November 2007

Risk of memory problems lowered with diet

A study published in the Nov. 13, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, reports that a diet rich in fish, omega-3 oils, fruits, and vegetables may lower your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

The study found people who regularly consumed omega-3 rich oils, such as canola oil, flaxseed oil, and walnut oil, reduced their risk of dementia by 60 percent, and people who ate fruits and vegetables daily reduced their risk by 30 percent.

It also found people who ate fish at least once a week had a 35 percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a 40 percent lower risk of dementia, but only if they did not carry the gene that increases the risk of Alzheimer’s, called apolipoprotein E4, or ApoE4.

In addition, the study found people who did not carry the ApoE4 gene and consumed an unbalanced diet characterized by regular use of omega-6 rich oils, but not omega-3 rich oils or fish, were twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who didn’t eat omega-6 rich oils, which include sunflower or grape seed oil.

Researchers examined the diets of 8,085 men and women aged 65 and older who did not have dementia at the beginning of the study. In the four years of follow-up, 183 of the participants developed Alzheimer’s disease and 98 developed another type of dementia.

Source: American Academy of Neurology, www.aan.com

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