A low-saturated fat and low-glycemic index diet appears to regulate the risk of developing dementia that proceeds to Alzheimer's disease. This change in dietary pattern may benefit people who are already prone to cognitive difficulty, says report published in the Archives of Neurology.
Previous research has suggested multiple links between diet and cognitive ability, the authors note as background information. Health conditions in which insulin resistance (the body's inability to use insulin effectively) is a factor obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol levels have also been associated with pathological brain aging. However, studies of specific foods have not found conclusive evidence of an influence on Alzheimer's risk. Thus, the authors write, a more promising approach to the study of dietary factors in AD might entail the use of whole-diet interventions, which have greater ecologic validity and preserve the nutritional milieu in which fat and carbohydrate consumption occurs.
Jennifer L. Bayer-Carter, M.S., from Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, and colleagues sought to compare a high saturated fat/high simple carbohydrate diet (a macronutient pattern associated with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance) with a low saturated fat/low simple carbohydrate diet; the interventions were named HIGH and LOW, respectively. The authors evaluated the effects of these diets in 20 older adults who were healthy and 29 older adults who had amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), meaning they experienced some memory problems; the latter condition is often considered a precursor to AD. In a four-week randomized, controlled trial, 24 participants followed the High Diet and 25 followed the Low Diet . The researchers studied participants performance on memory tests as well as their levels of biomarkers (biological substances indicative of AD), such as insulin, cholesterol, blood glucose levels, blood lipid levels and components of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).Previous research has suggested multiple links between diet and cognitive ability, the authors note as background information. Health conditions in which insulin resistance (the body's inability to use insulin effectively) is a factor obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol levels have also been associated with pathological brain aging. However, studies of specific foods have not found conclusive evidence of an influence on Alzheimer's risk. Thus, the authors write, a more promising approach to the study of dietary factors in AD might entail the use of whole-diet interventions, which have greater ecologic validity and preserve the nutritional milieu in which fat and carbohydrate consumption occurs.
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