We’ve all heard the warnings about high-inflammatory foods such as refined carbohydrates, fizzy drinks and processed meats. Now scientists are warning that a diet high in these foods could substantially increase your risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers from the University of Texas (UT) and Boston University (BU) analysed the dietary habits of participants and found that higher scores on the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) were associated with an increased incidence of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia.
Co-lead authors Mini E. Jacob and Jayandra J. Himali explained while previous studies had shown an association between DII and neurodegenerative disease outcomes, there had only been limited information on the long-term relationship between a direct measure of inflammation caused by a combination of whole foods and nutrients and incident all-cause and AD dementia.
“At this juncture, there is a pressing need to re-consider primary prevention strategies, starting with the identification of modifiable risk factors, such as diet,” they said.
The research team looked at 1,487 participants aged 60 or older and free of dementia and studied their dietary data, dementia incidence, and Alzheimer’s disease diagnoses over a follow-up period of around 13 years which was recorded in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS)
They found that 246 participants developed all-cause dementia, including 187 cases of Alzheimer’s disease and that participants with higher DII scores, indicating pro-inflammatory diets, had significantly increased risks of both all-cause and AD dementia.
Significantly, the risk of all-cause dementia rose by 21 per cent with every unit increase in the DII score while a similar increase in DII scores was associated with a 20 per cent higher risk of AD dementia.
When the team grouped the participants together on their DII scores, those with the most pro-inflammatory diets were 84 per cent more likely to develop all-cause dementia compared to those with the most anti-inflammatory diets.
Although the results were exciting, the co-lead authors said that further research needed to be replicated across diverse populations to work out how to adjust diet-based treatments in the future.
“If proven, scoring the DII in future dietary interventions will help elucidate what specific features of the diet under study are influencing the pathology of the disease,” they said.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.