Download Diet and the Prevention of Alzheimer`s Disease (and Heart Disease

Diet and the Prevention of Alzheimer Disease (and Heart Disease!)
We often look at individual foods and try to decide if they are good for us, or bad for us. A
classic example is to describe fish as “brain food.” Likewise, at the checkout counter, you can
read headlines about the benefits of eating blueberries, walnuts or any other food of the month.
Just about all of us consume food in a dietary pattern, and not in isolation. A major research
study looked at more than 2000 elderly people who had no signs of dementia. They all provided
dietary information and were followed over a period of 18 months. Dietary patterns were then
calculated based on their content of nutrients potentially known to be related to Alzheimer
disease. These included saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, Omega III and
Omega VI fatty acids, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12 and folate. In a follow up of 3.9 years, 253
people developed Alzheimer disease. The research scientists identified a dietary pattern strongly
associated with the lower risk of Alzheimer disease. This reduced the risk of Alzheimer disease
by 38%! The dietary pattern was characterized by higher intakes of salad dressing, nuts, fish,
tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables (that includes broccoli, cauliflower), fruits, dark and
green leafy vegetables. This diet pattern had a lower intake of high fat dairy products, red meat,
organ meat and butter.
What are the chances that a cardiac patient would look at this list and comment on how similar
that information is to the type of diet patterns that are associated with prevention of heart disease.
The article originally appeared in Archives of Neurology 2010; 67(6): 699-706.