Fat and Cognition in the Elderly

[JaneV2.0]

I love finding these articles (you have to really look for them) that suggest that common wisdom has got it hopelessly wrong: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121016092154.htm

From the article:
Those who reported the highest carbohydrate intake at the beginning of the study were 1.9 times likelier to develop mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest intake of carbohydrates. Participants with the highest sugar intake were 1.5 times likelier to experience mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest levels.

But those whose diets were highest in fat -- compared to the lowest -- were 42 percent less likely to face cognitive impairment, and those who had the highest intake of protein had a reduced risk of 21 percent.

Of course, this makes perfect sense when you consider the fatty makeup of the nervous system.

[iris lilies]

Of course, this makes perfect sense when you consider the fatty makeup of the nervous system.

Well, Jane you'll love this anecdotal evidence. My mother was practically hysterical about avoiding fat in her later years and she was medically underweight for a while there, and she came down with Alzheimer's Disease.

But the fact that her auntie also got it probably indicates it is of family origin.

But me, I consume fats liberally. I also do not want to fall victim to the family curse of extreme osteoporosis and so I engage in extensive weight bearing exercise every day. Bearing my own (over)weight--that keeps the bone mass up! And then I really wish to die of one massive stroke well before the Alzheimer's, which I've managed to keep at bay due to fat consumption, kicks in.

Fat--it's a win/win/win!

[try2bfrugal]

I love finding these articles (you have to really look for them) that suggest that common wisdom has got it hopelessly wrong: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121016092154.htm

From the article:
Those who reported the highest carbohydrate intake at the beginning of the study were 1.9 times likelier to develop mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest intake of carbohydrates. Participants with the highest sugar intake were 1.5 times likelier to experience mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest levels.

But those whose diets were highest in fat -- compared to the lowest -- were 42 percent less likely to face cognitive impairment, and those who had the highest intake of protein had a reduced risk of 21 percent.

Of course, this makes perfect sense when you consider the fatty makeup of the nervous system.

I used to eat really low fat and vegetarian and had a ton of health issues. I switched to a higher fat, omnivore diet. I have more trouble keeping my weight down now, but even at a higher weight I actually have a lot less health issues than I did when I was a size 6.

I also have a family history of osteoporosis and I used to have the my bones tested every year or so, but I stopped since the test always came back better than average.

[JaneV2.0]

I'd say genes make you susceptible, but environment pulls the trigger. A lot of drugs lead to confusion and/or dementia, as well. Just say no.

I like your approach, Iris Lily--personally, I hope I just keel over like my grandmother did, or better yet--take a nap and don't wake up, like my aunt.

[catherine]

When I was 100% vegetarian, I used to find it amazing that I developed a liking for nuts of all kinds. My entire life I HATED nuts and would not eat them in any form. All of a sudden I was 46 and couldn't get enough nuts.

So I concluded that the change in my palate was due to my body reaching out for alternative proteins. But now that you mention this study, maybe it was a combination of protein and fat my body was craving.

I don't disagree with this article. But I still think it's important to get the "right" fats and the "right" carbohydrates. Grass-fed beef (which I do now eat on occasion--call me a mindful flexitarian) has far more Omega-3s than the grain-fed CAFO victims that most people eat.

I am starting to buy in a little bit to information about over-consumption of wheat/gluten intolerance. Again, back in the day, it took hours to make one loaf of bread, so you can be sure a typical family was not going from corn flakes to toast to donuts to sandwiches to cookies to dinner rolls all day long.

Interesting article.

[Tussiemussies]

Thanks Jane for providing this information. I need to figure out how I can lose weight while still having some healthy fats, since I am leaning toward being a vegan. I have been a strict vegetarian for over 20 years. It hasn't stopped me from gaining weight....

[sweetana3]

Even weight watchers has a requirement for a teaspoon of certain fats per day to be in the food being eaten or added.

