ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — More than six million people in the US, 65 and older, have dementia. By 2050, that number is expected to double to nearly 13 million. But a series of new studies reveals you may be able to reduce your dementia risk with the foods you choose to eat. Ivanhoe has the details.
You are what you eat.
Hariom Yadav, PhD, Director USF Center for Microbiome Research says, “The gut influences very heavily the whole body physiology.”
And now new research shows many people may be eating their way to dementia. The main culprit: ultra-processed foods, like fast foods, chips, frozen meals, and sodas. Researchers in Brazil found those who got 20 percent or more of their daily calorie intake from these processed foods had a 28 percent faster rate of cognitive decline than those who ate less processed foods. That means in a standard diet of two thousand calories a day, 400 calories worth of processed foods can cause a lot of damage. But there is good news.
Hariom Yadav, PhD, explains, “If you eat the right diet, you can reduce that risk.”
You can still eat a lot of unprocessed foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to combat that risk. A study from Rush University Medical Center found those who closely followed something called the Mind Diet for four and a half years, which focuses on eating mainly vegetables, fish, chicken, and whole grains, reduced their risk for Alzheimer’s by 53 percent. Giving you some food for thought.
Experts say a whopping 58 percent of what Americans eat comes from ultra-processed foods. Even plant-based alternatives, like plant-based meat, are likely still highly processed. So since it may be impossible to cut out processed food entirely, it’s best to focus on adding unprocessed foods instead of cutting out processed foods.
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Bob Walko, Editor.
Sources:
https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-do-we-know-about-diet-and-prevention-alzheimers-disease
ARE YOU EATING YOURSELF INTO DEMENTIA?
REPORT #3056
BACKGROUND: Dementia is a term used to describe a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with your daily life. It isn’t a specific disease, but several diseases can cause dementia. Though dementia generally involves memory loss, memory loss has different causes. Having memory loss alone doesn’t mean you have dementia, although it’s often one of the early signs of the condition. Someone in the world develops dementia every 3 seconds. There are over 55 million people worldwide living with dementia in 2020. This number will almost double every 20 years, reaching 78 million in 2030 and 139 million in 2050. Much of the increase will be in developing countries. Already 60% of people with dementia live in low and middle income countries, but by 2050 this will rise to 71%. The fastest growth in the elderly population is taking place in China, India, and their south Asian and western Pacific neighbors.
(Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352013
https://www.alzint.org/about/dementia-facts-figures/dementia-statistics/)
DIAGNOSIS: Dementia symptoms vary depending on the cause, but common signs and symptoms include: cognitive changes like memory loss, difficulty communicating, difficulty planning and organizing, and/or confusion and disorientation. Other symptoms include psychological changes like personality changes, depression, anxiety, inappropriate behavior, paranoia, and/or hallucinations. Diagnosing dementia and its type can be challenging. To diagnose the cause of the dementia, the doctor must recognize the pattern of the loss of skills and function and determine what a person is still able to do. More recently, biomarkers have become available to make a more accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Doctors will most likely run tests like cognitive neuropsychological tests, brain scans like MRIs, CT and PET scans, and/or lab tests.
(Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352013
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dementia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20352019)
NEW REGULATIONS: Leqembi was approved using the Accelerated Approval pathway, under which the FDA may approve drugs for serious conditions where there is an unmet medical need and a drug is shown to have an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict a clinical benefit to patients. The results of a Phase 3 randomized, controlled clinical trial to confirm the drug’s clinical benefit have recently been reported and the agency anticipates receiving the data soon. Researchers evaluated Leqembi’s efficacy in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, dose-finding study of 856 patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Treatment was initiated in patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia stage of disease and confirmed presence of amyloid beta pathology. Patients receiving the treatment had significant dose- and time-dependent reduction of amyloid beta plaque, with patients receiving the approved dose of lecanemab, 10 milligram/kilogram every two weeks, having a statistically significant reduction in brain amyloid plaque from baseline to Week 79 compared to the placebo arm, which had no reduction of amyloid beta plaque.
* For More Information, Contact: Sarah Worth
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