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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I know it sounds ridiculous, but I eat maple syrup regularly, usually putting it in my coffee as a sweetener.  I understand it may be mostly a placebo effect, and I can accept that, as long as I remain somewhat functional.  I’m certainly not recommending it as medical advice.  Here’s how it started:

A few years ago, I was having cognitive issues.  I had constant brain fog and found it hard to concentrate.  Multiple times I blanked and lost track of what I was doing (like in the middle of cooking dinner I’d forget what was happening and only when I looked around and saw that I had a can in one hand, a can opener in the other, and was standing in front of a bowl did I remember that I was cooking dinner and needed to open the can).  Then, It got worse.  I had an in incident where I washed my hands and turned around to dry my hands on the towel directly behind me in my small bathroom when I blanked.  Not only did I not know what I was doing, I had no idea where I was.  I actually had to stop and make sure I knew who I was.  Then I looked at my surroundings and realized that I was in a bathroom and then I processed that it was my bathroom (where I’d lived for about 25 years).  Finally I felt I could try and figure out what was going on, at which point I discovered my hands were dripping wet, which explained why when I had rebooted, I’d been staring at the blank wall above the towel rack.  While losing track of what you’re doing is scary enough, not knowing where you are is far worse, and the fact that you can’t assume that knowledge of your own identity is a given is terrifying.

In the midst of these troubles, one day I was struck by an insatiable craving for maple syrup.  Cravings aren’t uncommon for me, and I’ve learned to go along with them.  They seem to reflect some type of nutritional deficiency or chemical imbalance, because I always feel better afterwards and research after the fact usually shows some connection to whatever problem gets better.  This day I ate a ridiculous amount of bread, butter, and syrup, and my thinking (aside from an obsessive drive to eat more syrup) felt like it got a lot clearer.  Skeptical, I looked it up and to my surprise, there seemed to be sone limited preliminary data suggesting that maple syrup might be helpful in reducing the neural clumping associated with Alzheimer’s.

I don’t know if my problems were related to Alzheimer’s.  I don’t know that the syrup actually did anything or if I’m just benefiting from a placebo effect.  All I know is that whatever may actually be happening inside my brain, I function better with regular intake of maple syrup.  Like any sweetener, I have to worry about excess sugar, but I don’t think there are other significant side effects, frankly I have a sweet tooth and I’d undoubtedly be having something sweet regardless.  It is more expensive than other sweeteners, but not as expensive as being nonfunctional, and avoiding the panic is worth it.  I’ve noticed that if I don’t have it for a while, thinking tends to be more difficult.

I want to stress that I am not suggesting it would help anyone else.  This is just about my personal experience, and I’m not sure it’s even effective for me.  I just feel like for me  there are minimal drawbacks and any possible benefits are worth it, in my non-expert opinion, for my specific case.[/quote]

Incredibly interesting. When I can I will sub real maple syrup for white sugar.[/quote]

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