Best Diet For Dementia Patients

What About Vitamins And Supplements

Observational studies and clinical trials have looked at many over-the-counter vitamins and dietary supplements, including vitamins B and E and gingko biloba, to prevent Alzheimers disease or cognitive decline. The idea is that these dietary add-ons might attack oxidative damage or inflammation, protect nerve cells, or influence other biological processes involved in Alzheimers.

Despite early findings of possible benefits for brain health, no vitamin or supplement has been proven to work in people. Overall, evidence is weak as many studies were too small or too short to be conclusive.

Take DHA for example. Studies in mice showed that this omega-3 fatty acid, found in salmon and certain other fish, reduced beta-amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimers. However, clinical trials in humans have had mixed results. In a study of 485 older adults with age-related cognitive decline, those who took a DHA supplement daily for 24 weeks showed improved learning and memory, compared to those who took a placebo. Another study of 4,000 older adults conducted primarily to study eye disease concluded that taking omega-3 supplements, alone or with other supplements, did not slow cognitive decline.

For more information, visit the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Mediterranean Diet For Alzheimers Disease

Over the years, there has been great interest in ways to delay or prevent Alzheimers disease. Besides the use of drugs, some researchers feel that perhaps a change in diet may help prevent the decline in cognitive impairment that occurs in older age. It is widely believed that a healthy diet may help prevent the development of mild cognitive impairment and delay the onset of Alzheimers disease .

Current estimates indicate that about 10% to 15% of individuals with MCI convert to AD each year.

What about the Mediterranean diet for Alzheimers? One of the diets thought to have some benefit in delaying mild cognitive impairment is the Mediterranean diet. Previous clinical research revealed that conformity to a Mediterranean diet was linked to a reduced risk for AD, but its effect on developing MCI was unknown. However, more recent studies indicate that those who adhere to the Mediterranean diet have slowed the development of mild cognitive impairment and also prevented cognitive decline in healthy people.

How the Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of cognitive impairment is not fully understood, but there is strong evidence relating the Mediterranean diet to a lower risk for vascular risk factors, such as high cholesterol, hypertension, and heart disease.

Alternatively, the protective effect of the Mediterranean diet on MCI may be mediated by some antioxidant effect or may be related to one particular food component in the diet.

Boost Your Memory By Eating Right

How diet can helpor harmyour cognitive fitness.

Before you cut into a big T-bone steak with French fries, here is some food for thought: Research suggests that what we eat might have an impact on our ability to remember and our likelihood of developing dementia as we age.

Take that steak you’re about to slice into, for example. It’s loaded with saturated fat, which is known to raise blood levels of unhealthy low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Other kinds of fats, such as trans fats, do the same thing to LDL.

LDL cholesterol builds up in, and damages, arteries. “We know that’s bad for your heart. There is now a lot of evidence that it’s also bad for your brain,” says Dr. Francine Grodstein, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

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Can Dementia Be Slowed Down With Diet

Although research is still underway, some evidence points to a slow in cognitive decline when dementia patients follow a Mediterranean diet. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties found in specific nutrients in the Mediterranean diet may protect the brain and lead to slower cognitive decline.

A variation of the Mediterranean diet is the MIND diet . The MIND diet focuses on plant-based foods associated with dementia prevention. Those who follow the MIND diet may choose from ten healthy food groups.

A senior who consumes plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, olive oil and fish follow the Mediterranean diet. The consumption of red meats, sweets and eggs is reduced. The MIND diet similarly encourages eating adequate amounts of leafy greens, berries, fish, beans, poultry and nuts.

Support For Families And Carers

Carers should make sure their own diet is varied, nutritious and enjoyable.

Dealing with a range of issues can be difficult for some people with dementia and their families and carers. If you would like further assistance or to speak to someone personally about your particular situation, call the National Dementia Helpline, a national telephone advisory service established to support carers.

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The Diet And Memory Connection

As evidence of this effect are the results of a study conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, published online May 17 in the journal Annals of Neurology. Women in the study who ate the most saturated fats from foods such as red meat and butter performed worse on tests of thinking and memory than women who ate the lowest amounts of these fats.

The exact reason for the connection between diets high in saturated and trans fats and poorer memory isn’t entirely clear, but the relationship may be mediated by a gene called apolipoprotein E, or APOE. This gene is associated with the amount of cholesterol in your blood, and people with a variation of this gene, called APOE e4 are at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease. “About 65% of individuals who wind up with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease in their 60s and 70s have that gene,” says Dr. Gad Marshall, assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.

