Alzheimer’s Disease Diet
It is natural for the parts and organs of the human body to decline as they age. The brain, kidneys, skin, eyes, and other parts or organs of the body decline with age. However, Alzheimer’s disease is another level of decline. It is a chronic kind of brain decline. It can be influenced by various diets, lifestyles, and environmental factors.
According to research, other factors that can trigger this brain decline are age, family history, environmental factors, alcohol consumption, head trauma or injury, and cardiovascular conditions.
Although some of these factors may not be preventable. For instance, it is almost always impossible to prevent Alzheimer’s disease caused by factors like age or genetics.
However, it is possible to prevent the condition if they are triggered by external factors. These facts are environmental factors, diet, head trauma, cardiovascular conditions, alcohol consumption, and engagement in physical exercises.
The focal lens of this article is tilted towards one of the most important factors that can help prevent the condition, and this factor is diet.
People who said “you are what you eat” did not lie. This is because what you eat makes you, and it determines a lot about you and your health. Thus, maintaining a healthy diet is important in the prevention of many health conditions, especially Alzheimer’s disease.
This article is packed with foods you should eat and ones you should avoid while trying to prevent or even manage Alzheimer’s disease.
The following are foods that can help protect the brain from Alzheimer’s disease;
Foods that Improve Alzheimer’s Disease
While preventing or managing u, the foods that should dominate your plates should be foods that boost the brain and help preserve memory and cognition.
The following are foods that help boost brain function and thus prevent or manage Alzheimer’s disease perfectly.
Fish
When speaking about foods that are packed with properties that help the brain, fish tops the list. The best fish to eat for brain development and improvement is fatty fish.
This is because this kind of fish has one similar active compound known as omega 3 fatty acids.
This is the powerhouse of brain boosters! It is popular for its ability to slow down the process of brain decline and completely rule out your chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition, experts have proven that eating fatty fish regularly can increase the gray matter in the brain, which helps increase cognition, memory, and decision making and controls emotion.
In other words, if you need to boost your brain or memory and prevent it from declining fast as you age, you should make fatty fish your daily meal. Some of these fishes include; salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, trout, and sardine, among others.
Nuts
Nuts are the next on the list of brain-helping foods. This is because nuts are good sources of antioxidants and fiber, both of which are effective in the protection of the heart, brain, and other vital organs in the body.
Antioxidants are known to prevent oxidative stress that may cause the cells in the brain or other parts of the body to die. When the cells in the brain begin to die, the brain function declines rapidly, thereby leading to many brain conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition, since cardiovascular or heart conditions are also risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, antioxidants, especially the ones in nuts, are known to protect the heart health and prevent the heart from conditions like high blood pressure and heart diseases that can trigger the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Experts have recommended eating 5 different types of nuts at least 5 times a week. This is enough to boost your brain function and improve cognition.
Green Leafy Vegetables
Green leafy vegetables are packed with properties that are effective in the protection of brain health and the improvement of cognition. Some of these properties include phytonutrients and antioxidants.
They are also packed with folate, a nutrient that helps make easier the process of detecting whether or not a person will have Alzheimer’s disease. Although, research is still ongoing as to how folate can improve brain function because it is mostly known to be a pregnancy nutrient.
However, recent studies have shown that the folate in green leafy vegetables can improve the function of the brain and prevent brain decline conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Some of these green leafy vegetables include; spinach, kale, bok choy, collards, arugula, chard, Romain lettuce, watercress, and cabbage.
Adding these vegetables to your diet, making vegetable salads out of them, or making drinks out of them by blending them will be perfect ways to consume the vegetables daily.
Berries
Studies have shown that berries as small as they see carry numerous health-benefiting properties. One of these properties is flavonoids like anthocyanins, an active agent that protects the brain from rapid decline triggered by oxidative damage.
They are also crammed with vitamins and minerals, as well as anti-inflammatory properties that protect the brain and prove the function of the brain. Some of these berries include blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries, among others.
To enjoy berries, you can blend them and drink their juices, or you can eat them as they are. They are also great to snack on and are light enough to be carried around. In other words, you can snack on them while you are on the go.
You can also employ them as topping on your yogurts and smoothies. Whichever way you wish to consume them is okay. Just make sure you are consistent with consuming berries.
Olive Oil
Olive oil has a wealth of properties that may not only protect the brain but also other parts of the body. For instance, it is an effective anticancer oil. Phenol is the most active compound in olive oil, and this plays an important role in the body and performs anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer functions in the body.
All of these functions make it one of the best oils to use in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. In other words, in the kingdom of oils, olive oil is king when it comes to Alzheimer’s disease prevention.
More good news is that this oil also helps in the prevention and proper management of other neural conditions like dementia, spinal cord injury, and Parkinson’s disease.
What is more? All of these properties and health benefits in one oil? Are you still indecisive? Well, you should not be. Get yourself olive oil today and use it for all of your cooking.
Beetroot
Roots are not left out in the prevention and management of Alzheimer’s disease. They are also as effective as nuts, oils, and vegetables.
They bring to the table and your plate all their active properties that do not only protect the brain’s health but also protect the other organs in the body.
According to research, beetroots are roots that you should not ignore when preventing or managing neural or cognitive conditions, especially Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. This is because they are rich sources of nitrates, and these nitrates function as vasodilators.
Foods to Avoid on your Alzheimer’s Diet
Adding these foods to your diet will nullify all your efforts to prevent the condition, and you will most likely develop the condition early in your life if you consume the following kinds of foods.
Process and Refined Oils
These oils are unhealthy for the body. They target the heart and damage the heart due to their unhealthy levels of bad cholesterol. They can block the arteries and increase the chances of heart diseases.
Thus when the risks of heart disease increase, the risks of Alzheimer’s disease follow suit. To prevent this from occurring to you, you should keep foods prepared with processed or refined oils far away from you. Rather cook your foods with healthy oils like olive oil, coconut oil, or ghee.
Salty Foods
Excess salt intake is one of the biggest risk factors for high blood pressure. Since high blood pressure acutely affects the heart, then there is a higher chance that you may develop Alzheimer’s disease from eating high salt diets. So, as much as possible, avoid the excessive consumption of salt.
Conclusion
Alzheimer’s disease can be prevented or managed. All you need is a combination of the right kind of food.
