Risk of Alzheimer's can be reduced with a healthy diet

• Diets high in folate may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
• During a nine-year study, researchers showed that older adults whose diets were high in folate reduced their risk of Alzheimer's disease by half compared with those whose diets contain less than the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA).
• The study appears in the inaugural issue of Alzheimer's and Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
• Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys memory and the ability to think and reason.
• The researchers looked at what percentage of participants' diets contained antioxidant vitamins (E, C, carotenoids) and B vitamins (folate, B-6, and B-12).
• Total daily nutrient intake was estimated as the combined intake from diet and supplements.
• High homocysteine levels, as well as decreased folate and vitamin B-12 levels, have also been associated with stroke and Alzheimer's disease.
• The American Heart Association does not recommend widespread use of folic acid supplements to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
• They recommend a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
• Foods rich in folate include oranges and bananas, leafy green vegetables, asparagus, broccoli, liver, and many types of beans and peas, as well as fortified bread.
• During the follow-up period 57 participants developed Alzheimer's disease.
• The researchers then compared the nutrient intake of those who developed Alzheimer's disease with that of those who did not develop the disease.
• They show that those with a higher dietary intake of folate had an almost 60% lower rate of the disease.
• They concluded that older adults whose total folate intake (diet and supplement) equaled or exceeded the 400 microgram RDA reduced their chances of developing Alzheimer's disease by 55%.