Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables can help to protect the brain against Alzheimer’s
Dementia costs the UK £26billion a year, but simple lifestyle changes could prevent thousands more people developing the tragic disease
EATING healthy grub can help to protect the brain against Alzheimer’s, a study shows.
Scans prove people who scoff lots of fruit and veg and exercise regularly have less harmful debris that builds up in their brain and causes the illness.
Scientists have suspected for years that a healthy lifestyle, which includes drinking less booze, protected against the disease.
But this is the first study to clearly demonstrate the effects on the brain.
Alzheimer’s affects 850,000 and along with other forms of dementia costs the UK an estimated £26billion a year.
The study, by the University of California, Los Angeles, involved 44 adults aged 40 to 85. They underwent brain scans for plaques and tangles, the deadly deposits which trigger dementia.
Those who were a healthy weight, exercised regularly and had a healthy diet involving moderate amounts of alcohol had much smaller deposits.
Researchers were surprised at the impact healthy living had, especially as the tests only involved people who suffered with minor memory loss, rather than full-blown dementia.
Dr David Merrill said: “The fact we could detect this influence of lifestyle at a molecular level before the beginning of serious memory problems surprised us.
“It reinforces the importance of living a healthy life, even before the development of clinically significant dementia.”