Lower Dementia Risk With the Right Diet

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

29 Nov 2007 08:49 PM

French researchers have been studying diet choices in people aged sixty-five and over. The result? Certain foods can help cut your risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research tracked the diets of more than eight thousand people over the age of sixty-five for four years. Out of that group, 183 developed Alzheimer's disease and another 98 developed a different form of dementia.

Here are some of the study results:

• People who ate a diet full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids were sixty percent less likely to develop dementia than people who didn't.
• People who regularly ate a variety of fruits and vegetables were thirty percent less likely to develop dementia than people who didn't.
• People who ate fish at least once a week were forty percent less likely to develop dementia than people who didn't.
• People who ate fish at least once a week were thirty-five percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than people who didn't -- as long as they didn't have a particular gene known to increase a person's risk of Alzheimer's (ApoE4). Most people do not carry the ApoE4 gene.
• People who ate omega-6 fatty acids but not omega-3 fatty acids were twice as likely to develop dementia as people who didn't eat either.

The French National Institute for Health and Medical Research is planning further study in order to determine the optimal quantity and combination of foods and nutrients to make a difference in a person's risk of memory loss.

In the meantime, be sure your diet includes foods from the good list:

• Omega-3 rich oils like canola oil, flaxseed oil, and walnut oil
• Fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids
• A variety of fruits and vegetables

There is only one thing on the bad food list from this study: omega-6 fatty acids. While omega-6 fatty acids can be good for you in moderation, too much of the omega-6 can increase a person's risk of developing memory problems.

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