'Low-saturated fat' diet may help nip Alzheimer's disease in the bud

Washington, June 14 (ANI): According to a new study, following a low-saturated fat and low-glycemic index diet may modulate the risk of developing dementia that proceeds to Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Additionally, making a switch to this dietary pattern may also provide some benefit to those already experiencing cognitive difficulties.

A team of researchers compared a high-saturated fat/high-simple carbohydrate diet with a low-saturated fat/low-simple carbohydrate diet.

They named the interventions as High and Low, respectively.

The researchers evaluated the effects of the diets on 20 older adults who were healthy and 29 others who had amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), a condition often considered a precursor to AD.

During the four-week randomized, controlled trial, 24 participants followed the High diet and 25 followed the Low diet.

The researchers studied the participants' performance on memory tests as well as their levels of biomarkers (biological substances indicative of AD), such as insulin, cholesterol, blood glucose levels, blood lipid levels and components of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

The results indicated, "for healthy adults, the High diet moved CSF biomarkers in a direction that may characterize a pre-symptomatic stage of AD," revealed the authors of the study.

"The therapeutic effects of longer-term dietary intervention may be a promising avenue of exploration," the authors concluded.

The study appears in the Archives of Neurology. (ANI)

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