Part 1
Your Food, Your Diet, Your Nutrition
and
YOUR Brain
Can you decrease your dementia risk by what you eat?
Part 2
Nutrition Issues In
Dementia Patients
Are there ways of improving the nutrition status of a person with dementia?
Warren B. Karp, Ph.D., D.M.D.
Professor Emeritus
Augusta University
Health Sciences Campus
The Medical College of Georgia, The Dental College of Georgia
and The Graduate School
Hello, Everyone...
Doesn't it seem that everyday you hear of a new food, supplement or diet which is "brain healthy?" At the same time, you usually hear that last week's nutrition suggestions were wrong, so ignore them and pay attention to this week's suggestions, instead. No wonder people are confused.
People with cognitive declines or diseases and conditions like Dementia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's - for which there are presently no known cures - are oftentimes targets for nutrition misinformation offering false hope. Social media and advertising is filled with nutrition products of questionable value, whether it's prevagen or gingko biloba or superfoods or tumeric or whatever else is the "in" fad of the moment. It is what we call "wishful thinking." Wouldn't it be wonderful if a certain supplement, food or diet did, indeed, cure or lessen the effects of mental decline? Wonderful, but, unfortunately, wishful thinking. Wishful thinking is not a plan and never a good basis for rational decision-making.
And, when you are thinking about brain health, don't just put your focus on Alzheimer's Disease or Parkinson's Disease. What about cerebrovascular diseases, such as strokes, transient ischemic attacks and aneurysms? In the U.S., diseases of the brain vasculature are responsible for the 5th most common cause of death. So, simply popping some Gingko while eating a burger, fries and milkshake...well, it just doesn't cut it. And, remember, there is a type of dementia called vascular dementia, totally related to your cerebrovascular health.
As confirmed in this June, 2022 study, brain health=heart health. There is simply overwhelming evidence from multiple studies over many years that BRAIN HEALTH=HEART HEALTH.
"Overall, the findings from this study show that the association of cardiometabolic multimorbidity with dementia incidence is greater than, and independent of, genetic risk, highlighting the importance of risk factor modification for every individual regardless of predetermined genetic factors. "
Implications for YOU....Worried about YOUR risk of dementia because of your family history? Stop obsessing about your family history and pay attention to the most important determinant of your brain health...how YOU live you life...The fact is that your heart health, including obesity and diabetes is 3 TIMES a greater risk than your genetics....
A healthy diet is a healthy diet...period. Whether it is for your brain, your heart, to control your diabetes, blood pressure, etc. This is great news, since you don't have to walk around worrying about eating this for your brain, eating that for your heart or eating yet something else for your diabetes or hypertension. (Weblink: What is a "brain-healthy" diet?) It is also good news because you can prepare healthy, delicious meals for dinner at home that will meet the needs of all your family members, whether they are young kids, older adults with diabetes or family members with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's Disease. Remember, CAREGIVERS, what is healthy for your loved one's brain is also healthy for your brain and your family's brain.
Brain Nutrition.pptx In addition to overall food, diet and nutrition issues to keep your brain healthy, persons with dementia have other specific nutrition needs and issues. An article giving an overview of some of these eating issues and solutions is here: Weblink: Medical Examiner article discussing eating issues For example, does taking Vitamin D supplements really decrease dementia risk? How best can you help nourish a person with dementia? Are there foods which may interfere with drugs used by some dementia patients? The presentation, below, describes some of these nutrition issues more specific to people with dementia and their caregivers.
Here are some resources to get you started, including practical suggestions and recipes.
Nutrition and the Prevention/Treatment of Parkinson's Disease
It's important to state that there are no products being pushed and I receive no financial support for writing these columns or for the eBook.
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About the presenter:
Warren B. Karp, Ph.D., D.M.D. is Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pediatrics, Oral Biology and Oral Diagnosis at Augusta University. He has a Ph.D. in biochemical nutrition from The Ohio State University and a D.M.D. from Augusta University. He is an elected member of The American Institute of Nutrition (Federation of Societies of Experimental Biology), The American Society of Clinical Nutrition and is past president of the Georgia Nutrition Council. He has served as Director of the Nutrition Consult Service at The Dental College of Georgia, for over twenty years, appointed to the Governor's Obesity Taskforce and served as Vice Chair of the Columbia County Board of Health. He is married to a physical therapist, Dr. Nancy Karp, and they have two (grown) children. Bill is also a jazz musician. You can find a biographical sketch and more about nutrition and jazz here: wbkarp.com
Dr. Karp obtains no funding for writing his columns, articles or books and has no financial or other interests in any food, book, nutrition product or company. His interest is only in providing evidenced-based, scientific nutrition knowledge and education. Although Dr. Karp is a Professor Emeritus at Augusta University, the views and opinions expressed on his websites and in his writings are his and his alone and do not reflect the views and opinions of Augusta University or anyone else.