High-fat diets reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia

This study was published in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease 2012;32(2):329-39

 

Study title and authors:

Relative intake of macronutrients impacts risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

Roberts RO, Roberts LA, Geda YE, Cha RH, Pankratz VS, O'Connor HM, Knopman DS, Petersen RC.

Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. roberts.rosebud@mayo.edu

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22810099

The objective of the study was to investigate the association between fat, protein & carbohydrate intake and mild cognitive impairment or dementia. The study lasted for 3.7 years and included 937 elderly people, average age 79.5 years, who had normal cognition at the start of the study.

The study found:
(a) Those who consumed the most fat had a 44% reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
(b) Those who consumed the most protein had a 21% reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
(c) Those who consumed the most carbohydrate had a 89% increased risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

The study reveals that a high-fat diet reduces the risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

Cholesterol deficiency may lead to the development of Alzheimer's

This post contains a summary of a paper published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine 22 (2011) 134-140

Study title and authors:
Nutrition and Alzheimer's disease: The detrimental role of a high carbohydrate diet
Stephanie Seneff , Glyn Wainwright , Luca Mascitelli ,
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT Cambridge, MA, USA

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.lizscript.co.uk/glyn/EJIM01.pdf

In this paper, the authors highlight how an excess of dietary carbohydrates, particularly fructose, alongside a relative deficiency in dietary fats and cholesterol, may lead to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

The lead author of the study, Dr Stephanie Seneff, explains
(a) The first step in Alheimer's is represented by advanced glycation end-products in crucial plasma proteins concerned with fat, cholesterol, and oxygen transport.
(b) This leads to cholesterol deficiency in neurons, which significantly impairs their ability to function.
(c) Over time this may lead to increased oxidative damage, mitochondrial and lysosomal dysfunction, increased risk to microbial infection, and, ultimately, cell death.

Dr Seneff concluded: "Other neurodegenerative diseases share many properties with Alzheimer's disease, and may also be due in large part to this same underlying cause".