Alzheimer’s and Whole-Person Health: Observations From My Practice

For anyone who has experienced the symptoms of Alzheimer’s in a family member or friend, it is a sad and life-altering experience. I have worked with Alzheimer’s patients in my office and have consulted with the families of the patients.

During my work with these patients, I observed a number of positive changes and also received reports of changes from their families.

My approach considered nutrition, gut health, the gut microbiome, nutritional deficiencies and other factors based on each patient’s individual needs.

Among the changes I observed or that families reported were changes in attention, appetite, memory recall, mood, behavior and personal care.

I developed an individualized approach for these patients that considered nutrition, gut health and the gut microbiome as part of their overall wellness.

As part of my approach, I also evaluated nutritional deficiencies, environmental exposures and other factors that I believed could be relevant to each patient’s overall health.

During this period, I documented the changes I observed and those reported by patients and their families.

Observations From My Work With Alzheimer’s Patients

Over a six-month period, I worked with a small group of nine patients who were in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

During this period, I documented a number of changes among the patients I worked with.

My approach included consideration of nutrition, gut health and the gut microbiome as part of each patient’s overall health.

Changes observed or reported during this period included:

• Changes in sleep patterns

• Changes in eating habits

• Increased interaction and participation in conversations

• Changes in confusion, repetition, aggression and mood

• Greater ability to complete certain tasks

• Changes in memory recall

• Changes in physical activity

  
  

I am very pleased with the results of the study,” states Dr. Hinkle. “But we need to see what the long-term benefits will be with patients and we also need to work with specialists involving a long-term study with more patients so that we may track those patients for several years.

Medical Note: This article describes Dr. Hinkle’s historical clinical observations with a small group of patients. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. These observations should not be interpreted as evidence that a particular nutritional, gut-health or wellness protocol treats, prevents, cures or slows Alzheimer’s disease.