Alzheimer’s Disease and Diet
Dark-Colored Fruits and Vegetables. According to several studies, eating plenty of darkly colored fruits and vegetables may slow brain aging. Of interest was a 1999 study on animals, in which extracts taken from blueberries and strawberries actually reversed age-related decline in brain function. Blueberries were the most effective. Dark-colored fruits and vegetables are recommended in any case for good health.
People with Alzheimer’s should eat well-balanced, nutrient-rich meals, but a special diet is usually not necessary. However, even healthy older people experience changes in eating habits as they age: Food may not smell or taste the same; it may become more difficult to chew and digest food, and our cells may not be able to utilize the energy from food as efficiently. These problems may be more pronounced in people with Alzheimer’s and may be compounded by other challenges posed by the disease. In addition, Alzheimer’s may cause appetite control systems in the brain to malfunction as nerve cells in those areas deteriorate, resulting in extreme eating behaviors.
Balanced Diet and Alzheimer’s Disease
The eating and nutrition of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia can impact on their health. Weight loss, nutritional deficiencies and inadequate fluid intake can all have dramatic and dangerous results. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease can live for many years so it is important that caregivers respond to the changes that occur in memory and behavior as well as in their physical health.
Antioxidant Nutrients
Perhaps the best evidence of disease prevention involves the antioxidant nutrients, vitamins E and C. The neuropathologic features of Alzheimer’s disease include amyloid beta (A-beta) plaques, an abnormal accumulation of A-beta protein outside neuronal cells, and neurofibrillary tangles within the cells. Numerous animal and laboratory studies have shown that Alzheimer’s disease involves oxidative and inflammatory processes, although it is not known whether these processes are a cause or effect of the disease or both.
Magnesium and Brain Functioning
Magnesium is also necessary for brain function. According to the publication (October, 1995) Food and Nutrition Research, a publication of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Greenbelt, Md., it was reported that magnesium is the fourth most abundant element in the brain. A low level of magnesium overexcites the brain’s neurons and results in less coherence.
Diet May Influence Alzheimer’s Risk
In one, people who followed the so-called Mediterranean diet, which includes plenty of fruits and vegetables but little red meat, had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s than people who did not follow the diet. In the other, taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements seemed to slow disease progression in people with very early Alzheimer’s disease.
The study found that high fat and high calorie diets have the highest correlation with Alzheimer’s disease prevalence rates. Other high risk factors include alcohol, salt, and refined carbohydrates. In addition, it was found that fish consumption reduced the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in European and North American countries. Grant speculated that anti-inflammatory substances in fish oil delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
