Can Alzheimer's disease be slowed or stopped by diet?

[peak4]

Interesting article HERE regarding sleep apnoea, and the onset of dementia.

 

I'm sure there are other sources for the info with more detail.

[Daven]

Aricept?

 

It was what my Dad took before he died of Alzheimers a few years ago which slows down the onset - or more accurately delays the "fall of the edge of the cliff".

 

My Dad played tennis regularly into his 70's so I'm dubious about claims it can be prevented by exercise.

 

Aricept it is. My lovely Mum had Alzheimers disease and was prescribed it for a few years before her condition had deteriorated too far for her to benefit from it. It is thought that it slows deterioration but how is this measured since it can't be guessed how quickly the condition would have deteriorated without it ?

 

There is a lot of confusion with regards to dementia. Alzheimers Disease is one form of dementia but not everyone who has dementia has AD. A common form of dementia is called vascular dementia which is caused by narrowing of the arteries in the brain - the same as arteries narrow in the heart and the cause is the same. Therefore - exercise and a healthy diet can help some people to reduce their risk of developing vascular dementia - less likely for AD I suspect

 

https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/about-dementia/types-of-dementia/

 

Just as a footnote - my lovely Mum had a low BMI and was physically fit and active when she was diagnosed with AD.

Edited September 23, 2018 by Daven

[Anna B]

Interesting article HERE regarding sleep apnoea, and the onset of dementia.

 

I'm sure there are other sources for the info with more detail.

 

Yep, I've heard this before. Interesting and a bit worrying for me.

 

I have sleep apnoea, and am supposed to use a CPAP machine at night.

 

Frankly, it's impossible, apart from the fact it makes me look like Darth Vader, I find it impossible to sleep tethered by wires and tubes to a machine that beeps and hisses throughout the night. Impossible.

 

I'm sure there must be something better than this, but it sure isn't available on the NHS.

[pattricia]

It can be slowed down or stopped but at the moment there is no definite cure . However, they are working on new drugs all the time.

[Daven]

https://www.nhs.uk/news/neurology/sleep-apnoea-risk-factor-dementia/

 

The link describes the possible risk factors of developing dementia - not Alzheimers Disease.

[onewheeldave]

i'm all for doing your best to keep healthy, but I think Alzheimers, Dementia etc strike fairly indiscriminately. What worries me is that people are going to start being blamed for getting it, if it starts to be seen as a 'lifestyle' illness.

 

Increasingly, it is looking like Alzheimers, though likely incurable, can be prevented, or at least make much less likely to occur, through dietary change.

 

Dr Michael Gregor of nutritionfacts.org puts out videos where he cites peer reviewed research to back up what he says, such as this one on Alzheimers-

 

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-prevent-alzheimers-with-diet/

 

and, an overview with more relevant videos here-

 

https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/alzheimers-disease/

[Top Cats Hat]

Keeping mentally active has been shown to do more than diet or physical activity to slow the onset of most forms of dementia.

 

I don't know if anyone remembers the Nintendo DS brain training game, but apparently something as simple of that for half an hour a day can help prevent your mental processes from atrophying.

[Longcol]

Increasingly, it is looking like Alzheimers, though likely incurable, can be prevented, or at least make much less likely to occur, through dietary change.

 

Dr Michael Gregor of nutritionfacts.org puts out videos where he cites peer reviewed research to back up what he says, such as this one on Alzheimers-

 

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-prevent-alzheimers-with-diet/

 

and, an overview with more relevant videos here-

 

https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/alzheimers-disease/

 

Greger cherry picks his quotes rather than citing the full research according to this.

 

https://www.humanewatch.org/hsus_doc_exposed_as_schlock/

 

And doesn't he claim a single meal rich in animal products can cripple your arteries?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Greger

[onewheeldave]

Greger cherry picks his quotes rather than citing the full research according to this.

 

https://www.humanewatch.org/hsus_doc_exposed_as_schlock/

 

He's been accused of it, yes.

 

And doesn't he claim a single meal rich in animal products can cripple your arteries?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Greger

 

He's claimed that a single high-fat meal impairs endothelial function, which it does, see, for example this study-

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9036757

 

("Effect of a single high-fat meal on endothelial function in healthy subjects")

 

which showed that flow-dependent vasoactivity decreased from 21 to 11 and stayed that way for 4 hours after a high fat meal of Egg McMuffin, Sausage McMuffin, 2 hash brown patties, and a noncaffeinated beverage.

 

So I don't know his exact quote, but, if he used the word "cripple" (if) then he meant in the temporary sense.

[vwkittie]

i'm all for doing your best to keep healthy, but I think Alzheimers, Dementia etc strike fairly indiscriminately. What worries me is that people are going to start being blamed for getting it, if it starts to be seen as a 'lifestyle' illness.

 

It can be a lifestyle illness. There are types of dementia that are directly caused by lifestyle, e.g. Korsakoff syndrome which is mostly caused by alcoholism but could also be caused by anorexia (showing that a healthy diet is important in reducing risk of dementia).

 

My other half's dad developed this, he was an alcoholic and very rapidly lost all his mental faculties before he died.