DEAR DR. BLONZ: Would you please share the latest nutritional information related to the prevention of Alzheimer's disease? What part does aluminum play, if any (aluminum canned foods, aluminum foil etc.)?

Regarding nutrition, are there certain foods or vitamins, such as vitamin E, that researchers believe may help protect people from Alzheimer's? - M.K., San Diego DEAR M.K.: Alzheimer's disease is the progressive loss of mental faculties brought about by a breakdown in brain tissue. The brain tissue from Alzheimer's patients contains an abnormally high concentration of aluminum - 30 times greater than in a person without the disease. We don't know whether aluminum is causing this incurable disease or if the accumulation of aluminum is the result of a process brought on by other factors. At present, it appears as though the latter is the case.

One study in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry reported how patients with Alzheimer's had elevated levels of homocysteine, a metabolite whose presence indicates insufficient intake of folate, vitamin B-6 and B-12. The Journal of Gerontology reported evidence that folate and vitamin B-12 deficiencies are more common in elderly patients with Alzheimer's. Research in Neurology suggests that low levels of B-12 and folate might play a role in the disease's development.

Research evidence suggests that those with Alzheimer's disease tend to have lower levels of antioxidants in their body. It doesn't prove that a low antioxidant intake can "cause" Alzheimer's, but findings show that "oxidative stress" is a part of the process, making it prudent to pay attention to these nutrients, which include vitamins C, E, A, selenium, zinc, and the valuable phytonutrients found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains.

A study in the journal Molecular Chemistry and Neuropathology suggests that oxidation of lipoproteins plays a role in the pathology of Alzheimer's, and that vitamins C or E, or resveratrol (in red/ purple grapes) might play a protective role. The August 2001 issue of Free Radical Biology and Medicine reported that scientists found low concentrations of vitamin C and E in the fluid that bathes the brain in Alzheimer's patients. A study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry stated that vitamin E could slow "functional deterioration in patients with moderately advanced Alzheimer's disease." Another study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that large amounts of vitamin E could slow the progression of the disease.

　　From Healthy.net