Being overweight is not just bad for waistlines but for brains too, say researchers who have linked obesity to declining mental performance.Experts are not sure why this might be, but say metabolic changes such as high blood sugar and raised cholesterol are likely to be involved.
Obesity has already been tipped as a risk factor for dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) causes certain changes in the brain that affect memory and thinking. But as we learned from July’s blog (Alzheimer’s & Falling: What’s the Connection?), AD can also increase the likelihood of falling. In fact, a recent study suggests that that falling may be an early indication of AD.
Scientists have created an ‘early signs timeline’ for Alzheimer’s disease that they believe could help experts detect the condition up to 25 years before it strikes.The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at 128 people with a family history of early Alzheimer’s.
A buttery food flavouring ingredient found in microwave popcorn could intensify the damaging effects of abnormal brain proteins linked to Alzheimer’s, a recent study has suggested.Diacetyl (DA), an artificial food flavouring that gives popcorn and margarine its distinctive butter taste, encourages beta-amyloid proteins in the brain to ‘clump’ together, according to findings published in the Chemical Research in Toxicology journal.
A diet high in omega-3, found in fish and some oils, can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 per cent, a study has claimed.
Even eating oily fish once a week can cut the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by a third, while eating fruit and vegetables every day reduces the chances of getting dementia in old age by almost 30 per cent.