Alzheimer's Disease Risk, Is The Power On Your Plate? » Science

Diet and lifestyle play a large role in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) development and progression. While we covered the types of eating patterns that are protective in An eye opening look at AD risk, here we divide foods into two categories. What to eat for Alzheimer’s, and what to avoid for Alzheimer’s. Your food choices starting in mid-life can have a long-lasting impact on your future brain health!

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Where do we start?

While it is easy to get caught up in macronutrients – fat, protein, and carbohydrates, it’s really the micronutrients that matter for Alzheimer’s. These groupings are inspired by “The Alzheimer’s Solution” book by Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, MD. This dual physician team out of Loma Linda, California are leading neuroscientists working on lifestyle and AD.

Team Sherzai, Researchers, Scientists, Doctors — Learn more about Team Sherzai

Whole foods over supplements

Note: I am not a physician, but a Nutritional Sciences PhD student in training. So we are focusing on foods rather than supplements!

Unlike supplements or medications, the great thing about foods is that the side-effects are almost non-existent. By eating whole foods your body will take the nutrients it needs and flush out the excess. Some of these are similar to Immune Boosting Foods, however this time we will discuss their role in brain health.

What to eat for Alzheimer’s?

Alzheimer's disease is the power on your plate?

The following list is meant to be an example, providing a food for each micronutrient. If you want to learn more about each nutrient, sources from scientific publications are included at the end of the post. Also, feel free to branch out and explore other foods that contain these as well!

Berries, the darker the color the better

1 cup berries fresh or frozen every day
- These are packed with Antioxidants that are important for a healthy brain. They act by reducing free radicals that can cause damage in the brain. Blueberries are at the top of this list for this!
- Most berries also come with Polyphenols that help to reduce inflammation in the brain and relax arteries. Two of the highest foods concentrated in polyphenols are cherries and strawberries!

Carrots, Sweet potatoes, Squash

A hand full of baby carrots, 1 sweet potato, or 1 serving of squash/day
- Vegetables that are orange in color contain the precursor to Vitamin A, called Beta-carotene. Vitamin A is important for it’s role in signalling in the brain which is involved in learning and memory. Since too much Vitamin A can be toxic, natural sources of Beta-carotene can help prevent overload of Vitamin A because the body only uses what it needs.

Sunflower seeds, Almonds, and Avocados

1 ounce of seeds/nuts per day, 1/2 avocado per day
- Who needs an excuse to eat these tasty treats? Nuts and seeds are great sources of Vitamin E, and avocados even have some too! Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) is an antioxidant that is active in the brain, and diet plays a large role in supplying the building blocks (gama-tocopherol) of this important nutrient.

***Oranges* and *Broccoli***

1 orange/ day, 1 cup broccoli per day
- We all know that oranges provide Vitamin C, but one serving of broccoli also gives you 50% daily needs! Vitamin C in important because it serves as a backup to Vitamin E. In the brain when Vitamin E gets used up, Vitamin C can help to recycle it for future uses.

Coffee or Tea

1 to 4 servings of 6 ounces a day
- I know I don’t have to convince you of why coffee or tea should be in your life. Although you should make sure to have some Caffeine in it! Caffeine is important in the brain because it binds to a receptor telling your brain to be awake and produces a compound (acetylcholine) that is neuroprotective.
  - Sleep is also important for a healthy brain! Make sure to have caffeine early in the day and allow several hours for it to wear off before bed.
  - Note: some people break down caffeine very slowly. While this means you will get the most protection from caffeine, stop caffeine intake 8-10 hours before bed to allow for it to metabolize.

Kale, Spinach, Collard Greens

1 cup raw or cooked greens, two times a day
- Green leafy vegetables are a great source of Fiber (just like oatmeal). Fiber helps to lower cholesterol by absorbing some of the excess and allowing your body to flush it out (in the form of bile acids). Lower cholesterol helps all arteries throughout the body, especially the smaller ones in the brain. Fiber also helps to feed your beneficial gut microbes that send helpful signals (Short chain fatty acids) to your brain.
- These vegetables are termed “foliage” and therefore provide a great source of Folate! Proper folate levels can help to reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease, which is important for vascular dementia, when paired with B12.
  - Note on B12: We used to get this from our soil, but with modern day farming practices the amount is unreliable. While we don’t typically recommend supplements, this is one of the few that is difficult to get on a plant-based diet. When choosing a source, we only need 2.4mcg/day so look for a LOW dose amount like 10mcg/daily or 500mcg/weekly and your body will flush out the excess.

