Dementia is widely known to be a condition that affects 42 million people, but the most common type that is experienced was identified to be Alzheimer’s disease. Yet, as prevention methods were revealed by experts, studies reveal that Western diet contributes to increasing the risk of developing the Alzheimer’s disease.
According to Psych Central, researchers from San Francisco's Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center discovered that Western diet especially consuming a large amount of meat along with eggs and high-fat dairy increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other chronic illnesses. The study was said to found evidence through assessing Western dietary pattern among countries.
Study lead author, Dr. William B. Grant then stated that they compared dietary habits from Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, India, Mongolia, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, and the United States. The study then found out that when Japan turned to Western diet instead of their traditional diet, Alzheimer’s disease rates increased from 1 percent to 7 percent between the years 1985 to 2008.
“Although the traditional Mediterranean diet is associated with about half the risk for Alzheimer’s disease of the Western diet, the traditional diets of countries such as India, Japan, and Nigeria, with very low meat consumption, are associated with an additional 50 percent reduction in risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” Grant explained. Grant then stated that obesity is one of the factors that aids in developing the disease.
With that said, Mail Online also reported that another study conducted by researchers from the University of California Riverside supports the idea of Western diet increases Alzheimer’s. The team examined mice models, which were fed with Western diet while the other with low-fat, low-sugar diet. The result was revealed to have those mice fed with Western diet became obese after 60 days. The obese mice were said to develop elevated levels of endocannabinoids as well.
Nonetheless, the team led by Grant also found out that foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, low-fat dairy products, legumes, and fish could decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Details about the study that associated Western diet and Alzheimer’s was published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
