The experience of having a family member or a friend who presents the progressive degeneration of brain cells as they age, making them gradually incapable of a normal life and in need for ongoing assistant, is dramatic. This chronic progressive cognitive impairment is defined as “Alzheimer’s dementia” or “Alzheimer disease”. Only a few people suffering from Alzheimer in the advanced phase manage to find hospitality in public or private structures, for the majority of the persons the care is in responsibility of the family with a substantial economic, psychological and energetic burden.
In Ayurveda the nervous system is mainly affected by the energy field Vata (air) Dosha. To balance this element significantly altered in the elderly, we can apply some measures by changing our diet as well as using appropriate mixtures of plants.
A food that everyone should abound in the use, especially the elderly, is cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, used raw. The oil nourishes all cells, especially the nerve cells that with age will dry out and degenerate. Another important food is the butter ghee (clarified butter), which balances all three energy fields that affect the functioning of our body. These fats are excellent for nourishing the brain and nerve endings. when used at the end of cooking the food.
Another way of using extra virgin olive oil and ghee is to use it on its own on an empty stomach, so they oil any tissues directly, especially nervous tissue.
The foods to avoid are those that dry up or clog the channels (shrotas) and that cool the body, like raw salads, cheeses, yoghurt, bananas, tomato; generally, the people suffering from Alzheimer have abdominal swelling with constipation, which confirms the status of the Vata imbalance. It is advisable to eat cooked onions and leeks, polenta, which promote intestinal peristalsis, together with the assumption of Adhogam Virya® or Virechan Virya®. The patient finds immediate benefit and becomes calmer, if they are associated with Tulsi Virya® and Pinasa Virya®, which improve the oxygenation of the nervous tissue and Chayavanaprasha Virya®, an easily absorbed nutrient. There can be improvements in the field of relations, in terms of receptivity and it is constructive in the actions of everyday life.
