HEALTH WATCH: Low Carb Diet ‘Helps Combat Alzheimer’s’

A DIET high in fat and low in carbohydrates could help combat the development of Alzheimer’s disease, a study revealed today.

Scientists used mice engineered to suffer from Alzheimer’s to test the effects of a high-fat, low-carb diet – called a “ketogenic diet”.

They found that the brain protein amyloid-beta – an indicator of the disease – was reduced in the mice on the ketogenic diet.

The report, published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism, appears to show the opposite to previous studies suggesting that fat has a negative effect on Alzheimer’s.

More than 750,000 people in the UK suffer from dementia, with around 55 per cent of these patients having Alzheimer’s.

Dementia affects one in 20 people over the age of 65 and one in five over the age of 80 and the number of people with dementia is steadily increasing around the world as populations get older.

The latest study focussed on how diet may affect the development of Alzheimer’s, finding that a diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta, could play a role in combating the disease.

The team, led by Samuel Henderson from research company Accera Inc in the US along with colleagues in Belgium, said: “This work supports the premise that key aspects of Alzheimer’s disease can be altered by changes in metabolism.

“Although it is too early to tell how the results will fit into the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, the implication for diet in general is also important,” Dr Feinman said.”