healingways The Better
Brain Diet Eat Right To Stay Sharp
by Lisa Marshall W
ith 5.4 million Americans already living with Alzheimer’s disease, one
in fi ve suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and the 2012 failure of several targeted pharmaceutical drug trials, many brain health experts are now focusing on food as a critical defense against dementia. “Over the past several years, there
have been many well-designed scientifi c studies that show you are what you eat when it comes to preserving and improving memory,” says Dr. Richard Isaacson, associate professor of neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and author of The Alzheimer’s Diet. In recent years, studies published
in the Journal of the American Medical Association and Archives of
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Neurology have shown that people on a Mediterranean-type diet—high in antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, whole grains and fatty fi sh and low in refi ned carbohydrates and saturated fats—tend to fend off cognitive decline longer and be less prone to developing full-blown Alzheimer’s. Several small, but promising clinical trials further suggest that even people that have already begun to suffer memory loss may be able to slow or mildly reverse it via nutritional changes. Here’s how.
Switch to slow-burning carbs: Mounting evidence indicates that the constant insulin spikes from eating refi ned carbohydrates like white bread or sugar-sweetened sodas can eventually impair the metabolization of sugar (similar to Type 2 diabetes),
effecting blood vessel damage and hastened aging. A high-carb diet has also been linked to increased levels of beta-amyloid, a fi brous plaque that harms brain cells. A 2012 Mayo Clinic study of 1,230 people ages 70 to 89 found that those that ate the most carbs had four times the risk of developing MCI than those that ate the least. Inversely, a small study by University of Cincinnati researchers found that when adults with MCI were placed on a low-carb diet for six weeks, their memory improved. Isaacson recommends switching
to slow-burning, low-glycemic index carbohydrates, which keep blood sugars at bay. Substitute whole grains and vegetables for white rice, pastas and sugary fruits. Water down juices or forego them altogether.
Choose fats wisely: Arizona neurologist Dr. Marwan Sabbagh, co- author of The Alzheimer’s Prevention Cookbook, points to numerous studies suggesting a link between saturated fat in butter, cooking oil, cheese and processed meats and increased risk of Alzheimer’s. “In animals, it seems to promote amyloid production in the brain,” he says. In contrast, those that eat more fatty
fi sh such as herring, halibut and wild- caught salmon that are rich in the anti- infl ammatory omega-3 fatty acid DHA, are at lower risk. Sabbagh notes that DHA, when it’s a steady part of the diet, plays a critical role in forming the protective “skin of the brain” known as the bilipid membrane, and may possibly offset production of plaque in the brain, thus slowing its progression during the earliest stages of dementia. Aim for three weekly servings of fatty fi sh. Vegetarians can alternatively
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