Article link: Macronutrients, aluminum from drinking water and food, and other metals in cognitive decline and dementia
Click on the underlined journal article title above to read a very comprehensive systematic review on dementia precursors and a simple prevention diet. I\’m not going to lie it is a bit of a hard read at first, very scientific, but once you get past the jargon it starts to come together. The tables on pages 309-310 are very good for summarizing the studies findings on risk onset of AD (Alzheimer\’s Disease). Just to give a very quick overview: results of current studies show that there is a genetic component, specifically in relation to APOE (apolioprotein) located on chromosome 19 + corresponding alleles, a link to depression, a link to environmental factors including aluminium intake through food and especially drinking water, zinc deficiency, vitamin and antioxidant deficiencies, low PUFA/MUFA (Polyunsaturated and monosaturated fatty-acids) intake, and poor glucose regulation. Now, that\’s not all the journal discusses. It\’s pretty in-depth and fairly long, but extremely interesting. I really gives a great \”shorter\” summary of factors relating to onset of AD. I also really liked this statement in the conclusion about prevention,
\”A style of diet based of complex CHO, fibers, cereals, red wine, fresh fruit and vegetables, and nonanimal fat appears to protect against predementia syndromes, and cognitive decline of vascular or degenerative origin.\” (p.321)
I healthy diet can be protective. Although this may seem simple, in the world we live in today with excessive use of saturated, trans-saturated and hydrogenated fats, refined, chemical ridden foods, massive amounts of salt, MSG, and sugar, its much more complex and just simply harder to actually put into practice. It takes dedication and more specifically money. This is why I truly urge people to start even buying just some organic produce. There is an article* I posted a while back talking about how organic vegetables and fruits have higher antioxidant levels, which is a preventative factor to reduce AD onset, even more proof of why we should all try and switch to at least organic fruits and veg.
*Article title about organic produce antioxidant levels: Organic Foods Contain Higher Levels of Certain Nutrients, Lower Levels of Pesticides, and May Provide Health Benefits for the Consumer (search title in search bar to read)
Well that\’s my two cents, haha. Try to give this a read if your interested, hope you enjoy. Thanks as always for reading, and be aware and eat with care 🙂
REF: Solfrizzi V; Department of Geriatrics, Center for Aging Brain, Memory Unit, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Colacicco AM
D\’Introno A
Capurso C
Parigi AD
Capurso SA
Torres F
Capurso A
Panza FSource:Journal Of Alzheimer\’s Disease: JAD [J Alzheimers Dis] 2006 Nov; Vol. 10 (2-3), pp. 303-30.