Reduce Your Risk for Alzheimer's by 35 Percent

The MIND Diet

Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the scariest and most costly chronic diseases. Fortunately, the evidence continues to mount that we have a greater impact on influencing our risk than many would believe. A recent study builds on previous research suggesting that lifestyle, specifically diet can have a dramatic impact on the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Researchers from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, led by Martha Clare Morris, PhD, found that those following their dietary approach rigorously, lowered their risk by 53%, encouragingly, those following it even moderately lowered their risk by about 35%.  Referred to as the MIND diet (acronym for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay), the dietary pattern was developed by blending elements of the Mediterranean and the DASH diets, both of which have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The Food Recommendations and Limitations

The dietary pattern emphasized the consumption of 10 brain healthy foods and limited the exposure to 5 foods that may increase risk.

The healthy foods were:

• Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale or a salad with romaine lettuce every day


• One other vegetable every day


• Three servings of whole grains a day.
  
  
  
  • A serving is one slice of whole wheat bread,  ½ cup of whole grain pasta or brown rice, or a bowl of whole grain cereal.
  
  
  
  


• Beans every other day


• One serving (about and ounce) of nuts per day


• Poultry two times a week


• Berries at least 2 times a week. The study found blueberries to be very 'potent' in brain protection.


• Fish at least one time a week


• Olive oil


• One 5 oz. glass of wine per day.

Foods that were limited:

• Red meats


• Less than on tablespoon of  butter or stick margarine per day.


• Full fat cheese, less than one serving per week


• Sweets and pastries


• No more than one serving each per week of fried or fast foods.

The Beauty of Simplicity

At first glance you may think, there is nothing new here, why all the excitement. First, of the results were impressive,  secondly, as Varanda R. Seth, RDN,CDE, spokesperson for the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, states “the MIND diet is fairly simple to follow. Having a green salad and one other vegetable a day and snaking on nuts is pretty simple to do. Many people already have poultry at least two times a week and enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.” The other guidelines while challenging for some to follow, are not overwhelmingly difficult. And as lead research Dr. Morris points out once again, ”one of the most exciting things about this is that people who adhered even moderately to the MIND diet had a reduction (35%) in the risk of Alzheimer’s. I think that will motivate people.”

The Big Takeaway

The take home message from this study is that we have more control over our risk for Alzheimer’s Disease than many consumers believe. Dr. Morris sums it up by  saying that “With late onset AD, with that of older group of people, genetic risk factors are small piece of the picture. This study along with past studies have  yielded evidence that suggests that what we eat may play a significant role in determining who gets AD and who doesn’t.”

 

Alzheimer's Rates Expected to Triple by 2050

Alzheimer’s to triple by 2050, so proclaimed a recent newspaper headline. The new estimates published in the journal Neurology suggest that the number of U.S. residents with Alzheimer’s disease will grow from 5 million today to almost 14 million by 2050.

According to the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer’s represents a looming health epidemic as the population ages. They point out that current drugs can treat symptoms however there are no medications that can cure Alzheimer’s or stop the progression of disease.

Jennifer Weuve, assistant professor of medicine at Rush Medical Center in Chicago and co-author of the paper published in Neurology referred to earlier, says, “Our study draws attention to an urgent need for more research, treatments and preventive strategies to reduce this epidemic.” Fortunately, progress continues to be made on the prevention front, with more evidence supporting the relationship between heart health and brain health.

A study published in the March 18^th issue of the journal JAMA Neurology found that keeping blood pressure, a known risk factor for heart disease, under control may reduce the development of brain plaque, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. This is especially true for those who have a genetic predisposition for the disease. According to Karen Rodrigue, lead author and assistant professor of behavioral and brain sciences at the University of Texas in Dallas, “maintaining good vascular health by avoiding or controlling diseases like hypertension has important benefits beyond keeping your heart healthy. It may promote good brain health as we age.”

Finally, researchers at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas have found evidence that being physically fit in mid-life, may lower the risk for Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Check out this short video summarizing the results of their study.

