Foods To Lower Alzheimer’s Risk?

ANDREW WEIL, M.D. | JUNE 18, 2020

 

Foods To Lower Alzheimer’s Risk?

 

Is it true that the more apples and berries you eat, the lower your risk of Alzheimer’s disease?

 

New research does suggest that the more apples, berries and tea you consume, the lower your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. This finding comes from a 20-year-long Tufts University study that included 2,801 people age 50 and older. It looked at their consumption of flavonoids, natural substances found in fruit and onions as well as in tea, red wine and dark chocolate. Low intake of apples, pears and tea was linked with twice the normal risk of developing dementia and low intake of blueberries, strawberries and red wine was associated with a risk that was four times higher than normal.

 

Study participants whose flavonoid intake was low consumed no berries, only one and a half apples and no tea per month. High intake meant consuming about 7.5 cups of blueberries or strawberries per month, eight apples and pears and 19 cups of tea.

 

Senior author Paul Jacques, a nutritional epidemiologist, said that with no effective drugs available for treatment of Alzheimer’s, preventing it with a healthy diet is important. He added that age 50 – the approximate age at which data from the study participants was first analyzed – isn’t too late in life to make positive dietary changes. (The risk of dementia starts to increase over age 70.) He said the study’s “take home message is, when you are approaching 50 or just beyond, you should start thinking about a healthier diet, if you haven’t already.”

 

First author Esra Shistar added that the study results reveal that the people who may benefit most from consuming more flavonoids are those who eat the least of the foods containing them, “and it doesn’t take much to improve levels. A cup of tea a day or some berries two or three times a week would be adequate.”

 

I agree that it isn’t difficult to add some tea and berries to your diet. We’ve known for some time that people who have high blood levels of homocysteine, a toxic amino acid, have twice the usual risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Homocysteine tends to be higher in people whose diets are high in animal protein; conversely, fruits and leafy green vegetables provide folic acid and other B vitamins that can help the body reduce homocysteine levels. It’s difficult to establish cause and effect but reducing animal protein and eating more berries and other plant foods – and drinking tea – are good for general health and may help to prevent or alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

 

Andrew Weil, M.D.

 

Source:

Paul F. Jacques et al “Long-term dietary flavonoid intake and risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias in the Framingham Offspring Cohort.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, April 20, 2020; DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa079

 

食品可降低老年癡呆症的風險？

 

你吃的蘋果和漿果越多，你患老年癡呆症的風險就越低，這是真的嗎？

 

新的研究確實表明，您食用的蘋果，漿果和茶越多，患阿爾茨海默氏病和相關癡呆症的風險就越低。這一發現來自塔夫茨大學（Tafts University）長達20年的研究，其中包括2,801名年齡在50歲以上的人。它研究了他們食用類黃酮，它是存在於水果和洋蔥以及茶，紅酒和黑巧克力中的天然物質。蘋果，梨和茶的攝入量低與患癡呆症的正常風險是正常人的兩倍有關，藍莓，草莓和紅酒的攝入量與正常人相比高四倍。

 

研究對象的黃酮攝入量低的消費者是：每月沒有漿果，隻有一個半蘋果和沒有茶。 高攝入量意味著每月消費大約7.5杯藍莓或草莓，8杯蘋果和梨，19杯茶。

 

營養流行病學家保羅·雅克（Paul Jacques）說，由於沒有治療老年癡呆症的有效藥物，因此用健康的飲食預防這種藥物是很重要的。 他補充說，50歲——研究對象數據首先分析的近似年齡——生活中並不晚，無法做出積極的飲食變化。 （癡呆的風險在70歲以上開始增加）。他說，這項研究的“帶回信息是，當你接近50歲或稍後時，你應該開始考慮一個更健康的飲食，如果你還沒有。”

 

第一作者Esra Shistar補充說，研究結果表明，消費更多黃酮中最受益的人是那些吃最少含有黃酮的食物，需要改進的地方並不多，每天一杯茶或一些漿果，一周兩次或兩次就足夠了。”

 

我同意在飲食中添加一些茶和漿果並不難。我們已經知道，血液中高半胱氨酸（一種有毒的氨基酸）水平高的人患阿爾茨海默氏病的風險是通常的兩倍。飲食中動物蛋白含量高的人體內的同型半胱氨酸含量較高。相反，水果和多葉綠色蔬菜可提供葉酸和其他B族維生素，可幫助人體降低高半胱氨酸水平。很難確定因果關係，但減少動物蛋白和多吃漿果和其他植物性食物（以及喝茶）對身體健康有好處，並可能有助於預防或減輕阿爾茨海默氏症的症狀。

 

安德魯·韋爾，M.D.

 

資料來源：

保羅·F Jacques等人“Framingham OffspringCohort長期飲食黃酮攝入和患老年癡呆症及相關癡呆症的危險”。 《美國臨床營養雜誌》，2020年4月20日；DOI：10.1093/ajcn/nqaa079。