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High calorie diets and Alzheimer’s

Talking the talk, walking the walk

My grandmother used to say, “What you eat today walks and talks tomorrow.” As a child, this made no sense to me at all. I would look at a carrot and try to imagine how, in 24 hours time, it would be walking around somewhere, talking with the other carrots I ate that day.

Years later, the idea of the walking, talking carrots still makes me laugh. But now I get the gist of my grandmother’s proverb. And she was right. Just this past week I found a new study that demonstrates how the substances we eat can greatly impact our health, and especially our minds.

 

Counting out calories 

As the body breaks down food for digestion, oxygen molecules – free radicals – are formed and begin damaging cells. That led researchers to wonder how a high-calorie diet might speed the aging process. With the hope of bringing some insight into the way calorie intake contributes to aging – specifically in relation to Alzheimer’s disease – researchers at Columbia University in New York City launched a four-year study on the eating habits of 980 elderly people whose average age was 75 years. A food frequency questionnaire was used to gather initial data as well as annual follow-up data.

At the beginning of the trial, none of the subjects showed symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. At the conclusion, 242 cases of Alzheimer’s had been diagnosed. When a comparison was made between subjects who reported low-fat and low-caloric intake, and those who reported the highest intake, the latter group was found to be one and a half times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

One specific group of the 980 was singled out for special attention, and the results from their data were even more dramatic. People with the apolipoprotein-E gene variant known as apoE e-4, are thought to be prone to develop Alzheimer’s disease. A little more than one quarter of the 980 had this gene variant. In this group, those who reported the highest fat and caloric intake proved to be well more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those with low intake.

The implication of this data is that a high intake of fat and calories may trigger the onset of Alzheimer’s, particularly in people who are genetically inclined to develop the disease. This is speculation, not a conclusion, but it provides another important clue that could lead to an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s.

 

Inclination in the genes 

Approximately 20% of the U.S. population has the apoE e-4 gene variant. But not everyone who has it develops Alzheimer’s, so it doesn’t really predict the disease. Nevertheless, anyone who knows that they may have a genetic inclination toward Alzheimer’s has the advantage of being forewarned to take the necessary steps to reduce their risk. A blood test can identify the apoE e-4 gene variant.

The Columbia study has no clear suggestions about what amounts of calories or fat an elderly person should be getting to manage the risk of Alzheimer’s. The lead author of the study, Jose Luchsinger, said that the average reported daily amounts were somewhat low, and the lowest reported amounts (16 grams of fat and 758 calories daily) were too low to be considered healthy.

The obvious conclusion is that elderly people – especially those with the e-4 gene variant – may be able to mitigate the risk of Alzheimer’s by limiting fat-rich and high-calorie foods. If there is any follow up data with more specific dietary recommendations, I’ll be sure to forward those on.

I’m afraid that many people still regard Alzheimer’s disease with a sense of inevitability and resignation. But the fact is, this disease can often be managed if detected early enough. And this research tells us that a diet with moderate calorie and fat intake is a good place to start.


To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

 

 

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Allan Spreen, M.D.
Dr. Allan Spreen, Chief Medical Advisor

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