Can your diet fight Alzheimer’s? Scientists reveal the cuisine that could override the genetic risk

The moment, a new study published in Nature Medicine suggests that it can help reduce the possibility of dementia, including the highest genetic risk known for Alzheimer’s disease.

The research was directed by Mass General Brigham, Harvard Th Chan Public Health School and MIT and Harvard Wide Institute. They found that individuals carrying two copies of the Apoe4 gene variant, the highest genetic risk factor known for Alzheimer, showed the greatest benefit of following a Mediterranean diet.

“One of the reasons we want to examine the Mediterranean diet is the only diet pattern that causes cognitive benefits in a randomized essay.”
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“We wanted to see if this benefit is different in people with changing genetic backgrounds and examine the role of blood metabolites, small molecules reflecting how the body works and performs normal functions.”

Alzheimer’s disease has a strong genetic component and heredity is estimated up to 80%. Apoe4 variant is the most important risk factor. People with a copy of APOE4 have a risk of 3-4 times higher than the risk of Alzheimer’s development, with two copies of 12 times higher risk. In order to evaluate the effect of the diet, the researchers examined the data from 4.215 women in the health study of the nurses, and the findings confirmed with 1,490 men in the follow -up study of health professionals. The participants have been watched for more than thirty years using food frequency surveys, blood samples, genetic data and cognitive tests. The findings not only have the risk of dementia after a Mediterranean -style diet, but also showed that they had a slower cognitive decline over time.

“These findings show that dietary strategies, especially the Mediterranean diet, can help to reduce the risk of cognitive decrease and dementia, by broadly affect key metabolic paths.” He said.

“This proposal is widely valid, but it may be even more important for individuals with higher genetic risks, such as those who carry two copies of the Apoe4 genetic variant.”

The researchers said that most of the study was well educated and some limitations, including European lineages. They paid attention that more various research was needed before turning these findings into routine medical practice.

(With inputs from the moment)