In a Ted Talk, Neal Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, spoke about his father, who had passed away from Alzheimer’s disease.
His father became ill a few years before he passed. The first symptom was memory loss, and as time went by, his memory became increasingly worse. In the end, he couldn’t even recognize his children who came to visit him. The old gentleman’s personality also changed, and he could no longer take care of himself. Barnard lamented that the loss of memory meant the loss of family members and the complete loss of everything.
Barnard often recalled a scene from his childhood.
When his mother was pan-frying bacon, its smell was so wonderful that Barnard and his siblings would rush into the kitchen as soon as they smelled the bacon. They would watch their mother use a fork to remove the hot bacon from the pan and place it on a paper towel to cool. When the bacon was all fried, his mom would carefully pick up the hot pan and pour the grease from the pan into a glass jar, and put it on a shelf. The next morning, she would scoop up a spoonful of lard from the jar and use it to make fried eggs.
Barnard still remembered that jar of lard that had solidified after it turned cold. The lard, solidified at room temperature, was full of dangerous saturated fats. Could this lard, filled with unhealthy fats, have anything to do with his dad’s development of Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. One in
three elderly people die of dementia, but there are few medications available to treat the disease. Does this really mean that Alzheimer’s disease is a death sentence for the brain, with no way to reverse it?
Alzheimer’s Disease is Due to the Presence of ‘Garbage’ in the Brain
The possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease is the presence of “garbage” in the brain.
If you observe the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient, you will see a bunch of strange substances between the brain cells. Under the microscope, something called “amyloid β-protein” accumulates in clumps, like cotton wool balls. In addition, there are neurofibrillary tangles in their brain cells.
When they increasingly accumulate, they eventually cause brain cells to die, thus resulting in the appearance of Alzheimer’s symptoms.
More Likely to Occur in People With ‘Dementia Genes’
Carrying certain genes can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.A gene called APOE4 is associated with increased amounts of beta-amyloid plaques in brain tissues, which may also lead to earlier memory loss and other symptoms.
Specifically, if one’s father or mother has the
APOE4 gene, it may be
passed on to this person. About 25 percent of
people carry a copy of the APOE4 gene from their father or mother, and they are two to three times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than the general population. Another 2 percent to 3 percent of people carry two copies of the APOE4 gene, and they are eight to 12 times more likely to develop the disease than average.
Alzheimer’s Disease Is Caused by ‘Oxidative Rusting’ of Brain Cells
Another important cause of Alzheimer’s disease is
oxidative stress.
We have free
radicals in our body. And in low or moderate concentrations, they play various beneficial roles. However, if their concentration is too high, they would become
harmful. Unhealthy diet and stress, as well as other environmental factors, can increase the level of free radicals in our body.
When the amount of free radicals in the body exceeds the amount of
antioxidant nutrients, the excess free radicals cannot be balanced, so they then cause oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress causes oxidative damage to molecules (such as lipids, proteins, and DNA) in cells. They cause oxidative “rusting” of your brain, and the brain’s ability to automatically remove amyloid β-proteins becomes impaired.
But don’t worry. Some foods can counteract the damage of free radicals and reduce the role of “dementia genes.”
Super Brain Food #1: Good Lipids
The lard that Barnard used to consume a lot in his childhood is a type of unhealthy fat. A diet high in saturated fat and trans-fat will cause the body to produce a large number of free radicals, which in turn can damage the brain. Therefore, controlling the intake of saturated fats and trans-fats is paramount in preventing Alzheimer’s disease and the damage to brain function.Some American researchers conducted a dietary
survey of 815 seniors aged 65 or older in Chicago, and a few years later they counted the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease among them. As it turned out, people with a relatively high daily intake of saturated fat (about 25 grams) had 2.2 times the risk of Alzheimer’s disease than those with a lower intake of saturated fat (about 13 grams). Moreover, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease is similar to that of saturated fats when trans-fats are consumed.
Some Finnish researchers took this study one step
further. They analyzed the effect of saturated fat intake on people carrying the APOE4 gene, and discovered that people who had relatively high daily intake of saturated fat and also carried the APOE4 gene had a four-fold increase in mild cognitive impairment when compared to those who consumed less saturated fats daily.
Moreover, two-thirds of the human brain is composed of fat, so the brain needs a steady supply of good fats to keep cell membranes intact.
Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are such high-quality fats, and are also a source of nutrition for the brain. They are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that cannot be synthesized in the body and must be obtained through food.
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, halibut, and sardines) as well as krill, algae, walnuts, nut oils, and flaxseeds. There are three main dietary types of these fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). EPA and DHA are abundant in fish and can be used directly by the body, while ALA is found in nuts and must be converted to DHA and EPA by the body.
Dietary sources of omega-6 fatty acids include vegetable oils, nuts, grains, eggs and poultry.
It is important to maintain a
balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in our diet, because both substances work together to promote good health. Consuming too much omega-6 fatty acids can promote inflammation. A healthy diet should contain two to four times as much omega-6 as omega-3, and it should be noted that many consuming the modern American diet are getting too many omega-6s and not enough omega-3 fatty acids.
Super Brain Food #2: Natural Antioxidant Nutrients
What fights against oxidation and free radicals? Antioxidants, of course. Antioxidant nutrients from healthy foods can help alleviate oxidative stress and protect the brain. Deficiencies in antioxidant nutrients are one of the causes for many chronic diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.
There are several mechanisms in the body to combat oxidative stress through the production of antioxidants. These antioxidants are naturally produced in the body and are called “endogenous antioxidants.”
The antioxidant nutrients that we supplement through food are called “exogenous antioxidants.” Exogenous antioxidants are compounds that cannot be produced in the body and must be obtained through food or supplements. And they can effectively help the body’s endogenous antioxidants work. These exogenous antioxidants include vitamin E, vitamin C, carotenoids, and flavonoids (e.g. anthocyanin).
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin with a high antioxidant capacity that protects cell membranes from free radical damage. There are eight forms of vitamin E. Among them, alpha-tocopherol is the most biologically active form in the body. Dietary sources of vitamin E are nuts, olive oil, dark green vegetables, and eggs.
According to Barnard, taking vitamin E supplements only gives a person one type of vitamin E, while eating a small handful of nuts each day can effectively replenish multiple types of vitamin E. However, we should pay attention to the amount of nuts we eat, and no more than a handful per day is appropriate.
In a clinical
trial that lasted from 2007 to 2012, some American researchers asked 613 subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease to take either alpha-tocopherol or placebo and found that those who took alpha-tocopherol had a slower decline in brain function than the other group, with a delay in clinical progression of 19 percent per year.
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that works synergistically with vitamin E to inhibit free radicals.
A follow-up
study of more than 5,000 people over the age of 65 showed that people who take vitamin C or vitamin E supplements are 40 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than the ones that don’t.
A 5-year Canadian
study of more than 10,000 seniors over the age of 65 showed that people who were supplemented with both vitamin E and vitamin C or antioxidant multivitamins had a 51 percent lower risk of cognitive decline and a 66 percent lower risk of cognitive impairment such as vascular dementia.
Natural sources of vitamin C are acidic fruits, green vegetables, and tomatoes. However, vitamin C is an unstable molecule and may be lost during cooking, so the best way is to consume these foods raw or cold.
Beta-carotene is a type of carotenoid. Carotenoids are considered provitamins, because they can be converted into active vitamin A.
In addition to being important for vision, beta-carotene is also a strong antioxidant that can eliminate free radicals. However, taking beta-carotene supplements
alone can have adverse effects on the body, and its over-supplementation can even increase the risk of cancers such as lung cancer. Beta-carotene is found in orange-colored foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, pumpkins, and dark green vegetables.
Since beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant, it can
reduce amyloid β-proteins in the brain, which can be helpful in improving Alzheimer’s disease.
Flavonoids are found in most plants. There are more than 4,000 known flavonoid compounds, and their effects are primarily antioxidant. Each plant contains a unique combination of flavonoids. Major natural sources of flavonoids include green tea, grapes, apples, berries, onions, broccoli, and turmeric.
Among the flavonoid compounds, the most noteworthy is anthocyanins, which are exceptionally powerful antioxidants that protect the brain. Anthocyanins are commonly found in blue-violet and red-colored fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries and cherries.
A
study conducted by several Italian scientists and published in Neuroscience Letters proved that anthocyanins can interfere with the production of amyloid β-proteins. The researchers suggested that anthocyanins, such as phytochemicals with neuroprotective properties, might be used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
