He can't eat now. He has lost sensation in his throat and thus doesn't know when food is going down the wrong way. His cough reflex is very weak now. :-( He has a [link|http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00049200.html|g-tube] and his diet consists of 6 - 8oz cans of [link|http://www.allegromedical.com/dietary_supplements/adult_nutrition/ross/jevity_1_2_formerly_jevity_plus_8_oz_cans_case_of_24.P176482|Jevity 1.2 Cal] per day. Modifications to this diet have caused changes in his strength and activity level (with indicators in his blood and urine chemistry) so it's not really an option, unfortunately. Even before his g-tube, his [link|http://www.tracheostomy.com/|tracheostomy] seemed to make eating more of a chore.

"Why put him through all that?" Well, he's still fighting and still seems to enjoy being around. He loves watching Willy Nelson video tapes and DVDs, petting the dog, looking outside. Changes in his condition have been so gradual... We never imagined that we would be doing these things for him (we thought they each would eventually fall and/or have a heart attack). It's not as bad as it looks or sounds, really. The tracheostomy improved his breathing tremendously and the g-tube has eliminated the aspiration pneumonia episodes. He's much healthier with them than he was before. Both have kept him out of the hospital for over 6 months. It's a hassle (weekly oxygen delivery, humidifier and vacuum pump noises all the time, going through a multistep process to feed him 4 times a day, etc.), but it's easier than having to drive to visit him at a nursing home and eliminates constantly worrying about whether they've made a mistake.

She has had trouble swallowing liquids for quite a while and has an aversion to them but can't explain why. She has symptoms of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and is being treated for both. She has had angina for years but is from a "meat-and-potatoes" background with a family history of extreme obesity (300+ pounds) and heart-attacks at young ages. She's outlived all her siblings. She eats the same food we do, but in smaller portions. She's actually in pretty good shape, considering...

There's no doubt that diet is very important. The skeptic in me is very suspicious of those who claim to have found the [link|http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm/cmi_385383/cid_1|magic brain diet] though. For years we were told that cholesterol was bad even though something like 80% of the blood cholesterol level was not affected by diet. More recently we're told that infections of various kinds seem to be the cause of plaques that form in blood vessels. They have suspicions that change over time, but they don't know, contrary to the way drug companies and the popular press present things. :-( As you say, too many who practice medicine don't really bring a scientific outlook to it, and the hoi polloi is in little position to evaluate these things, unfortunately.

He's on a dozen or so medications and she is as well. We also don't want to just throw pills at the problems, but they each have multiple conditions that do require treatment. The drugs aren't perfect, but we try to keep an eye on potential side-effects and only give them if we've seen evidence that they help. As you say, it's nearly impossible to understand how all of these things interact. :-(

We can all do better. Eating less is probably more important than eating the Just-Right foods. Exercise and using one's brain - trying to learn something new nearly every day - is important. Moderation is important too, especially in one's emotions - it's important not to be angry or anxious. That's what I think, anyway. Maybe I should write a book. Yeah, that's the ticket! :-)

Cheers,
Scott.