Could I have made a difference?

That nutrition has such an incredibly significant impact on your health is quite logical in itself, but it’s also something I had never been so consciously aware of before. Knowing what I know now about the consequences of wrong nutrition, but also the power of the right nutrition, a question keeps haunting my mind… Could I have saved my grandparents from all the suffering they experienced in their lives due to poor health?

My wonderful grandparents

My grandma was one of my most favorite people, and my grandpa was truly my superhero, but he unfortunately passed away when I was only 5 years old…
Our special bond began when I was little; my grandparents used to babysit my brother Louis and me for several days a week. During vacations, we often stayed with them, creating the most fantastic adventures and hilarious memories.

My grandpa was quite the playful and teasing type, and my grandma would try to calm us down along with him (which, by the way, had very little effect 😉), because according to her, we were way too wild. For example, grandpa would lift us up so we could reach the branches of their hazelnut tree, then “hang” us from the tree and let us dangle. But one of our favorite wrestling matches was when grandpa briefly got up from his rocking chair. My brother and I would quickly dive into the chair and sit there giggling, waiting for the moment when grandpa returned and found his spot taken. This always resulted in a playful scuffle, and more than once, we ended up toppling over backward with the chair and landing on the floor together.

Oma would then emerge from the kitchen grumbling (and sometimes in a panic) because she was concerned about us. Of course, that only made us laugh even harder. Because despite grandpa’s roughhousing, he loved us so much that he would never take any risks with us getting seriously hurt.

My grandpa sadly passed away at a relatively young age; he was only 62 years old…

My grandpa had a pulmonary embolism, which made it difficult for him to breathe, and he had almost no energy left towards the end. He also had severely weakened blood vessels around his heart. Ideally, he needed surgery for his blood vessels to add an extra layer to the vessel walls in case an important blood vessel burst, potentially causing my grandpa to bleed to death from the inside. Unfortunately, the problem was located in such a dangerous place near his heart that surgery was not an option.

Grandpa eventually passed away suddenly on Mother’s Day when they were visiting the neighbors for coffee. Whether healthy eating could have helped my grandpa, we don’t know… But I do know that we had to suddenly and far too early say goodbye to that incredibly beautiful man in our lives…

When grandpa was no longer with us…

After my grandpa passed away, my bond with my grandma became even stronger. Grandma continued to babysit us (and maybe we also looked after grandma a bit). She also started coming to our house every week for dinner so that she would have more company and wouldn’t have to eat alone all the time.

Toen opa er niet meer was…

Seeing my grandma was never a matter of obligation; it was something I always looked forward to and thoroughly enjoyed. I even used to cancel plans with friends because I didn’t want to miss the scheduled times to spend time with my grandma. That’s how much I loved being with her!

As I grew older, I started going to her house for dinner every Wednesday, again not because I had to, but because I wanted to. We also had regular movie nights just the two of us. Later on, it got to the point where, after a night out at the bar on weekends, I would stop by my grandma’s for a nightcap around 3 in the morning. My grandma was, just like me, a night owl, so there was often still some light on at that time. You probably don’t hear that often, right? A teenager visiting their grandma at 3 a.m. after a night out.

But anyway, back to our weekly dinners. In the beginning, we took turns cooking, but as her health declined, I started cooking every Wednesday. We used to do the groceries together, but eventually, that became too difficult for her.

Of course, I did it with all my love, but I have to admit it wasn’t much of a hassle, considering my grandma practically lived above the supermarket.

The reason my grandma was no longer physically able to do these things herself had several causes. She suffered from type 2 diabetes, in addition to high blood pressure, muscle atrophy, and osteoporosis. Eventually, she also developed Alzheimer’s. Fortunately, my grandma was still able to experience my wedding.

The consequences that my grandma had to accept from those conditions are really significant… I will explain more about it later. There was quite a buildup to those conditions, which I will describe in more detail. There’s a good chance that those things will be very recognizable to many.

