unwilling to help themselves. I don't know if this is the case with your grandmother, but it is vital that you understand this. Second, you must not stop trying to make that someone understand that they CAN help themselves. I'm sure you know that after a lifetime of living Way A, it may seem terrifyingly impossible to your grandmother to think of making changes to Way B. What's her morale level? Does she really want to make an effort? Does she feel overwhelmed and passive about her own welfare? Is she hopeful and willing to work at it? How much help can you get from other family members in motivating her? You're an hour and a half away; is there anyone closer that may act as your stand-in? Is she living with a family member or by herself? Is there a neighbor with whom she's friendly that could act in your behalf? Is her doctor on-the-ball and can you count on him/her to back you up?[btw, the doctor is half right in this respect: vitamin K can act as a blood clotter, but although it's found in good amounts in leafy greens, it's the concentrated form, such as that found in green tea extract, which is implicated in clotting. Small amounts of leafy greens ought to be OK] Using a juicer every day is a daunting task for relatively healthy people; there's a lot of prep and washing up. She may not have the energy for this. Is there someone else who could do it for her, like a neighbor or home aid? As you probably know, she should be eating lots of fresh veggies and fruits, especially berries. She should be avoiding animal products, especially homogenized dairy and grain-fed meat. She shouldn't be eating sugar or table salt. How willing is your grandmother to change her diet? It's a huge change, and she would need much support. It would be good if there were other people you could rely on. I'm sorry that I cannot be of more use, and that I'm likely telling you things you already know. I guess the best advice I can give you is to try to be as loving and kind as possible around her, as this is always more comforting and motivating than being anxious or naggy, even if that's how you really feel. You've done and tried to do so much for your grandmother already. You're working hard, and she must really appreciate you for it. I hope you find a way to manage this.

Thank you all for your kind words and support. I have been keeping her in my prayers and I do understand the concept of being unable to help someone who cannot (will not) help themselves. My other family members are close, but they don't buy into my way of life. They continue to feed her meatloaf and potatoes. She drinks cup upon cup of coffee a day. She has decreased her salt intake due to doctor instruction.

My family eats way too much dairy and a meal is not a meal without meat. I also feel stuck right now because she is in the nursing home. I am happy to hear though that she is taking physical therapy to get stronger, but they monitor her food and would not be too happy about outside sources as I understand it.

I have had to see my mother die of cancer and fight for every day and it is so hard (she died when I was 12). My grandmother then stepped in and took care of me until I moved to college. I feel like I am losing my mother all over again. And the worst of it is that I know, deep down that there is a cure for all sickness, but everyone thinks I am crazy.

I gave her a book entitled "Recipes for Life" by Rhonda Malkamus. It is a book of recipes for eating and it discusses all of the reasons why vegetarianism/veganism/rawfoodism is best for your body and how it can override illness. Rhonda Malkamus' husband is the creator of the Hallelujah Diet. He boasts being raw daily until dinner and eating cooked dinners if you feel like it. I thought that diet would be the most manageable for a beginner in my grandma's state of mind and health. She is a very religious person, I was hoping the religious tie would attract her to it.

Again, thank you all for your suggestions and warm thoughts. I will stay strong and I will keep trying. Peace.

I feel for you Sunlightonacloudyday. Well done for all you are doing. Remember to look after yourself.

From my reading on blood pressure medications, they may fix the problem short-term but have disastous results later.

One type, Beta Blockers, will reduce blood presure by weakening the heart, eventually, this causes congestive heart failure.
[books.google.com]

Another type, Calcium Channel Blockers lower the blood pressure and relax artery walls by blocking the entrance of calcium into the cells, but the heart muscles need calcium to function. These causes a 60% increase in death from heart disease.
[books.google.com]

I think that the thing to focus on with heart patients is vitamin C, most animals make their own vitamin C in the liver, but humans and only a handful of other animals can't. Vitamin C acitivates the amino acids that unbind arterial plaque.
That info is from this post "How do I Cleanse My Arteries"
[www.rawfoodtalk.com]

One other thing I would use is coconut oil. (Yes, I know fresh coconuts are better, but they are so hard to use that they mold in the bottom of my fridge before I gather up the courage to crack them open. They can also be dangerous to open. IMHO use of coconut oil trumps not consuming any coconut at all. And it trumps using fresh coconuts as fridge decorations or cutting yourself opening them.)
Coconut oil will increase the good cholesterol and good cholesterol fights bad cholesterol. The important thing when buying coconut oil is to get the highest quality possible.

