GoldenHealth4Seniors

As seniors our brain cells need nourishment just as much as the other cells in our bodies. Under normal circumstances we get all the nourishment that we need for all the cells of our bodies from consuming a diet of well balanced healthy foods. As we age our ability to absorb the nourishment that we need decreases. In some cases this lessening of our ability to absorb sufficient nourishment has serious negative consequences for the operation of our brains and our health. Good health depends on balancing all of our bodies’ systems such as cardiovascular, digestive, nervous, and so on. Our health begins to decline whenever one or more of our systems becomes unbalanced. If we are not getting adequate nourishment or if our bodies begin to block the nourishment, then our health begins to deteriorate. For example the deterioration of our health can appear as one of the neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. In some cases our senior bodies stop absorbing the normal amount of glucose that that our brains need to function. When this begins to occur our brain cells become weakened. Unless those brain cells can access the nourishment that they need by another path they will begin to atrophy.

It turns out that there may be another path to access the nourishment needed by our brains. Normally our cells accept glucose in order to burn it to produce the energy they need. When we fast our glucose stores are emptied, but we have a backup systems to provide energy stores for our cells. Our backup system for producing energy relies on synthesizing ketones from fats. The image depicted above illustrates the chemical formula for ketones. When we fast or eat a low carbohydrate diet, our bodies synthesize ketones from fat. Earlier in the 20th Century ketonic diets were used as therapy for neurodegenerative conditions. These diets were not practical, because they nearly eliminated carbohydrates and required the consumption of large amounts of fats. Recently, some medical research has discovered a possible path to getting ketones into our cells as a backup energy for folks who cells are not absorbing the glucose needed for good health, particularly good senior health. The value of absorbing the ketones becomes critically important for folks who are suffering from any of the neurodegenerative diseases. The preliminary research indicates that medium chain tryglycerides (MCTs) can be converted to ketones that will nourish the brain cells. MCTs can be found in unrefined coconut oil and in refined MCT oil.

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