Brains AND Brawn

Remember when you were in grade school and there were specific stereotypes for different types of students? I am specifically referring to the ones that suggest that the more athletic/muscular kids (or the “Jocks”) were considered unintelligent bullies while the skinny lanky kids were considered the more intelligent nerdy ones who got stuck helping others with their homework. It was almost a black and white question of, would you rather have “Brains” or “Brawn”. Well today I present good news that challenges these stereotypes…

Recent studies reviewed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) have shown positive correlations between increased muscular strength and increased cognitive ability. Three of the studies demonstrated that those with weaker grip strength were also associated with higher risk of cognitive decline, which could contribute to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Similarly, a study done in 2012 demonstrated that resistance training shows to have significant effects in improving the mental performance in women above the age of 70. This is exciting news! If this is the case for someone in their 70’s, I would not argue against the likeliness of these same effects carrying over into the younger population as well. Even more exciting than that, further studies were done indicating that the combination of regular aerobic exercise AND resistance training enhance mental performance even more than either one of them alone.

Based on this information, it would seem that there is not such a black and white answer of choosing brains over brawn or vice versa. In fact, it would seem that the two are actually complimentary to one another and exist harmoniously together.

So the next time someone asks you the questions, “would you rather have brains or brawn?” It would be in your best interest to answer, “BOTH”!

Other Resistance Training Benefits:

1. Increased Lean weight


2. Increased resting energy expenditure


3. Decreased fat weight


4. Reduced low back pain


5. Reduced arthritic discomfort


6. Ireased functional independence


7. Enhanced movement control


8. Increased insulin sensitivity


9. Improved glucose (sugar) control


10. Reduced resting blood pressure


11. Improved blood lip profiles


12. Enhanced self-esteem


13. Reduced depression


14. Increase bone mineral density


15. Reversed aging factors in skeletal muscle

Reduce Alzheimer's Risk With A Healthy Lifestyle

My last two posts had to do with the impact of our lifestyle on and our opportunities to lower our risk for cancer, and for good reason. For most us, cancer continues to the disease we fear the most. But if you over 65, there is something you likely fear more than cancer, Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Much like cancer, many people not only fear it, but feel they have little control over it. But as in the case with cancer, there is much that can be done to lower the risk.

AD is the most common form of dementia among older people. Dementia is a brain disorder that seriously affects a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. AD usually begins after age 60 and it first involves the parts of the brain that control thoughts, memory and speech. It is estimated that over 5 million Americans have AD. Data presented at the 2011 Alzheimer’s Association Annual Conference suggested that over 40% of Alzheimer’s case could be attributed to lifestyle factors including lack of physical activity, smoking, hypertension, obesity and diabetes. If those risk factors sound familiar, they should; they are the very same factors that place us at risk for heart disease. In fact, a simple way to remember the major risk factors for AD is the phrase “what is good for your heart is good for your brain.” And the evidence continues to mount.

Researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville Tennessee, suspected that both good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol play a role as well. Their research suggests that low levels of HDL and high levels of LDL may contribute to the development of amyloid plaques. Amyloid plaques in the brain are one of the distinguishing characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease. When asked what could be done to help fight dementia, Peggye Dilworth-Anderson, president of the Gerontological Society of America and a board member of the Alzheimer’s Association responded, “invest in (and use regularly) a good pair of walking shoes.”

As mentioned earlier, AD first affects the portion of the brain that controls memory; the hippocampus is the main area of the brain that controls memory, especially short term memory. Even without the influence of AD, the hippocampus tends to shrink in late adulthood as a normal part of aging. An exciting study published the January 31, 2011, edition of the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that people in their late 50’s to early 80’s who exercised aerobically for 40 minutes, three times a week not only prevented normal age related brain tissue loss, but INCREASED the size of their hippocampus by 2%. As a result, the participants experienced improvement in their memory function. These findings suggest that aerobic exercise may be effective at not only preventing, but reversing hippocampal volume loss. The potential implications of this study are significant. If exercise can reverse normal age related loss of brain tissue, perhaps it could help reverse the loss of brain tissue as a result AD as well.

For more information about AD, visit the Alzheimer’s Association website at http://www.alz.org/.

For a good general overview of AD and to see what happens inside the brain as a result of AD, take a look at this video: http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/alzheimers-disease-video.