Flaxseed

1 tbsp a day, can be in your morning oatmeal, as an egg replacement in baking, or added to thicken a smoothie!
- Flaxseed is full of Lignans that help to protect against blood vessel damage due to inflammation. They also are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids that are used to maintain the structure and function of membranes in the brain. High amounts of omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease and dementia!

What to avoid for Alzheimer’s?

I have to be honest and point out that meat, dairy, and eggs aren’t doing your brain any favors. After almost 30 years of eating all of these, this news came as a shock to us too. Although, after looking through the science we found out why we should limit, if not eliminate entirely, these for our brain health.

Fish and Omega-6’s

While fish are thought to be “high” in omega-3’s, it depends on what type of fish. What is important is the ratio of omega-3’s to omega-6’s in one’s diet, the goal being to get the ratio close to 1:1. Salmon and sardines have higher ratios of omega 3’s to 6’s, but with caveats. Tilapia has a high ratio of omega 6 to omega 3’s, and should not be eaten. High ratios of omega 6 to omega 3’s in a diet promotes inflammation. Fish do not just contain Omega 3’s however. Fish come packaged with animal protein, saturated fat, and cholesterol, all of which damage our heart and brain health via vascular inflammation.

Cholesterol

Just as our bodies produce our own cholesterol, so do the animals that we consider food. This means that the meat, chicken, fish, and egg yolks that we consume on a regular basis are adding to the amount of cholesterol in our bodies. This puts us at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. High Cholesterol levels also cause blockages to occur in the smaller arteries of the brain, which lead to vascular dementia. The good news is that we don’t need this in our diets! The body can create all the necessary cholesterol to properly function with the exception of individuals with a rare genetic mutation.

High Fat Diets

The second component to creating blockages in arteries is fat. Together fat and cholesterol form particles that attach to the artery walls. These build up over time until they can break open which often results in a heart attack or stroke.

High Temp Cooking

This one is even hard for us sometimes. Advanced glycation end products (AGE’s) are formed during the cooking process of meat using relatively high temperatures, such as grilling, roasting, searing, frying. Baking or boiling meat leads to less AGE’s being formed, as the meat is cooking at a lower temperature. The amount produced is highest in animal products, but small amounts also come from plant-based products, such as vegetables and tofu. These were found to be present in Tau-tangles, in research as early as 1998.

How Our Body Processes Meat

Animal products contain choline (eggs) or L-carnitine (meat) which are broken down by our gut microbes. The result is the production of TMA (Tri-methyl amine) which is converted to TMAO (Tri-methyl amine oxide) in the liver. This compound leads to the development of plaques on the artery walls formed by damaging cholesterol particles. Interestingly, only those who regularly eat meat have the microbes that make this compound. So if someone who is plant-based was stranded on a desert island and had to eat meat to survive, no TMAO would be produced until the bacteria had a chance to build back up.

Dairy, Cheese, and Coconut oil

Just to round things out, lets talk about inflammatory compounds. Whole milk, cheese products, and coconut oil can cause inflammation because of the high content of Saturated Fat. Cheese is essentially a concentrated form of milk fat and thus tends to have the highest saturated fat content as well. While the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) is 22g and a single serving of cheese has only 5g saturated fat, you need to take into consideration all other sources you eat throughout the day. High levels of saturated fat cause an inappropriate immune response, increasing levels of circulating IL-6 (cytokine). This results in inflammation and tissue damage throughout the body, including the brain.

Get Started Eating For Your Brain!

While there is a lot of information here, what you eat starting in mid-life can lessen your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Team Sherzai discusses the importance of Nutrition in addition to Exercise, Unwind, Restore, and Optimize in their NEURO plan. Even if you have already been diagnosed all hope is not lost! Incorporating some of the beneficial foods while removing those you should avoid can still make an impact. While it may not be able to reverse the damage that has already been done, it may help to delay or slow the progression.