Meat consumption may slash dementia risk
Eating more meat may help protect against dementia, but only for a certain group of people.
Adults with a higher genetic risk of Alzheimer’s may benefit from a meat-rich diet, with cognitive decline slower in those who regularly consume chicken, turkey and beef, a large study suggests.
Researchers from Karolinska Institute focused on people carrying variants of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, particularly APOE3/4 and APOE4/4, which are strongly linked to dementia.
Around a quarter of Britons are thought to carry at least one copy of the high-risk APOE4 gene.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, followed more than 2,100 people over 60 in Sweden for up to 15 years. The team found that those who ate more meat (about five or six large servings per week) did not show the same increased risk of dementia typically associated with the gene.
In contrast, APOE carriers who ate less meat were twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those without risky variants.
Lead author Dr. Jakob Norgren said: “Cognitive decline was significantly slower and the risk of dementia was lower in those who ate more meat overall, but only if they had APOE 3/4 or 4/4 gene variants.”
He added: “There is a lack of nutritional research on brain health, and our findings suggest that traditional nutritional recommendations may be negative for a genetically defined subgroup of the population.
“For those who are aware they belong to this genetic risk group, the findings offer hope; the risk can be modified with lifestyle changes.”
But not all meat is equal, as the study found that consuming less processed meats such as bacon and sausage was linked to better outcomes regardless of genetic risk.
Co-author of the study, Dr. Sara Garcia-Ptacek said that while reducing processed meat is important, unprocessed meat offers potential benefits.
However, experts warned to be careful. Dr. from Alzheimer’s Research UK. Jacqui Hanley said: “This study suggests that higher consumption of unprocessed meat is linked to slower cognitive decline and a lower risk of dementia in people with a risky version of the APOE gene, known as APOE4.
“The APOE gene is known to play a role in many cases of Alzheimer’s, so it is encouraging to see more research investigating how lifestyle factors such as diet may interact with genetic risk.
“This is still a relatively new area of research and the findings should be interpreted with caution.
“The study relied on people reporting their diets, which can sometimes lead to errors.
“Studies like this can detect links between eating meat and risk of dementia but cannot prove whether it causes it.
“More research is needed before we can suggest that certain foods may determine whether a person will develop this condition.”
