Mumbai, April 19: A healthy diet consisting of fruits and vegetables, poultry and fish, nuts and less red meat and butter can help in fighting Alzheimer’s disease and reduce its risk.
Researchers studied the diet pattern of 2,148 people from New York, aged 65 and above. The respondents informed the researchers about their daily diet and were also evaluated for signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease as well as dementia every year and a half for four years.
The association between diet and risk of dementia has been evaluated before in other studies. In this study, published in the Archives of Neurology, the researchers analyzed intake of seven nutrients namely saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, omega 3 fatty acids, omega 6 fatty acids, vitamins E and B12 and folate.
In the beginning of the study, the participants did not have dementia but by the end, 253 participants developed dementia. One particular diet pattern that showed lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease included low high-fat dairy products, red meat and organ meat, and butter.
Foods that were found to fight Alzheimer’s disease were cruciferous, dark and green vegetables like cabbage, kale, cauliflower, salad dressings, tomatoes, nuts, fish and poultry. According to researchers, a diet rich in all these ingredients can help in reducing Alzheimer’s risk in various ways.
A research conducted by Temple researchers and published in the journal, Current Alzheimer Research, a diet rich in amino acid methionine increases the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This type of diet includes red meat, fish, beans, eggs, garlic, lentils, onions, yogurt and seeds.
Vitamin B12 and folate are homocysteine-related vitamins that may help in reducing risks of Alzheimer’s disease with their ability to reduce circulating homocysteine levels while vitamin E with its strong antioxidant effect can prevent the disease.
The fatty acids may be related to dementia and cognitive function through atherosclerosis, thrombosis or inflammation via an effect on the brain development and membrane functioning or via accumulation of beta-amyloid, says Yian Gu, PhD and colleagues from Columbia University.
Also read: Too much of red meat, fish, garlic, yogurt may raise Alzheimer’s risk
—-Agencies