The Alzheimer’s disease is a disease neurodegenerative which involves the degeneration of nerve cells. Patients will experience progressive loss of memory and certain intellectual (cognitive) functions leading to repercussions in the activities of daily living.
According to the latest estimates, 1.2 million people might be affected by Alzheimer’s or a related disease in France. Of this figure, regarding 750,000 people are diagnosed.
food can be a good lever for prevent the risk and improve the state of your brain. A new study published in Age and Aging, and carried out by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona and the CIBER on frailty and aging (CIBERFES) was interested in the contribution in fibers.
According to their results, dietary fiber intake might protect once morest cognitive decline in elderly people carrying the genotype. apolipoprotéine E ApoE ε4. This genotype is considered a risk factor genetic linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s: fiber can reduce risk by 30%
One study was conducted with 1,139 adults over 65 domiciled in Tuscany (Italy). The average age was 74 years old. The researchers looked at participants’ diets for 15 years.
The volunteers were carriers of apolipoprotein E (ApoE). It’s a protein multifunctional synthesized and secreted by several cells (hepatocytes, adipocytes, etc.). It is found in people considered to be at risk in front of the dementia.
“Cognitive decline, a precursor to the development of dementia in the elderly, is currently an untreated public health problem. This is why it is crucial to detect modifiable risk factors that allow the development of prevention strategies, among which the power supply turned out to be one of the most effective”, indicates Tomàs Meroño (UB-INSA-CIBERFES), one of the authors of the study.
“Evidence shows that a healthy diet, characterized by a high intake of fiber-rich foods, has a positive impact on cognition, but the specific role of fiber intake on cognitive function is still unknown,” adds the searcher.
According to the study, people who increase their fiber intake by 5 g per day reduce their 30% cognitive decline. The researchers note that this protective association is limited to people who carry the ApoE ε4 haplotype.
“These results show that older people with the ApoE ε4 haplotype should benefit fromhigher fiber intake“, conclude the scientists.
Discover in pictures the foods richest in fiber.
