When I became my mom’s medical advocate, I had to dive into her various health conditions and the medications she was taking. One surprising discovery was her high cholesterol. Given that her father died of a stroke, her doctor attributed it to genetics. But this didn’t sit right with me. My mom has always eaten healthily, and my dad, brother, and I, who share the same diet, don’t have high cholesterol.
We immediately started incorporating more fiber into my mom’s diet, aiming for 30 grams daily. Here’s what we did:
- Swapped bananas and grapes for apples and pears.
- Used kale and other leafy greens for salads.
- Added chia seeds to her yogurt.
- Supplemented with Metamucil to fill any gaps.
The results were impressive. My mom’s total cholesterol dropped by 125 points, with triglycerides accounting for 100 of those points. She also lost 6 pounds, going from 122 to 116, as her body began functioning more efficiently.
Reviewing her lab results from the past decade, I noticed her cholesterol levels started to rise in 2016, around age 69. This spike might have been an early indicator of her Alzheimer’s, reflecting a change in her eating habits as she struggled with multi-step tasks like cooking nutritious meals.
Today, we actively manage our cholesterol levels. While my mom is still on statins, her doctor has reduced her dosage from 10 mg to 2.5 mg daily. We hope that by the end of the year, she will be able to stop taking statins altogether.
Caring for my mom has been a journey, but understanding the link between diet, cholesterol, and brain health has made a big difference in her well-being.