How does the APOE e4 gene contribute to dementia? Researchers aren’t exactly sure, but they have discovered that people with this genetic variation have a greater number of sticky protein clumps, called beta-amyloid plaques, in the brain. These plaque deposits, which are associated with the destruction of brain cells, are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

Beans Nuts Seeds And Legumes

Plant proteins and legumes offer brain benefits to older adults looking to support their memory. Legumes, especially, offer important vitamins and minerals essential for optimal brain health. Vitamin B6 commonly found in legumes, tofu, and soy-based foods helps the body regulate sleep, appetite, and moods.

Nuts are another one of the best foods for dementia patients to eat. For example, recent research indicates that a diet rich in walnuts can reduce the risk of Alzheimers disease and may delay its onset. Eating more nuts remains connected to better brain function, as people who eat them over the long term show better cognition in clinical studies. Beans, nuts, seeds, and legumes can be great sources of vitamin E and minerals like magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, and potassium all of which support a variety of complex bodily functions, including nerve health, proper metabolism, and essential chemical reactions in the brain.

You may consider adding the following foods that help with dementia-related illnesses, based on nutritional daily value according to the National Institutes of Health :

• Seeds: A one-ounce serving of roasted pumpkin seeds can provide 37% of the DV of magnesium. And, adding one ounce of dry-roasted sunflower seeds to a persons diet offers 49% of the DV of vitamin E.

The DVs, such as those above, help caregivers understand the nutrients available in foods good for dementia and how they relate to a healthy diet.

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Diet And Dementia Risk

Changes in the brain can occur years before the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s appear. These early brain changes suggest a possible window of opportunity to prevent or delay dementia symptoms. Scientists are looking at many possible ways to do this, including drugs, lifestyle changes and combinations of these interventions. Unlike other risk factors for Alzheimers that we cant change, such as age and genetics, people can control lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise and cognitive training.

How could what we eat affect our brains? Its possible that eating a certain diet affects biological mechanisms, such as oxidative stress and inflammation, that underlie Alzheimers. Or perhaps diet works indirectly by affecting other Alzheimers risk factors, such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease. A new avenue of research focuses on the relationship between gut microbes tiny organisms in the digestive system and aging-related processes that lead to Alzheimers.

Why Mediterranean Diets Might Affect Dementia Risk

High levels of antioxidants from the high intake of fruits and vegetables may help to protect against some of the damage to brain cells associated with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as increasing the levels of proteins in the brain that protect brain cells from this damage. Inflammation in the brain is associated with Alzheimer’s disease . There are suggestions that the diet reduces the signs of this inflammation. The diet is also linked to lower levels of cholesterol, which recent research has suggested may be associated with memory and thinking problems.

Although the evidence from this analysis of multiple studies is very promising, it is worth noting that other recent large studies have not shown similar trends. It is also important to recognise that the studies were observational so they are unable to show any direct cause and effect in the way that a trial might. This means that people who follow Mediterranean diets may lead healthier lifestyles in general, so it may be this rather than the diet itself that causes the difference in memory and thinking problems.

For most people, following the Mediterranean diet is a good way to ensure a healthy diet, which may be important for maintaining good brain function.

Eating and drinking

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The Connection Between The Digestive System And The Brain

Researchers are learning how the biochemical processes of food intake and digestion interact with changes in the brain. They are finding that the gut microbiome the community of viruses, bacteria and other microbes in the digestive system may influence the onset and progression of Alzheimers disease.

Studies in mice and humans show that the composition of the gut microbiome in Alzheimers and mild cognitive impairment is different from that in cognitively normal beings.

Changes in the gut microbiome as people age have been linked to disruptions in the immune system, persistent inflammation and chronic diseases, including neurological disorders such as Alzheimers. Researchers are exploring how these changes are related to each other and to brain changes related to Alzheimers, including neurodegeneration and the accumulation of toxic proteins beta-amyloid and tau.

Identifying the good and bad gut microbes associated with Alzheimers could help scientists learn more about the biology of the disease and develop a new way to predict and potentially treat it.

What Do We Know About Individual Foods

Many foods blueberries, leafy greens, and curcumin , to name a few have been studied for their potential cognitive benefit. These foods were thought to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant or other properties that might help protect the brain. So far, there is no evidence that eating or avoiding a specific food can prevent Alzheimers disease or age-related cognitive decline.

But scientists continue to look for clues. One study, based on older adults reports of their eating habits, found that eating a daily serving of leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale was associated with slower age-related cognitive decline, perhaps due to the neuroprotective effects of certain nutrients. Research has also shown that eating a diet that includes regular fish consumption is associated with higher cognitive function and slower cognitive decline with age. Another recent study, in mice, found that consuming a lot of salt increased levels of the protein tau, found in the brains of people with Alzheimers, and caused cognitive impairment.

