Avoiding Alzheimer’s: It’s all in the Diet

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Reported September 3, 2004

Avoiding Alzheimer's: It's all in the Diet

http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=9449

 

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study shows consuming foods or supplements

containing the omega-3 fatty acid known as DHA may be the best way to avoid

Alzheimer's disease -- even if you carry a gene that makes you susceptible

to the condition.

 

That surprising finding comes from researchers at University of California

in Los Angeles who studied Alzheimer's in mice. First they bred mice to

carry the gene known to cause the brain lesions characteristic of the

disease. The original intention was to see how various environmental

factors affect symptoms over time. But the mice only showed minimal memory

or other brain-related problems.

 

The investigators wondered if the reason was because they were living on a

diet rich in soy and fish, two foods high in DHA, which has been shown in

other studies to help prevent the development of Alzheimer's. To test their

hypothesis, they placed the mice on an unhealthy diet with no DHA. About

half were fed this diet alone. The other half was given DHA supplements

along with the unhealthy food.

 

Mice that ate the unhealthy diet without the DHA supplements went on to

develop the kind of brain changes typically seen in Alzheimer's patients.

Those that received DHA supplements, however, maintained much of their

brain functioning, even though they, too, carried the Alzheimer's gene.

 

" After adjusting for all possible variables, DHA was the only factor

remaining that protected the mice against the synaptic damage and memory

loss that should have resulted from their Alzheimer's genes, " says study

author Greg Cole, Ph.D. " We concluded that the DHA-enriched diet was

holding their genetic disease at bay. "

 

The investigators note DHA is easy to add to the diet and can be found in

oily fish such as salmon and sardines or can be taken in supplement form.

They suggest more people consider increasing their DHA consumption.

 

SOURCE: Neuron, 2004;43:633-645