[JaneV2.0]

Thanks Jane for providing this information. I need to figure out how I can lose weight while still having some healthy fats, since I am leaning toward being a vegan. I have been a strict vegetarian for over 20 years. It hasn't stopped me from gaining weight....

I gained at least 40 pounds while being a vegetarian. I had no problem with the food, but I was always hungry. My body was trying to tell me (for six years!) that it wasn't the right plan for me. I'm a slow learner. I think I've finally got it right (for me), but I wouldn't hesitate to tweak my diet further if necessary. I only managed two months as a vegan--at that point, there was no denying my body.

ETA: My DNA tests revealed I've descended from countless generations in Northern and Northwestern Europe. I'm guessing my forebears were mostly hunters, with some foraging. Not many pineapple bushes in the tundra. Or grains. It makes sense for me to eat accordingly.

[Tussiemussies]

I gained at least 40 pounds while being a vegetarian. I had no problem with the food, but I was always hungry. My body was trying to tell me (for six years!) that it wasn't the right plan for me. I'm a slow learner. I think I've finally got it right (for me), but I wouldn't hesitate to tweak my diet further if necessary. I only managed two months as a vegan--at that point, there was no denying my body.

ETA: My DNA tests revealed I've descended from countless generations in Northern and Northwestern Europe. I'm guessing my forebears were mostly hunters, with some foraging. Not many pineapple bushes in the tundra. Or grains. It makes sense for me to eat accordingly.

Hi Jane,

Interesting how all of us are different and our bodies need different things. That is great that you had DNA testing and can tell your heritage and it enables you to be healthier to know what to do. I once read a book, which I cannot recall the name right now, but the theory was that your blood type revealed the same thing as your DNA testing did. For my blood type, I can be a vegetarian. I did try to be vegan once before and I didn't feel too well. I just hate the thought of using animal products....chris

[Kestra]

Thanks Jane for providing this information. I need to figure out how I can lose weight while still having some healthy fats, since I am leaning toward being a vegan. I have been a strict vegetarian for over 20 years. It hasn't stopped me from gaining weight....

I've lost weight by reducing my carbs, especially refined carbs. So no more cereal for breakfast. Less milk substitutes that contain sugar. Less baked goods. Less sugar in my coffee. Even at meal times I've been doing less rice/corn (I'm gluten-free, too, so never wheat) and more beans/veggies. I still use olive oil, avocado, and nuts/seeds, to get those healthy fats. I didn't try to reduce my fat intake at all, really, and have lost 10 lbs over 2 months or so.

[Tussiemussies]

I've lost weight by reducing my carbs, especially refined carbs. So no more cereal for breakfast. Less milk substitutes that contain sugar. Less baked goods. Less sugar in my coffee. Even at meal times I've been doing less rice/corn (I'm gluten-free, too, so never wheat) and more beans/veggies. I still use olive oil, avocado, and nuts/seeds, to get those healthy fats. I didn't try to reduce my fat intake at all, really, and have lost 10 lbs over 2 months or so.

Thanks Kestra for sharing your experience. I did try a low-carb diet once. I don't really eat a ton of carbs, but being on the diet felt good. I need to incorporate good fats now and start doing some exercise to see if I can get this weight off of me. Thanks....chris

[JaneV2.0]

I think the Eat Right for Your Type thing is heading in the right direction, but needs much more refinement. It pronounced me a good candidate for vegetarianism too. :)
I think eventually we'll be able to use DNA testing to determine proper diet.

[catherine]

In the Point/Counterpoint department:


Too Much Saturated Fat Tied to Alzheimer's Risk? (http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20130617/saturated-fat-may-make-the-brain-vulnerable-to-alzheimers)
Researchers say a small, new study shows that fat cut the body's level of a chemical that keeps Alzheimer's at bay.

Just trying to stir the pot.