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The #1 Best Diet For Dementia Says Science

Dementia can be one of the scariest parts of aging, especially because there is still so much we don’t know about how to prevent it or what causes it.

Dementia is essentially an umbrella term for a decline in memory or cognitive function, with one of the leading causes being Alzheimer’s disease. There are many other risk factors for developing dementia, including age, genetics, movement, and diet.

Although dementia and Alzheimer’s can’t be fully prevented, researchers are discovering that the food we eat can play a significant role in overall brain health, cognitive function, and even delaying dementia symptoms.

It’s important to note, however, that research has also found things like blood pressure control, increased exercise, and cognitive training to potentially play a larger role in brain health than diet. This doesn’t mean that diet doesn’t matterit just means that it’s only one part of the equation.

With that being said, studies have found that one of the best diets for brain health is the MIND diet, a combination of both the DASH and Mediterranean diet designed to help improve cognitive health.

Continue reading to learn about MIND, and for more information on dementia, make sure to check out Sure Signs You May Have Dementia, Say Studies.

Try Some Of These Best Foods For Dementia Patients To Eat

There are lots of fads and daily news on the latest food to help slow down dementia. Advice from the Alzheimers Society and other expert dementia organisations is clear: there are foods that can help reduce some of the symptoms, but mostly its common sense. A healthy balanced diet with treats in moderation of course. Some suggestions include:

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Finger Foods For Dementia Tips To Get Started

First, lets cover the basics what are finger foods? Finger foods are handheld foods that can be picked up with one hand and do not require utensils.

Handheld foods help to increase food acceptance and allow a person maintain independence and dignity in eating. When preparing finger foods, keep the options appetizing and easy to grasp.

Here are a few finger food tips to help you get started:

Factors Contributing To Brain Health

There are many factors contributing to dementia and cognitive decline, with lifestyle, genetics, and diet all playing a role.

Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, clinical dietitian at UCLA Medical Center, adjunct professor at UCLAs Fielding School of Public Health, and author of Recipe For Survival, said the Mediterranean diet may possibly reduce dementia risk due to its high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that are naturally occurring in plant-based foods, healthy monounsaturated fats, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.

But most evidence on the effectiveness of the Mediterranean diet on brain health is derived from observational studies, said nutrition expert Keith-Thomas Ayoob, EdD, RD, associate clinical professor emeritus of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

There are clinical trials, like the PREDIMED study, that actually give people extra virgin olive oil and nuts to eat daily that show benefits for cardiovascular health and reduced risk of other conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension, Ayoob told Healthline.

Its hard to do this type of clinical study though for dementia, as it takes so long and measuring compliance in free-living populations is always iffy.

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Nutritional Implications Of Dementia

Many of dementias symptoms affect nutritional status and can lead to weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration. These symptoms include:

• Forgetting to eat meals
• Inability to ask for food
• Self feeding difficulties
• Refusal of care

Malnutrition can speed up progression of dementia by worsening cognition and increasing frailty with muscle wasting. A higher BMI may be protective against poor health outcomes in dementia patients .

The Best Foods For Dementia Patients To Eat

Dementia is a group of symptoms involving impaired mental functions, including memory and reasoning. Alzheimers disease is the most common cause. According to the Cleveland Clinic, as many as 50 other known causes exist. These include stroke, Huntingtons disease, Parkinsons, infections such as HIV and transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, chronic alcohol or drug use, injuries and brain tumors. People with dementia need help with food choices and often the act of eating itself.

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The Facts Behind 5 Supplements

Collagen.Collagen, is one of the most abundant proteins in the body and helps form our skin, bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments. As we age, we naturally start reducing its production. Some studies show that taking collagen supplements can reduce signs of aging, increase bone density and improve joint, back and knee pain. But many of these studies are small and funded by the companies behind such products, increasing the opportunity for bias. Certain products also have flaws that reduce the likelihood of their efficacy: Topical creams, for example, are unlikely to make it into the deeper level of the skin where collagen is produced.

Magnesium.Though low levels of magnesium have been associated with various sleep disorders, the evidence for the benefits of taking it for better sleep in supplemental form is thin. In fact, most people already have sufficient levels of the mineral, which helps support immune health, blood sugar regulation, and nerve and muscle function. Magnesium is easy to get in foods including nuts, greens, seeds, beans, yogurt and fish.

Vitamin B6.This essential nutrient is involved in a number of chemical reactions that are important for the proper functioning of the immune and nervous systems. As with the other essential vitamins, the body cannot produce B6 on its own, so you can only get it from foods or supplements. Most healthy adults get more than enough vitamin B6 from their diets alone, so B6 supplements are generally not needed.