Category Archives: Alzheimer
Eating a high-carb diet increases your chances of Alzheimer’s, study finds
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) There are a number of reasons why a high-carb diet is not wise, but new research has added yet another reason why you cut down on the pasta: You are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
A new study that was recently released found that older adults who load up on carbs have close to four times the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment.
Researchers also said that sugars played a role in the development of MCI, which very often serves as a precursor to Alzheimer’s, according to study results published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. By comparison, eating additional proteins and some fats can offer protection from MCI, USA Today said, citing the journal.
A team of scientists from Mayo Clinic tracked 1,230 people aged 70-89 and asked if they would provide information on what kinds of foods they at the previous year.
Stopping development of MCI is key
Among the group only the 940 people who showed no appreciable signs of cognitive impairment were asked to return in 15 months for follow-up examination. By the fourth year of the study, 200 of the 940 were beginning to show small signs of cognitive impairment, including problems with memory, judgment, thinking and language.
Lead author Rosebud Roberts, a professor in the department of epidemiology at the clinic, which is located in Rochester, Minn., said not everyone who develops MCI progresses to Alzheimer’s disease, which affects some 5.2 million adults around the country. Those numbers are expected to triple by 2050, as Baby Boomers continue to age.
“The research field is trying to find things that can help reduce risk factors for pre-dementia problems,” Roberts said, according to USA Today. “If we can stop people from developing MCI, we hope we can stop people from developing dementia. Once you hit the dementia stage, it’s irreversible.”
Among the foods regarded as complex carbohydrates: rice, pasta, bread and cereals. The digestive system turns them into sugars. Fruits, vegetables and milk products are simple carbs.
“A high-carbohydrate intake could be bad for you because carbohydrates impact your glucose and insulin metabolism,” says Roberts. “Sugar fuels the brain, so moderate intake is good. However, high levels of sugar may actually prevent the brain from using the sugar – similar to what we see with Type 2 diabetes.”
He said high sugar levels – which are prevalent in high-carb diets – could affect blood vessels in the brain, and might also play a role in the development of beta amyloid plaques, which are proteins that are toxic to brain health and are found in the brains of people who are affected by Alzheimer’s. Scientists don’t yet know what causes the disease; however, they do suspect a buildup of beta amyloid is a leading cause.
Study offers some hope
Here are some of the study’s primary findings:
— People whose diets were the highest in fat (nuts and healthy oils, for instance) were 42 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment, while those who had the highest intake of protein (chicken, meat, fish) saw their risk reduced by 21 percent.
— Many popular diets, including the Mediterranean (fish, protein from poultry and lots of plant-based foods and healthy fats) and Atkins (low-carb diet featuring plenty of meats), make pitches for multiple health benefits that are derived from lowering carb intake, which includes a reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes and improved brain health.
“This (study) is consistent with what we’ve seen in past published research on how a lower carbohydrate diet can help to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s,” Colette Heimowitz, vice president of Nutrition and Education for Atkins Nutritionals Inc., told the paper.
While there currently is no treatment for Alzheimer’s besides drugs, Roberts said the study at least offers some hope because “it shows a modifiable way we can reduce risk for the disease.
“It is important to eat a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat,” he added.
Sources:
http://www.usatoday.com
http://www.sfgate.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/Alzheimers_disease.html
Vitamin C and beta-carotene help protect against Alzheimer’s dementia
by John Phillip
(NaturalNews) Alzheimer’s dementia strikes fear in millions of aging individuals, as this memory robbing disease strikes one in eight older Americans and more than half over the age of 80. Pharmaceutical companies have lined up in an attempt to find a synthetic pill that will prevent or treat this condition. Despite spending billions of dollars on research, all attempts have proven fruitless in a desperate attempt to profit from the suffering of millions around the globe. Yet the true key to prevention may be in the bounty of natural fruits and vegetables so deficient in the typical western diet.
Critical support for the importance of a natural diet packed with antioxidant vitamins and nutrients comes from a group of researchers at the University of Ulm in Germany that has been published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. A research team headed by Dr. Christine von Arnim has discovered that the serum-concentration of the antioxidants vitamin C and beta-carotene are significantly lower in patients with mild dementia than in control persons.
This finding means that it is possible to influence the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease by bolstering a person’s diet with healthy foods and dietary antioxidants. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by significant changes in brain chemistry that alter electrical and chemical transmissions that affect learning, memory and cognition.
Vitamin C and beta-carotene help clear dangerous protein accumulations in the brain
Forward-thinking scientists believe that oxidative stress from external pollutants, household chemicals and hybridized foods over the course of decades leads to this fatal form of dementia. To further examine the effect of antioxidants from foods and supplemental forms on progression of the disease, researchers developed a cohort of 74 Alzheimer’s patients and 158 healthy control participants.
The participants, aged between 65 and 90 years, underwent neuropsychological testing and answered questions regarding their lifestyle. Additionally, their blood was examined for levels of key antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, lycopene and coenzyme Q10) and BMI was calculated. Researchers found that concentrations of vitamin C and beta-carotene in the serum of Alzheimer’s patients were significantly lower than in the blood of control subjects. No difference between the groups could be found for the other antioxidants tested.
It may come as no surprise to natural health followers that a variety of nutrients from natural food sources and supplements help in the prevention and treatment of many potentially lethal diseases. Vitamin C and beta-carotene cross the blood-brain barrier where they help to squelch stress-related oxidation. In this capacity, the duo synergistically promote the normal clearance of amyloid proteins to help protect against Alzheimer’s dementia.
Sources for this article include:
http://iospress.metapress.com/content/h3215182vr7h5830/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120911103040.htm
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-09/ip-vca091112.php
About the author:
John Phillip is a Certified Nutritional Consultant and Health Researcher and Author who writes regularly on the cutting edge use of diet, lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation to enhance and improve the quality and length of life. John is the author of ‘Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan’, a comprehensive EBook explaining how to use Diet, Exercise, Mind and Targeted Supplementation to achieve your weight loss goal. Visit My Optimal Health Resource to continue reading the latest health news updates, and to download your Free 48 page copy of ‘Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan’.
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