The health of your brain depends on what you eat, and your risk of Alzheimer's is reduced with the appropriate diet. That is the essential message of six studies that researchers at Case Western Reserve University are presenting at the world's largest gathering of Alzheimer's disease experts.

Alzheimer's has long known to be both a genetic and environmental disease, but the researchers, studying diet and lifestyle for over ten years, are offering proof that the foods people consume greatly influence their risk of developing the disease.

They recommend a diet high in antioxidants -- at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day - and relatively low in fat. They also recommend eating fish for its protective qualities and a vitamin B supplement, because vitamin B lowers homocysteine levels in the blood. This diet, they said, is particularly important for people in their 40s and 50s to reduce the Alzheimer's risk.

The researchers studied the consumption of 29 different foods - including dairy, red and processed meat, sugared drinks, fried foods and more -- in a group of both healthy patients and those with Alzheimer's. They also conducted genetic tests on both groups of patients to determine if they were carrying one of the three genes associated with Alzheimer's. Compared to people with no genetic risk of Alzheimer's, people with the gene were 4.5 times more likely to develop the disease. Carriers who ate a high-fat diet, though, were 7 times more likely to develop the disease.

Alzheimer's affects 4 million Americans, a number expected to climb ten million higher by 2050. The researchers' basic advice: "know your numbers -- blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose -- don't get too big, eat a healthy diet, and stay active."

Journal American Diet Association June 2002;102(6):848-50

8th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Stockholm, Sweden July 22, 2002