|
Last Updated: Dec 27th, 2006 - 19:07:47 |
Fat may not be as bad as some perceive. In the case of diets with high fat and low carbohydrates, fat might help improve Alzheimer's disease, according to a recent study.
In the study, mice with Alzheimer's disease improved their conditions when treated with a high fat, low-carb diet (ketogenic diet).
Scientists found the ketogenic diet reduced the brain protein amyloid-beta, which is an indicator of Alzheimer's disease.
The finding, published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism, appears to contradict previous studies suggesting that this particular diet has a negative effect on Alzheimer's.
The study, conducted by Samuel Henderson from Accera, Inc, a research company in the US, and colleagues from Belgium, intended to find how a fat diet may affect the development of Alzheimer's.
Scientists found low carbohydrates were important in the diet. Previous studies failed to find the positive effect of fat on Alzheimer's, probably because those studies used diets with high carbohydrates, according to the study.
The researchers believed that insulin and the related hormone, insulin-related growth factor-1 (IGF-1), was the key to tying the high fat, low-carb diet with Alzheimer's.
"Insulin is often considered a storage hormone, since it promotes deposition of fat but insulin may also work to encourage amyloid-beta production," the authors said.
When carbohydrates are low and fat is high, compounds called ketone bodies are generated. These compounds may play a role in the reduction in amyloid-beta, according to Richard Feinman, editor of the journal.
"This work supports the premise that key aspects of Alzheimer's disease can be altered by changes in metabolism. It also highlights the interaction of dietary components and how such components influence the metabolic state", the authors wrote.
"Although it is too early to tell how the results will fit into the treatment of AD (Alzheimer's disease)," Feinman said. "Henderson's effort is one of several recent studies that point the way to understanding metabolism beyond the issues surrounding simple fat reduction."
Alzheimer's disease is a type pf dementia. As estimated, it occurs in one percent of persons aged 65 to 69, and 20 percent among those over 85 years old.
© 2004-2005 by foodconsumer.org unless otherwise specified
Top of Page
|
