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Forbidden Foods that Help Prevent Dementias
You’re taking responsibility for your own health and practicing healthy lifestyle habits to prevent dementia, but sometimes it’s just plain hard work. You get tired of watching other indulge themselves while you toe the line, denying yourself simple pleasures.
Take heart! Researchers have recently identified three forbidden foods you can cross off your “don’t list” and insert at the top of your “do for sure list.” Coffee, chocolate, and red wines are powerful weapons in the fight against Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Each a unique benefit.
Cocoa (Chocolate)
Cocoa, the essential ingredient in the chocolate most of us crave, is a powerful antioxidant. Its antioxidant muscle combats the oxidative stress many researchers identify as a probable cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
And it does even more . . .
Cocoa plant flavanols reduce the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and improve cardiovascular health. Cocoa also contains caffeine that melts the brain plaques typical of Alzheimer’s disease.
Despite its health benefits, it’s easy to overdo chocolate. The sugars and fats found so plentifully in hot cocoa and chocolate candies pack on pounds and can lead to diabetes (linked to the development of Alzheimer’s). Therefore, experts recommend limiting your treats to modest amounts of dark chocolates that are lower in fats and sugars than typical milk chocolate.
Coffee
Once considered a medicine rather than a food, coffee is today the great American drink. Surprisingly, it’s the much-maligned caffeine in coffee that helps in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers fed mice, bred to display the characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease, the caffeine equivalent of five cups of coffee a day. They found memory improvements in the mice after just a few days. They also discovered that brain cell dendrites and axons damaged by the plaques and tangles of Alzheimer’s had regenerated. Those researchers now believe that moderate daily consumption of coffee can delay Alzheimer’s or reduce its damage.
NOTE: Although chocolate does contain caffeine, the amount is less than that in coffee.
Red Wines
Resveratrol, the latest darling of nutrition gurus, occurs in red wines, red grapes, grape skins, and peanuts. Although researchers do not yet fully understand how it works, studies in both laboratory and demographic settings show that resveratrol protects brain cells against damage and death. They suggest that a single glass of red wine a day for females and two for males is enough to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease.
Demographic studies show the benefits of resveratrol in human cognition
The findings of researchers in the Framingham Heart Study (Massachusetts) and The Epidemiology of Vascular Aging Study (France) are convincing. Both studies followed study participants of more than 1000 people and found superior cognitive performance among women who consumed alcohol than among women who did not drink. 
Differences between male drinkers and nondrinkers were not as clear-cut.
Caution Advised
While moderate consumption of red wine may protect brain cells from Alzheimer’s, too much alcohol is clearly a cause of certain types of dementia, for example, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Since resveratrol is available from sources other than wine (and as a food supplement), people should not take this finding as an excuse to overindulge in alcohol. Generally, women should limit consumption to one glass of wine a day, men to two.
NOTE to TexMex fans: Margaritas contain no resveratrol. As far as we know, if you want to drink your resveratrol, you’ll have to drink red wine or red grape juice.
So there you have it:
Three forbidden foods:
• scientifically proven effective;
• inexpensive and easily found in grocery and big box stores; and
• foods you’ll enjoy including in your anti-dementia life plan.
References
Arendash GW, Schleif W, Rezai-Zadeh K, Jackson EK, Zacharia LC, Cracchiolo JR, Shippy D, Tan J. Caffeine protects Alzheimer’s mice against cognitive impairment and reduces brain beta-amyloid production. Neuroscience. 2006 Nov 3;142(4):941-52.2006 Aug 28.
Daly JW. Caffeine analogs: biomedical impact. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2007 Aug;64(16):2153-69.
June 13th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
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