How to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s

I am always in favour of prevention rather than cure and there is now significant evidence that lifestyle and diet may play a role in reducing your risk of developing this increasingly common condition. Just as a heart-healthy diet reduces your risk of heart disease, a similar diet seems to also contribute to Alzheimer’s prevention by reducing some risks. The same medical conditions (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol) and lifestyle factors (lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking, obesity) that lead to stroke and heart disease also lead to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is because the factors that affect blood vessels throughout the body also affect blood vessels in the brain.

In the latest study, published in April 2010, over 2,000 elderly New Yorkers who were dementia free were followed for almost 4 years. In that time, 253 subjects developed Alzheimer’s disease, and the dietary patterns of all subjects were characterized and analyzed. They don’t say at what point elderly begins, but I will be generous and assume that all their subjects were over the age of 60, but the common characteristics of a ‘brain-healthy’ diet generally avoids saturated fats and cholesterol, and emphasizes dark-skinned fruits and vegetables (rich in anti-oxidants) and coldwater fish (which contain omega-3 fatty acids).

The study found that those people who strongly adhered to this dietary pattern were 38% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared with those whose diet was significantly different.

If you want to minimise your risk of developing Alzheimer’s than basically you need to follow a modified Mediterranean diet. This means higher intakes of nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables, fruits, salad dressing (oil and vinegar) and dark green leafy vegetables and a lower intake of high-fat dairy products, red meat, organ meat, and butter.

A previous study published in 2006, showed that people who most closely followed the Mediterranean diet had the lowest Alzheimer’s risk – 40% lower than those who were least likely to follow the diet. This diet places emphasis on eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and grains with red meat and poultry eaten only rarely, and olive oil and fatty fish are the main sources of fat in the diet.

I think this is good news as once again it puts responsibility for our long-term health into our own hands — and hence into our stomachs. We have absolutely no control over our genetic inheritance or predisposition to certain diseases, but what we certainly can do is create the best conditions for optimal health through a health promoting — not health debilitating — diet.