Since the last 20 years over 73,000 research articles have been published on AD, but little progress has been done to cure this disease. While it still remains incurable, it IS PREVENTABLE.
Alzheimer’s Disease can be thought of as a “mind attack,” since we have other medical terms such as “heart attack” or brain attack (stroke). To protect oneself from a mind attack, we have to take preventative actions to keep the mind functioning optimally. These actions include controlling vascular risk factors (high blood pressure & cholesterol), and controlling chronic brain hypoperfusion (lack of adequate blood flow to the brain). All of this translates into:
- A healthy diet
- Physical exercise
- Mental exercise
The combination of these three items means you reduce your risk of the major risk factors for AD. These risk factors are:
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Obesity
- Depression
- Lack of Physical Exercise
- Smoking
- Lack of Mental Exercise
Up to 50% of AD are attributable to these 7 risk factors. This didn’t even factor in specific diet patterns. However it has been shown that diet plays a big role in AD. For example Mediterranean diet eaters are associated with a lower incidence of AD and slower cognitive decline. The Mediterranean diet is high in vegetables, beans, fruits, & nuts; and low in meats and dairy. Studies have shown the main constituents of this diet that show benefits are the high vegetable consumption and the ratio of fats (plant-based vs animal based).
Looking across 11 countries, the main indicator of the prevalence of AD is fat consumption. Higher saturated fat intake was associated with a poorer trajectory of cognition and memory. The study showed that women with the lowest saturated fat intakes had the brain function of women 6 years younger! If having younger brain function appeals to you, listen up! Eating healthy pays you back in big ways.
Adherence to a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean Diet, was associated with longevity of life. In fact a decade after the study was started, the only remaining participants were the ones that were strictly eating healthy.
Eating healthy can mean a variety of things. The keys factors for AD in these studies were:
- Vegetable Consumption
- Fat Consumption (Plant-based vs Animal-based)
This proves yet again that plant-based diets are the crème de la crème of healthy eating. Time to consider meatless Mondays!
