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The factors that we know are associated with Alzheimer's risk:
One is blood sugar problems. So you see a much higher incidence in diabetics, for example.
And when blood sugar levels are too high,
it creates these glycation products, which can literally damage the brain.
So blood sugar is one factor.
The brain is 60% fat, if you take away the water.
The main fats are cholesterol, essential fats like omega-3
and also phospholipids.
Both the omega-3 and phospholipids are very high in fish.
So one thing that's clear is that
fish eaters have a much lower incidence of dementia and Alzheimer's.
And there are a couple of studies which have
shown some very positive effects of giving concentrations of fish oils.
The third area that is gaining a lot of interest really relates to antioxidants.
A lot of diet studies have found that people who have a high intake of antioxidant foods
and also drinks have a lower risk.
So actually tea drinkers and green tea drinkers
and even chocolate and vegetables
and even possibly a small amount of red wine is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's.
But the single factor that is most explored
and researched and really now, you could say, proven is the role of B vitamins.
And very specifically, B6, B12 and folic acid.
These are essential for a process in the brain which is called methylation.
If you're not good at doing methylation, a
toxic protein called homocysteine starts to accumulate and you can measure it in the blood.
So we've known for quite a while that a high level of homocysteine predicts specifically
risk for Alzheimer's, as well as dementia generally.
75% of dementia is Alzheimer's.
In the past two years, there's been the very important work of Professor David Smith.
He gave people with the early stage of dementia,
which is called mild cognitive impairment, either the high dose B vitamins or a placebo.
He was able to show that the accelerated brain shrinkage which is the hallmark of Alzheimer's
effectively stopped. The memory loss stopped. And the B vitamins specifically stopped the
brain shrinkage in the central area of the brain, called the media temporal lobe. And
that again is a hallmark of Alzheimer's. So this is very encouraging.
There are other nutrients required for methylation. Zinc, for example, is required.
For many people, it looks like older people absorb vitamin B12 much less well.
And there are certain drugs, by the way, that make that absorption harder and harder.
So medication, for example, for diabetes, antacid medication, could be making matters worse.
Without B12, you can't do methylation, homocysteine accumulates,
and that appears to damage the brain.
So that's the most thoroughly researched. Recently, there's a lot of interest growing
around coconut oil and medium chain triglycerides.
At this stage, it's anecdotal. The mechanism is not exactly established yet.
The studies haven't been done to say that we have proof. But that's very interesting as well.