Brain Food

Wouldn’t it be great if we could just take a pill and never, ever worry about Alzheimer’s?

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Since cures and definitive prevention of Alzheimer’s remain elusive, marketers are banking that desperate, confused consumers will shell out big bucks for a magic bullet.

Turmeric, resveratrol, ginkgo biloba and quercetin are among the supplements being sold with all sorts of promises. While these supplements aren’t likely to do harm, they’re more than a waste of money. They’re a distraction from the very real dietary changes you can, and should, make now to maintain mental acuity into the golden years.

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Related: Dementia vs. Alzheimer’s

Obesity doubles the risk of developing dementia, according to Swedish researchers who conducted a 21-year large-scale longitudinal observational study. Obesity-related ailments such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by a factor of six.

“We found that individuals with midlife obesity had a 1.88-fold increased risk in later life, compared with those without obesity,” Dr. Jin-Tai Yu, co-author of a recent meta-analysis of top risk factors for Alzheimer’s, told LifeZette.

Obesity-related ailments such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s six fold.

Related: Am I Doomed to Alzheimer’s?

Paul A. Durand didn’t know his weight was an important risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Since his father died of the disease more than 25 years ago, he remains vigilant every day for signs of Alzheimer’s in himself.

At age 68, his more than full-time job as president of Louisiana’s St. Martin Bank keeps him on the go. This year, he completed his term as chairman of the Louisiana Bankers Association, and he serves on national committees in the American Bankers Association.

“My father worked hard, and so do I. But unlike him, I know that exercise is important. I am involved in my community and church. I quit smoking years ago. I know all these things help, but obesity? I had no idea that was a risk,” Durand said.

Knowing about the link may be the kick in the pants he needed.

“I’ve been thinking about losing weight for months, and this information may get me to finally go for it. This is a brand new motivating factor for me,” he said.

Clinical nutritionist Kathy Ferbas, a professor and research scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and Pepperdine University, said the best way to avoid obesity and protect the brain is to make changes in your diet that can be maintained over the years.

Related: Alzheimer’s Fact vs. Fiction

“Changing how someone eats needs be seen as a long-term lifestyle change and not a crash diet to be successful. Whatever plan we put in place should be realistic in terms of goals and lifestyle,” Ferbas told LifeZette.

“I like to recommend that carbohydrates come primarily in the form of fruits and vegetables and, if possible, based on medical conditions, from whole grains like brown rice or quinoa, or whole grain breads without added sugars. Basically, I start from the Mediterranean diet and make adjustments.”

For Durand, however, information about Alzheimer’s and obesity is not enough to get him to make changes. When asked what changes he can make, he said, “I’m a meat and potatoes man, and I don’t like anything green.”

Related: Is Alzheimer’s Catching?

His wife Susan, a retired schoolteacher whose mother also died of Alzheimer’s, agreed that changing her husband’s diet will be difficult.

“It’s impossible to get my husband to eat healthy foods. He refuses to even try anything new,” she said.

When asked why making changes in the diet is often hard despite information on the importance of nutrition and weight loss, Ferbas said, “I really believe that food is a critical component of both mental and physical health.”

“If I were to tell someone to give up everything they love to eat, the likelihood of them being able to sustain that type of a routine in the long run is almost certainly low. So I start with a very detailed intake interview that includes both a medical history and a food history, which covers likes, dislikes, cravings, trigger foods, etc.,” Ferbas said.

Related: The Politics of Alzheimer’s

“We work from there to develop a routine that becomes a lifestyle change over a realistic timeline — once you change how you eat as a whole, weight loss will happen, but you won’t feel as if you are constantly denying yourself the basic pleasures of life.”

Susan Durand has her own barriers to diet change.

“For myself, I could easily be a vegetarian, but here in southern Louisiana, we love our Cajun food, and ingredients for those dishes are mostly what we see in the grocery store,” she said.

“We don’t all live in California!” said one Louisianan who is trying to feed her husband healthier food. “Sometimes you have to be very creative to get enough fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet.”

“In our area, the vegetables in the store look like they’ve been sitting on a truck for a week before they were even put on the shelf. We don’t all live in California! Sometimes you have to be very creative to get enough fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet. What I would like is inspiration and new ideas.”

Related: Praise the Lord, Pass the Veggies

Here is a personal shopping list for losing weight while also eating some of the best foods for your brain — plus three easy and delicious soup recipes for the fall season to inspire you to incorporate some of these brainy foods into your diet.

Eat fish: Older adults who ate as little as one serving of fish per week slowed age-related mental decline by the equivalent of three to four years, according to researchers at Rush University Medical Center. This jibes with earlier studies linking fish consumption to lower risk of dementia and stroke.

Drink fruit and vegetable juice: New research suggests that fruit and vegetable juice may offer powerful protection against Alzheimer’s. A Vanderbilt University study found that those who drank fruit or vegetable juice more than three times per week were 75 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than once-a-week or non-juice drinkers.

Related: Berries Are a No Brainer

Embrace leafy greens: Harvard Medical School researchers found that middle-aged women who ate the most leafy greens and/or cruciferous veggies boosted their odds of maintaining mental sharpness in later years. Specifically, those who ate eight or more servings of vegetables, like spinach and broccoli, scored higher on cognitive tests than did subjects who consumed just three servings a week.

Include green pepper, celery, carrots and herbs: The green bell pepper is often dismissed as a nutrition zero. But the green bell pepper is a top source of luteolin — also found in other underappreciated produce like celery, carrots and some herbs. Mild tasting celery is especially easy to incorporate into foods without finicky eaters taking notice.

When it comes to preventing Alzheimer’s disease, don’t be taken in by unsubstantiated claims for miracle supplements or foods. A well-balanced diet should be part of a sustainable weight-loss plan to ensure cognitive heath. Also, reduce intake of red meat, sugar, refined grains, salt and additives.

It’s no magic pill, but it’s the closest thing we have in preventing Alzheimer’s through nutrition. Your brain will thank you, and so will your heart.