Diet and Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract

Dementia hit the news in 2013 with the headline 'G8 will develop dementia cure or treatment by 2025'.1 Unfortunately, little headway has been made as yet. There are approximately 44 million people worldwide with dementia, and this number is expected to increase to 135 million by 2050. In the UK, there are expected to be 850,000 sufferers by 2015; of which 40,000 are of a younger age.2 According to the Alzheimer's Society, diagnosis of dementia and Alzheimer's disease is not straightforward, and only 44% of people with dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are given a diagnosis.Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and affects 62% of those diagnosed with dementia. Named after Dr Alois Alzheimer who noted changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had memory loss, language problems and unpredictable behaviour before her death, the first symptoms of this disease usually appear after the age of 60 years - but can occur in younger people too. Over the age of 95 years, a third of people have dementia.Diet is noted to be linked with the development of Alzheimer's disease. Key factors associated with Alzheimer's are those also associated with cardiovascular risk, such as raised blood cholesterol levels, hypertension, obesity and type 2 diabetes.3 There is also increasing interest around the Mediterranean diet, which has been linked with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. This diet is based on fruit, vegetables, grains, olive oil, pulses and nuts, herbs and spices. It also includes some fish and seafood, poultry, eggs, cheese and yoghurt in smaller amounts, as well as wine. Sweets and meats are advocated less often. The Mediterranean diet is low in saturated fat, rich in antioxidants (which are known to be beneficial in preventing oxidative damage), olive oil (which provides monounsaturated fat) and oily fish (which provides omega 3 fatty acids and essential fatty acids, advocated for their effect of reducing cardiovascular risk). The diet includes foods with a low glycaemic index as well as small amounts of alcohol and caffeine which can also be beneficial in preventing Alzheimer's disease.4 A number of factors have been suggested in the literature as being associated with Alzheimer's disease; however, some studies are not conclusive, based on animal studies, or are anecdotal.Cooked red meat and links with dementia have been covered in the media in the past, but the relevant research used mice fed with advanced glycation end products which are produced when cooking red meat. …