Alzheimer’s can possibly be prevented with the right diet, say US researchers. According to a recent study, they found surprisingly low levels of Alzheimer’s markers in the brain of elderly, deceased individuals who ate a specific diet.
The question of how exactly Alzheimer’s develops, which factors promote the disease or how it can be prevented will probably remain unanswered for a long time. And yet, in recent years, research has increasingly uncovered the riddle. Researchers at Rush University in Chicago have now made a revealing discovery following examining the brains of elderly, deceased women and men. Thus, those people who showed the fewest signs of Alzheimer’s in their tissues not only shared a common preference for a certain type of vegetable, they also adhered to one of two healthy diets.
More than every second person had signs of Alzheimer’s in their brain
As early as the 1990s, a total of 581 people with an average age of 84 were asked for the study to fill out detailed questionnaires regarding their diet every year. Participants received one point for each food they consumed that was scientifically proven to be healthy for the brain. One point was deducted for each unhealthy food. Participants died an average of seven years following the initial nutritional assessment. Frightening: Immediately before death, 39 percent of the participants were diagnosed with dementia. 66 percent met criteria for Alzheimer’s disease. That’s what the study says, which was published in the journal Neurology.1
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Which foods promote Alzheimer’s
The research showed that people who ate larger amounts of pastries, candy and fried foods, and fast food — highly processed foods — had higher-than-average plaques and tangles in their brain tissue. So-called amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are indicators of dementia and thus also of Alzheimer’s. This observation supports the long-held assumption that the wrong foods or bad eating habits permanently damage the brain.
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How MIND nutrition and a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s
The MIND diet consists of 15 components and was specially developed to keep the brain fit into old age. These include green leafy vegetables like kale and spinach, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil, and small amounts of wine. Also, 5 Unhealthy Groups to Limit Eating. These include butter and margarine (less than 1 teaspoon per day), cheese, pastries and sweets, and fried or fast food (less than 1 serving per week). The same applies to the Mediterranean diet (Mediterranean diet). However, with this diet z. B. berries play a minor role. The researchers discovered that people who followed these relatively simple dietary rules throughout their lives not only had younger brains, but also significantly healthier ones.
“When we examined the brains for hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, we found that those who followed the diets more closely had fewer plaques and tangles,” explains study leader Dr. Puja Agarwal in a university announcement.2 And that’s not all. MIND and the Mediterranean diet may not only reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s – an appropriate diet has also been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. A change in diet is worthwhile at any age.
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Key: Eat at least one serving of green leafy vegetables every day
When looking at individual food components, the researchers further discovered that the protective effect emanates primarily from green leafy vegetables. More precisely: Anyone who ate a portion of spinach, kale, chard or similar every day had a brain structure that was 19 years younger than their actual age. “It’s intriguing that eating green leafy vegetables is associated with fewer signs of Alzheimer’s,” Agarwal adds. For the scientist, the finding is a minor sensation. Because if Alzheimer’s might actually be prevented with just a daily serving of green leafy vegetables, it would be feasible for everyone. “Although our research has yet to prove that a healthy diet leads to less accumulation of amyloid plaque in the brain, we do know that there is a connection.” Exactly which one, she hopes to shed light on with further research.