Did You Know?: A healthy diet may be linked to lower Alzheimer's risk

In today's New York Times Science Times section, a small piece by Roni Caryn Rabin, in the Vital Signs column, reports that a new study (published online April 12 by the journal Archives of Neurology) has found that a diet "low in saturated fat and rich in nutrients like folate, vitamin E and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids" may be linked with a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease. In the study, older adults who ate diets rich in "fish, poultry, fruit, nuts, dark leafy greens, vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, and oil-and-vinegar dressing" showed a risk for Alzheimer's that was more than 1/3 lower than the risk for older adults who ate less of those nutritious foods and more "high-fat dairy products, butter, red meat and organ meat." While these findings still need to be further investigated, I think it's safe enough to add this potential benefit to our list of reasons why we should try to add more of these healthy foods to our diet.


Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In today's New York Times Science Times section, a small piece by Roni Caryn Rabin, in the Vital Signs column, reports that a new study (published online April 12 by the journal Archives of Neurology) has found that a diet "low in saturated fat and rich in nutrients like folate, vitamin E and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids" may be linked with a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease. In the study, older adults who ate diets rich in "fish, poultry, fruit, nuts, dark leafy greens, vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, and oil-and-vinegar dressing" showed a risk for Alzheimer's that was more than 1/3 lower than the risk for older adults who ate less of those nutritious foods and more "high-fat dairy products, butter, red meat and organ meat." While these findings still need to be further investigated, I think it's safe enough to add this potential benefit to our list of reasons why we should try to add more of these healthy foods to our diet.


Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net