Lillianswan:

Thank you. I hate the medical world. Many of the medications out there that are meant to help end up hurting another part of your body. I am sure that you are correct about the heart medications. I have heard mixed reviews about coconut oil. Some claim that it is so bad for you. Do you suppose my grandma could benefit from that knowing that her arteries are so badly clogged? The main vessels to her heart are clogged - 3 are 100% and 1 is 90%. She opted not to have surgery last July because she figured the rehab would be worse than what she was dealing with now.

Oops, I forgot grapferuit pectin. It absorbs cholesterol.
[www.ead.ae]
Grapefruit contains pectin (found in the pulp/rind), a form of soluble fibre that can bind to cholesterol. In a 16-week double-blind, crossover (placebo or pectin) study using 27 human volunteers screened to be at medium to high risk for coronary heart disease due to hypercholesterolemia, grapefruit pectin supplementation decreased plasma cholesterol by 7.6% and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 10.8%. The study did not interfere with the subjects' current diet or lifestyle.

Coconut oil gets debated every few months here (there is so much misinformation about it) and I've studied it a lot. After all, I give it to my kids and people keep saying it bad for you, and that's a little scary, so I keep looking into it, but I keep finding out that it's OK. Here are some of those threads.

Studies on South Sea Islanders, coconut oil increases total cholesterol but increases good cholestrol and decreases bad cholesterol.
[www.rawfoodsupport.com]

Lauric acid (coconut oil is about 50% lauric acid) prevents Apolipoprotein D from being degraded. Apolipoprotein D binds HDL (good cholesterol) and HDL moves LDL (bad cholesterol) out of the body
[www.rawfoodsupport.com]

sunlightoncloudyday,


I agree Lillianswan about the coconut oil. I have never heard anything legitimately scientific discounting its properties, or those of raw red palm oil. An excellent supplement for the heart is the ubiquinol form of Coenzyme Q10; 200 mgs. is the basic therapeutic dosage. I have heard from practioners that double that is better:
[altmedicine.about.com]

Like grapefruit pectin, plain apple pectin acts to absorb cholesterol in the liver: [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov],[nepatica.blogspot.com].

I dont think I would add coconut oil to a diet that is already sad (meat and potatoes) .. maybe in small doses .. but i would be wary about adding more fat to an already fat SAD diet

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Right..its sounds like all the great things you have thought of...are a bit risky because as we know, even for a young person a diet composed exclusively of these foods will initiate some kind of detox. For an older person with a very large toxic load even adding some 'bio-active' foods CAN interact with medications or 'cause' upsetting symptoms etc..

Personally I think that best things one can do for their health is to start eliminating their weakest links...for some (especially an older person I imagine) this probably isn't the greatest strategy as adding in healthier options as the former can become obsessive or uncomfrtable. But from what you describe I think that is ultimately considering the restrictions that is what you have to convince her of...to start reigning in and eliminating the processed sugars and starches and dairy, and lessening any animal protein, practicing food combining, and motivating her to empower herself to use her own juicer or Hallelujah Diet rice cooker or whatever.

Try to inspire her to set small exercise goals as well, walking, stretching etc...

[www.giveittomeraw.com]

Godbless

Do you believe in the healing powers of tea?

From your posting, I feel as if your grandma drink very little plain water. If I were you, I would give the grandma plain water instead of tea. If your grandma wants to become healthy again, she must have the DESIRE to become heathy. You can motivate her by letting her to listen to some raw food/healthy living mp3 regularly. Most old people think that it is normal for old age to become sick. They need to change this belief.


.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2009 04:43AM by solitude bird.