The best diets, steps to prevent Alzheimer's

Ask any boomer what disease frightens them the most in the future, and you will hear Alzheimer's disease over and over again. Clearly, the loss of mental function trumps all the other scary things that could happen to us down the road. Worse, the risk is increasing progressively as we make medical strides to keep people alive longer. Ironically, you could make the argument that although we are doing better at saving lives with coronary artery bypass surgery, improving the odds of surviving cancer, etc., at the same time we are leaving the brain behind. If this trend of keeping the body alive longer while not sustaining brain function continues, experts project the number of Alzheimer’s victims will increase three-fold by the year 2050.

We are still baffled by what specifically causes Alzheimer’s. There certainly appears to be a genetic predisposition, possibly in two out of three cases. This doesn’t mean bad genes cause the disease. Predisposition means you are leaning in that direction, but lifestyle may determine if you go there or not.

In addition to exercise, as discussed last week, what other lifestyle interventions help prevent the loss of brain function? Research suggests not smoking, avoiding obesity and diabetes, and a healthful diet. The good news is, these same lifestyle factors help protect against heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke and various forms of cancer. In turn, preventing these diseases helps protect against Alzheimer’s.

AN ALZHEIMER’S PREVENTION DIET

A diet many experts recommend for avoiding Alzheimer’s that is not extreme and easily adopted is what’s called a pescatarian, or pescovegetarian diet. It means essentially being a vegetarian (no meat) while still eating seafood. This is the diet my husband and I have been following for many years. Hardcore vegetarians (vegans) dismiss a pescatarian approach as a half way measure. True, it’s not as pure as limiting yourself to only fruits, vegetables and whole grains, but plenty of science supports fish consumption as a healthful thing to do.

OK, here are the basics. The core of the diet is fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Not surprising, right? Emphasize all vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables) and fruit (especially berries) with a minimum of five servings a day, but more is better and shoot for 13 servings if possible. A serving is approximately 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables or one-half cup of other vegetables. A fruit serving is one medium size fruit (the size of a baseball) or one-half cup of cut fruit or berries.

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Another core food is whole grains with three or more servings a day. “Whole” means using the entire grain, inside and outside, which includes a rich source of fiber. Processing demeans grains, reducing them to mostly the starch portion, with little or no fiber and few nutrients. In fact, an easy way to determine a good from a bad grain is the fiber content.

Here are some choices to make when it comes to whole grains. Yes – whole wheat or whole rye bread. No – white bread. Yes – brown or wild rice. No – white rice. Yes – whole grain pasta. No – regular pasta. Yes – bran cereal. No – corn flakes, crispy rice cereal, etc.  Yes – old fashioned oatmeal. No – cream of wheat. Other good whole grains besides whole wheat, oats and rye, include whole-grain barley, buckwheat, bulgur, quinoa and couscous.

FISH, BEANS, WALNUTS AND WINE

Food choices that are a good protein source include fish, beans and walnuts. A healthy fish choice is the oily kind (salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel) high in omega-3 fats. Healthy beans include navy, garbanzo, red kidney, black, soy and lentils.

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Experts include a glass of red wine daily. The latest research on resveratrol, a component of red wine, grapes and dark chocolate that acts as an antioxidant, has shown that daily doses may help prevent Alzheimer’s. But, of course, don’t go overboard here, because more is not better. And finally, when cooking, use olive oil.

Dietary culprits to avoid, or at least keep to a minimum, include red meat, butter and margarine, cheese, pastries and sweets, fried and fast foods.

If you have read this far, you might be thinking, gee, there’s nothing unusual about the diet I describe above. Very true. In fact, it’s nothing more than a low fat, low sugar, healthy diet, the kind I have been advocating all along. Follow this diet and exercise daily to improve your odds of avoiding Alzheimer’s disease.

Anita Miles Curpier is a registered dietitian and has considerable experience in hospital and clinically based nutrition therapy. Contact her at boomingcj@gmail.com.