Susan,

Re your mom's stroke, so sorry to hear it! Many people can come back
quite well... especially if it was a 'small' one. My dad has had some
and doctors have predicted the worst (in a short time) and bingo, he
rebounds like you wouldn't believe... that sweet old goat has one
strong constitution!

What has helped him, especially right afterward, is prolonged periods
of sleep-- as his body calls for it... sometimes in excess of 12
hours... I think the body does tremendous healing then.

What I would be careful with is *stressing* the body in any way.. it
needs ALL its resources and excellent nutrition to do its own healing.
The reason I started writing this post was to say that the brain
depends an awful lot on fatty acids-- it's made largely of fat-- and if
you read a good book on those (the Udo Erasmus one??)... I believe it's
the Omega 3's that are supposed to be so great in stroke situations...
but please read up. If I were going to try to suggest one thing off the
top of my head... it would be *at least three servings of fatty fish
like salmon per week*.

Vitamin E is helpful in stroke rehab...
http://www.aan.com/public/newsreleases/wvitamine2.htm.  Monounsaturated
oil (olive oil...) is supposed to decrease risk...
http://www.aan.com/public/newsreleases/diet.htm. I've heard the elderly
are often quite deficient in vitamin B12 too though haven't heard how
or if that relates to stroke.  There's this: <<Especially for men with
high blood pressure, consumption of great amounts of potassium
resulted in fewer strokes among partipants in a large eight year study.
Magnesium and cereal
fiber consumption reduced stroke risk as well. >> (from
http://www3.uchc.edu/~uchclib/bhn/cite/nyt/0919pot.html) (I'd be
careful of toooo much potassium if blood tests didn't show it was
needed... that can be dangerous, and on the fiber thing... I wonder if
any 'fiber' is helpful).

And gotta love this:

<<Newspaper Article Synopsis:
Findings based on a 20 year follow-up study of 832 men ages 45 to 65
show the risk of stroke dropping 15 percent for every 3 percent fat
increase as a percentage of daily calories.

Newspaper Article Source:
Slovut, G. Study : Diets higher in fat may fend off strokes. Star
Tribune 1997 December 24:A1(col.2).

Journal Article Citation:
Gillman, MW, Cupples LA, et al. Inverse association of dietary fat with
development of ischemic stroke in men. Journal of the Americal Medical
Association 1997 Dec;278(24):2145-2150.>>

In those studies, it wasn't polyunsaturated fat but monounsaturated fat
and SATURATED fat that made the difference, a point that won't be lost
on my Paleo friends, I'm sure.

Maybe someone else can note the Paleo foods that would provide these
nutrients best?

And the last thing I should mention, though you can take what you like
from it for a Paleo perspective... not sure about this BUT many
holistic types believe the alkalinity of the food and drink we intake
is important to healing... that an acidic environment (created by
eating a lot of meat, also sodas, not sure about dairy-- would sound
likely-- I think it's basically 'lots of protein')... is not the ideal
for healing. But an alkaline one, which would mean plenty of veggies
and SOME fruits, is supposed to promote healing. There's debate about
whether that matters in the gut, but... it's one tree to bark up and
find more info if you wish.

Please research all you can, and best wishes with you and your mom! :)
... oh yes, give it plenty of time, love and POSITIVITY.

Donna

PS: I should also mention my mom and I have had to REALLY monitor what
dad's docs try to give him, and insist on changes in some meds...
always start out slowly... we've found the fewest meds the better,
personally. You simply cannot just leave it up to a doc, even a good
one... you're there 24/7, remember, so don't be afraid to pipe up and
discuss things.

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