Scientists Find No Evidence for Alzheimer’s Diet ModificationsAccording to an article published on May 9 in Archives of Neurology, there is no solid evidence that modifications in the diet or lifestyle of a person can reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
“We have to continue doing carefully designed studies to establish risk and protective factors”, said study author Dr. Martha L. Daviglus of Northwestern University. She also said, “Until then, any health professional should advise patients to have a physically and mentally active life and carefully assess their physical activity levels, diet, and lifestyle and take care of well-known major risk factors for other chronic diseases”.
Dr. Nikolas Scarmeas of Columbia University wasn’t involved with the writing of the report, but he has been involved in the research on prevention strategies for AD. He said that right now scientists weren’t able to provide evidence to the public that lifestyle changes involving diet and exercise could prevent AD.
Because so many research studies into this area came back with conflicting or mixed results, the National Institutes of Health held a State-of-the-Science Conference from April 26 to 28, 2010. At this conference, a panel of experts reviewed published studies regarding the dietary factors and nutritional supplements, along with physical activity for how they affected cognitive abilities related to AD. The panel said that the quality of evidence was low for all associations.