*** Fast Food Diet Linked to Alzheimer’s

In one of my other articles I mentioned that diet can play an important role in safeguarding the brain, well more research bears this out. Fast food may be fun to eat but unfortunately that is where the fun stops according to further research on diet and nutrition!

In the Alzheimer’s Alternative I discuss the advantages of a Mediterranean diet and how simple dietary changes can improve mental health and brain function – and this is confirmed once again by a new study.

A study published in a thesis from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet (KI) showed that a diet rich in fat, sugar and cholesterol could lead to similar changes in the brain similar to those seen in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mice that were fed this diet (your normal fast / junk food diet!) for nine months developed abnormalities in the brain similar to those observed in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

The researcher in charge of the study Susanne Akterin, a postgraduate at KI Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre stated that “Several studies have been published during the last years linking diet with the development with Alzheimer's disease and dementia and especially too much cholesterol have been found to be particularly bad. All kinds of food that contain a lot of fat, sugar and cholesterol is likely to have the same bad consequences.”

The research also threw up another interesting titbit. Cholesterol reduces the levels of Arc – a key protein involved in memory storage.

So, not only does a poor diet block the production of a protein that promotes memory production it also increases the production of plaques and cell damage – bad news all round!

But to finish on a more cheerful note; as I said at the beginning fast food is fun and it is not meant to take itself seriously and be nutritious. It is meant to be enjoyed once in a while and that is what I suggest you do… make 85-90% of your meals wholesome and every so often indulge yourself with something not so good – but definitely tasty!

For those who really want to make dramatic strides in safeguarding their mental faculties watch out for my future articles where I will go into greater depth on the above whilst also giving you new ideas to think about. You can also learn much more about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in my new book, The Alzheimer’s Alternative available from www.alzheimersalternative.com.

Reference:

“From cholesterol to oxidative stress in Alzheimer’s disease: A wide perspective on a multifactorial disease” Susanne Akterin, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, KI Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Karolinska Institutet.