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Eating healthy fats can radically slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a three-year study by a transnational group of 46 European scientists.
The study followed 311 people diagnosed with “mild cognitive impairment,” a sort of pre-Alzheimer’s condition. Some were given a 125-milliliter cocktail—about half a cup—of healthy fats to drink once a day; others drank a placebo.
The cocktail’s recipe included:
- DHA and EPA, each a form of omega-3 or “healthy” fat;
- Uridine monophosphate, which crosses the blood-brain barrier and improves signaling between brain cells;
- Choline, which maintains healthy cell membranes and makes cells more sensitive to incoming signals;
- Vitamins B12, B6, C, and E;
- Folic acid, sometimes called vitamin B9, which helps make healthy red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body;
- Phospholipids, fats that strengthen cell membranes and sharpen their function;
- Selenium, which lowers physical reactions to stress and the inflammation that typically comes with stress. A recent study led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh identified inflammation of brain cells as the ignition switch of the misfolded proteins that are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.
At the end of the three-year test, volunteers on the healthy sauce showed 60 percent less cognitive decline than the placebo drinkers, 76 percent less memory loss, and 33 percent less shrinkage in the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory.
Those drinking the cocktail also showed 20 percent less brain shrinkage overall; a shrinking brain is an Alzheimer’s signature.
TRENDPOST: Pharmaceutical concoctions have shown little effect in treating Alzheimer’s, a disease that affects one in 10 Americans over age 65, a population projected to grow by 25 percent by 2050.
However, the European test is further evidence that Alzheimer’s can be effectively countered by diet and lifestyle changes, as we reported in “Brain Loss, Brain Gain,” in our 10 July 2019 issue.