Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative dementia often seen in elderly people which wistfully has no definite cause or cure found by far. While a number of researches carried out these days focus on prophylactic cure for the debilitating dementia, few studies suggest that some simple foods can help fight the disease or stall its progression. The wonder foods that challenge the deadly disease are found below.

Like Us on Facebook

MIND diet for AD

The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is developed from hearty healthy Mediterranean diet and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago after about two years of rigorous efforts. Since the MIND diet is a combination of two healthy diet forms it constitute foods only from these diets and therefore serve heart health, hypertension as well as brain health.

 MIND diet includes:

• Berries especially blueberry
• Green leafy vegetables
• Water melon
• Mustard and turnip greens
• Olive oil
• Beans
• Nuts
• Whole grains
• Poultry
• Fish
• Wine

Milk

When milk is consumed in recommended quantities, the levels of naturally occurring antioxidant glutathione in the body increases and thereby reduces the risk of AD, reports a study conducted in the University of Kansas Medical Center. Glutathione plays an important role in scavenging the free radicals in the body which are responsible for causing oxidative stress that paves way for aging and aging related neurodegenerative diseases like AD.

Glutathione is generated naturally by liver from combination of certain amino acids. Milk and other dairy products are good source of precursor molecule cysteine, one of the amino acids that serve as a building block of glutathione. The researchers emphasized the importance of the US department of Agriculture's recommendation of three cups of dairy intake per day food good brain health.

Turmeric

A pinch of turmeric everyday could do wonders to your health. It is observed in a study by researchers from Japan that less than a gram of turmeric everyday for three months could remarkably improve behavioral symptoms in the AD patients. According to the researchers, three patients with severe AD behavioral symptoms referred as Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) such as irritability, anxiety, apathy and agitation shown signs of recovery as result of turmeric treatment without any adverse reactions. 

TagsAlzheimer's Disease, MIND diet, Milk, Turmeric