Genetic risk and poor diet could lead to memory loss

Those with the ApoE4 variant on the Western diet developed the signature Alzheimer's plaques. Researchers at the University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology studied the effects of a poor diet on mice. They found that a diet high in cholesterol, fat and sugar may increase likelihood of Alzheimer's onset for those with a genetic risk. Previous research has linked the ApoE4 variant to increased inflammation, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease. Mice with ApoE4 were placed on a control diet that was 10 percent fat and 7 percent sucrose while another group of mice ate a Western diet that was 45 percent fat and 17 percent sucrose.




"The vegan lifestyle is a complete lifestyle," she says, "with no animal products consumed at all, even honey." As to benefits of a meat-free diet, Cervantes says, as with any diet or lifestyle change, it's important to check with a doctor first. Cervantes says the most liberal vegetarian diet is a semivegetarian or "flexatarian," whose diet isn't restricted other than excluding red meat. Vitamin B12, for instance, is often lacking in a strict vegan diet, but it's often replaced by supplements or eating fortified foods. "Certainly lots of people are able to make that work, although we do find in vegan diets there are some nutrients missing."

High fat diet reduces gut bacteria, Crohn's disease symptoms: Results could lead to new anti-inflammatory probiotics -- ScienceDaily

The trick now is to really discover what makes a fat 'good' or 'bad' for Crohn's disease." The study is one of the first to identify specific changes in gut bacteria -- our microbiome -- associated with Crohn's disease. Crohn's disease, a type of inflammatory bowel syndrome, causes debilitating intestinal swelling, cramping, and diarrhea. It is also the first to show how high fat diets can alter gut bacteria to combat inflammation. Some of the species changes showed up in feces, while others were different in cecum, a portion of the intestine commonly inflamed in Crohn's disease.


collected by :Lucy William