Diet a cause of Alzheimer’s disease
Elderly people whose diets were rich in copper and heavy in saturated fats and trans fats risked faster mental decline that could be related to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease according to a report published in the journal Archives of Neurology.
In the six-year study of more than 3,700 people aged 65 or older, about 600 of the subjects consumed at least 1.6 milligrams of copper a day, along with foods heavy in saturated and trans fat. Many of those people added the equivalent of 19 years to their ages in terms of mental decline, according to the study.
Copper, which has been found at higher levels in the blood of Alzheimer’s patients, is normally consumed in animal organs like liver, and in shellfish, nuts, legumes, some fruits, potatoes and chocolate.
Drinking water that travels through copper pipes can also contain copper.
Many of those in the study with high copper levels ingested it primarily through multivitamins. Trans fatty acids, or trans fats, are created when oil reacts with hydrogen gas. They prolong the shelf life of many manufactured food products, but also contain increased levels of cholesterol that raises the risk of coronary artery disease and stroke.
