Snowy Days and Sundays...

Forget the song about rainy days and Mondays. Today I am thinking snowy days and Sundays. But I refuse to let them get me down.

Today, once again, I witnessed a caregiver complaining about their family member craving sweets. She also said she makes sure there are no sweets in the house. I strongly disagree with this tactic. FTD brings so many frustrations and so much discomfort with it that I cannot see intentionally adding to it.

 For most people, FTD brings along with it, an intense need for sweets and carbs. I say intense need, because it is beyond a craving in my opinion. You cannot control the desire and need for sweets without causing a lot of discomfort. One theory behind this is that we crave these high calorie foods, and pack on weight, because we will need the extra weight later on in the disease. Eh, maybe, I guess.

I have hung onto a piece of paper with this info on it for a few months. I apologize that I cannot give the source:

"Neuroscientists have shown, using fMRI to scan the brain‘s activity in real-time, that sugar leads to dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens – an area associated with motivation, novelty, and reward. This is the same brain region implicated in response to cocaine and heroin."

Perhaps this information explains why the craving is so extreme and craving sweets is a whole lot better than craving drugs. The sugar also gives an instant bit of energy. Those with FTD lose so much energy and long for the days, pre-FTD, when we actually had energy to do things. Also, we feel downright crappy quite often. If the sugar consumed does trigger motivation, enjoyment (novelty) and a feeling of pleasure (reward), it makes sense to me that this creates a feeling of need.

One thing I remember learning years ago is that hunger for food and hunger from sex come from the same area of the brain. We already realize that FTD often brings out an increased interest in sex. From these two facts, it is pretty easy to conclude that it is our brain that is screaming for the treats.

What I try to do, and have suggested often to others, is to try to make sure the sweets I am eating have at least a modicum of nutritional value. I love Quaker Dipps. They are granola type bars coated in chocolate and a couple of the flavors, caramel nut and peanut butter, taste like a good candy bar to me. I realize the nutritional value is small, but there are some oats in there and a tiny bit of nuts. A small amount is better than none. I try to eat dark chocolate when I am craving chocolate.

I also try to make my own snacks as often as I have a clear-headed day with a little extra energy. I make a few different kinds of cookies that are mostly ground oats. I have also had some success with sneaking in a little powdered dry milk without ruining the recipe results, the same with peanut butter or adding some nuts or dried fruit. I use natural peanut butter instead of the more processed kinds. 

Many people use low fat yogurt as a sweet snack, but I am not a yogurt lover. I barely tolerate it. I do like cottage cheese with some canned fruit over it. Even some peanut butter and crackers will do it for me sometimes.

I try to make sure my sweets have some nutritional value. Other times, the need is so strong, I will eat anything to satisfy the need.

I strongly believe that the caregivers who think, by depriving the sweets and carbs, that they are helping and doing good for their loved one, are wrong. Being deprived of the sweets and carbs that we crave increases our frustration, irritability and stress. It takes away one of our last sources of pleasure. I think it comes close to cruel and unusual punishment. 

One final point, one that is totally "in your face," FTD is going to kill us. We don't have much life expectancy left. The pleasures we still have in our lives are few. Why should we be denied one of the very few things that give us pleasure?

Okay, I am done with this rant. Time to go have a sweet carb or two, then settle in with a glass of wine and watch it snow!