12/12/2021
My mom’s mother died of Alzheimer’s disease. As a kid, I loved spending time with her. She was the perfect—and perfectly doting—grandmother. She’d want to take me to toy stores, but, geeky me, I just wanted to go to the library. When we’d get back to the house, my arms filled with borrowed books, she’d let me sit way back on her big couch and read and draw pictures. Then she’d bring me blueberry muffins she had made with a big mechanical mixer that took up half the kitchen counter.
Later in life, my grandma started to lose her mind. By then, I was in medical school, but my newfound knowledge was useless. She had turned. Alzheimer’s disease, which kills nearly 85,000 Americans each year, is one of the most physically and emotionally burdensome diseases, for both sufferers and caregivers.
Despite the billions of dollars spent on research, there is still neither a cure nor an effective treatment for the disease. This is why prevention through diet and lifestyle is so important. Alzheimer's disease is primarily a vascular disorder. Lack of adequate blood flow to the brain due to clogging of cerebral arteries may play a pivotal role in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s dementia. Vascular risk factors, such as high cholesterol, not only impact the health of our heart, but may also impact the health of our brain. Therefore, a heart-healthy diet can be considered a brain-healthy diet.
Learn more about the role of diet for Alzheimer’s prevention:
Alzheimer’s topic page at https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/alzheimers-disease/
"Preventing Alzheimer’s with Lifestyle Changes" at https://bit.ly/3xaWdoN
"Alzheimer’s and Atherosclerosis of the Brain" at https://bit.ly/3HQZUET
"Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s Disease" at https://bit.ly/3ifRzAw
