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Blog author, Solai Buchanan is an experienced Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator with an MS from Columbia Teachers College. She specializes in treating heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, polycystic ovarian syndrome,and other chronic diseases. She is a provider at a full-service cardiology practice accepting most insurance and staffed with a primary care MD, pediatrician, and cardiologist. Call: 718.894.7907. NYCC is lead by Interventional Cardiologist Sanjeev Palta, MD, FSCAI, FACC. He trained at Cornell-Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and the State University Hospital of Brooklyn. He currently is an Attending Cardiologist at New York Methodist Hospital and Maimonides Medical Center. He is also an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Having performed over 2000 invasive cardiac procedures Dr. Palta’s patients know they are in trusted hands.

Friday, June 21, 2013

SATURATED FAT & UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLE INCREASE RISK OF ALZHEIMER'S & DEMENTIA

Saturated fats, found primarily in meat, cheese, and other full-fat dairy products, have long been known to increase blood cholesterol and risk for heart disease.  These fats generally increase inflammation in the body.  And, higher levels of inflammation appear to increase risk for both heart disease and Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.  Interestingly, a new research trial has revealed a direct link between diets high in saturated fat and risk for Alzheimer’s disease. In the study, researchers found that a diet high in saturated fat markedly reduces level of a brain chemical important in preventing the build-up of proteins in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s. 
The clinical trial, led by Dr. Angela Hanson, involved 20 seniors with normal cognition and 27 with mild thinking impairment, a precursor to Alzheimer's disease.  The patients, all in their late 60’s, were randomly assigned to diets that contained the same amount of calories but were either high or low in saturated fat. The high-saturated-fat diets had 45% of total energy coming from fat, including 13% from saturated fats. The low-saturated-fat diets had 25% of energy coming from fat, with saturated fat contributing less than 7% of total calories.
A build-up of beta amyloid plaques in the brain is the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.  The body chemical apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is important in removing beta amyloids from the brain, preventing them from accumulating and developing into damaging brain plaques.  In this study, after just a month on the high and low saturated fat diets, researchers measured significant changes in the amounts of amyloid beta and ApoE in the study participants' cerebrospinal fluid.  Participants who received a high-saturated-fat diet showed a decrease in levels of helpful ApoE and an increase in amyloid beta proteins.  Conversely, those on the low saturated fat diet showed a decline in levels of amyloid beta proteins. Also, the diets appeared to cause greater changes in the levels of these substances in adults with cognitive impairment than in those who had normal brain function.
These findings only add to a growing body of evidence indicating the same lifestyle factors that harm the heart also harm the brain.  Smoking, extra weight, high cholesterol, diabetes, and inactivity are all associated with greater rates of both heart disease and dementia.  And, a heart healthy lifestyle appears not only to reduce risk for Alzheimer’s and other forms of severe dementia but also overall brain function.  For example, a recent study of nearly 3,800 people, aged 35 to 82, found that those with the most risk factors for heart disease did 50% worse on mental functioning tests (that assessed memory and mental skills such as the ability to plan and reason and to begin and switch tasks)  than those with the lowest number of risk factors.  Smoking and diabetes were especially associated with poorer brain function.
What to do:  Adopt a heart healthy lifestyle!  Aim for regular activity, a healthy weight, and a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins (i.e. fish, skinless chicken, lowfat/nonfat dairy, beans), moderate in calories, and low in saturated  and trans fat.  Remember saturated fats are found primarily in meat, full fat dairy such as whole milk, cheese, cream, and butter, and products prepared with lard, butter, or shortening.  Check labels to choose products with little or no saturated fat.  Use chicken, fish, or beans more often than meat and, when you do have meat, opt for lean cuts and trim off visible fat.  When having dairy, choose lowfat or nonfat products.  And, when cooking, instead of butter, lard, or spreads, use healthy plant-based oils such as olive, canola, and vegetable oil.   

Sources:
Hanson AJ,  Bayer-Carter JL, Green PS, et al. Effect of apolipoprotein E genotype and diet on apolipoprotein E lipidation and amyloid peptides:  randomized clinical trial. JAMA Neurology, June 17, 2013 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.396. Available at:  http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1697444

Joosten H, Van Eersel MEA, Gransevoort RT, et al.  Cardiovascular risk profile and cognitive function in young, middle-aged, and elderly subjects.  Stroke AHA, May 2, 2013.  DOI: 10.1161/​STROKEAHA.111.000496.  Available at: http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2013/05/02/STROKEAHA.111.000496.abstract

Adapted from articles available at:

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