My grandmother’s health

Grandma has always struggled with her weight. My mother can’t remember a time when grandma didn’t have multiple clothing sizes in her closet (up to 4 clothing sizes difference), because she often fluctuated in her weight.
Every once in a while, my grandma would find the strength to start a new diet, and these diets were usually quite radical. She would go for months without solid food, only consuming shakes. Such an extreme diet is obviously unsustainable, and she would eventually give up and immediately start gaining weight again. It didn’t help at all that my grandma did everything she could to avoid physical activity.

With the knowledge we have now about nutrition, my grandma’s eating habits were far from healthy. So, it’s no surprise that she developed type 2 diabetes.

But that wasn’t all

Living with type 2 diabetes is already unpleasant, but unfortunately, she also experienced more severe consequences…
It started with the necessary amputation of her toe. She had a wound that, due to diabetes, wouldn’t heal and kept getting worse and larger until amputation was the only option. But it didn’t stop there…!

The wound healing was so poor that she eventually had to amputate not one but both legs, just below the knee. Grandma tried a temporary prosthesis, but it wasn’t a suitable option. This is because there is a risk of wound formation even with a prosthesis, which could lead to further amputations. As a result of the amputations, she was permanently confined to a wheelchair.

Aside from the above, she underwent multiple surgeries to have stents placed due to her poor circulation, as failing to do so would have had serious consequences.

Imagine how much time that dear lady, my favorite grandma, spent in the hospital. Also, try to envision the amount of pain from all the procedures and the shame of being so dependent that you can’t even go to the bathroom by yourself… Truly terrible.

In the last years of her life, grandma was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This was incredibly difficult for her to accept and live with. Grandma never lived long enough to be completely mentally gone, so she had to constantly face the fact that her memory was failing her.

Despite all the setbacks and hardships mentioned above, my grandma always remained an incredibly kind and grateful person, something I have tremendous admiration for! It’s really not easy for her considering all she had to endure.

Could I have done more?

I helped my grandma in any way I could, providing both mental support and physical assistance. But I can’t shake the thought, what if I had known then what I know now about nutrition…
All her conditions can be linked back to the effects of carbohydrate-rich and unhealthy nutrition. Could I have slowed down, cured, or maybe even prevented all her illnesses and their consequences by giving her more guidance on nutrition?

That’s a question I’ll unfortunately never get the answer to… But I hope that by sharing this story with you, I can make an impact for all your loved ones, or maybe even for yourself, and truly make a difference. Because I wish everyone a grandma/grandpa/father/mother/etc. with the healthiest life possible.

What I have been able to do!

Fortunately, I have been able to make this difference in my mother’s life! I’ve shared all my knowledge and experiences with her, and she wholeheartedly joined me in adopting a ketogenic lifestyle. I’m convinced that this will lead her down a very different path than the one my grandma ended up on.

And, of course, not to forget my own before and after photos, because I too could have had a very different future…

No Regret or Guilt

You can’t change the past. I also cannot alter how everything unfolded because I simply didn’t have the knowledge back then that I possess now. I don’t feel guilty or responsible for everything my grandparents went through.
But what I can do is my utmost to reach as many people as possible with this information. Hoping to provide a much brighter future for many others.

How?

By providing people with the right knowledge, offering guidance, and attempting to reach as many people as possible.
I believe that health and nutrition information should always be freely accessible to everyone. That’s why you can find all the basic information for a healthy ketogenic lifestyle on my website. But that’s not all!

If you subscribe to the mailbox surprise, you’ll receive all the essential information for free in the form of a keto mini-course. You’ll also receive delicious recipes so you can experience how tasty keto can be for yourself. Haven’t signed up yet? Do it right away! You have the option to sign up for free at the bottom of every page.

What Can You Do?

You can help too by sharing this knowledge and information with as many people as possible. Not only can you make a world of difference for your loved ones but also for anyone you can reach.