[iris lilies]

In the Point/Counterpoint department:



Just trying to stir the pot.

good job!:D

[ApatheticNoMore]

When I was 100% vegetarian, I used to find it amazing that I developed a liking for nuts of all kinds. My entire life I HATED nuts and would not eat them in any form. All of a sudden I was 46 and couldn't get enough nuts.

So I concluded that the change in my palate was due to my body reaching out for alternative proteins. But now that you mention this study, maybe it was a combination of protein and fat my body was craving.

I'm going with fat, when I was low fat vegetarian the fat cravings were out of control, I think the body craves fat a lot more than it does protein (or mine sure does). So I eat fat, I go through about a bottle of olive oil a month (not a super size one or anything). I eat nuts nearly daily (though that might have some downside, but the darn things are addictive!). I eat olives here and there - they are one of my snacks. I eat fatty fish. I eat chocolate (usually 70% or so) with all that cocoa butter. An occasionally avocado. And then I eat all the bad things your not supposed to. Cream in tea, and on berries. Cheese for snacking and in dishes. Grass fed red meat (beef or lamb), about once a week (every other week might be better). Omega 3 eggs and full fat yogurt occasionally (I do try to get grass fed dairy, it's not always available). Pastured poultry occasionally. Then again I don't think bananas or rice or potatoes are particularly bad either. I just like eating mostly. :~) Well ahem there is something to be said for portion control .....

[catherine]

My daughter had a really cool, adventurous boyfriend who knew a bit about survival skills. He said that if you were in the wild and only ate rabbits you would die because rabbits have no fat, and your body needs fat to survive. I have no idea if it's actually true that you could die on an all-rabbit diet, but seems as if it might be based on this discussion.

ETA, I just found this reference to "rabbit starvation" in Wikipedia, which had this quote:


The groups that depend on the blubber animals are the most fortunate in the hunting way of life, for they never suffer from fat-hunger. This trouble is worst, so far as North America is concerned, among those forest Indians who depend at times on rabbits, the leanest animal in the North, and who develop the extreme fat-hunger known as rabbit-starvation. Rabbit eaters, if they have no fat from another source—beaver, moose, fish—will develop diarrhea in about a week, with headache, lassitude and vague discomfort. If there are enough rabbits, the people eat till their stomachs are distended; but no matter how much they eat they feel unsatisfied. Some think a man will die sooner if he eats continually of fat-free meat than if he eats nothing, but this is a belief on which sufficient evidence for a decision has not been gathered in the North. Deaths from rabbit-starvation, or from the eating of other skinny meat, are rare; for everyone understands the principle, and any possible preventive steps are naturally taken.[4]

Another cause of death from eating only lean meat animals is from the taxing on the liver and other organs from too much protein without other nutrients.

And one other example of fat-hunger that I can attest to is when DH went on a liquid diet (Opti-Fast). I don'f know what fats that product contains, but apparently not enough because DH really wanted to stick to the liquid diet but found himself frequently chewing hot dogs and then spitting them out in the garbage to satisfy an uncontrollable craving while sticking to the diet. Gross.

[CathyA]

This is a bit off-topic, but when I eat a fairly carb-filled dinner, the info I get from my cpap machine the next morning shows that I had alot more breathing problems during the night.

Also, I think there is alot of truth in the "Eat for your Type" theories. In today's modern world, I think we ignore alot of stuff that gets our fairly hard-wired, primitive bodies in trouble.
I do think Type O's can tolerate grains/carbs alot less than A's, for example. It definitely works that way in my family.

[JaneV2.0]

This is a bit off-topic, but when I eat a fairly carb-filled dinner, the info I get from my cpap machine the next morning shows that I had alot more breathing problems during the night.

Also, I think there is alot of truth in the "Eat for your Type" theories. In today's modern world, I think we ignore alot of stuff that gets our fairly hard-wired, primitive bodies in trouble.
I do think Type O's can tolerate grains/carbs alot less than A's, for example. It definitely works that way in my family.

I'm a type A. That's why I think that theory needs a lot more work...:D

As far as the other study goes: "People who received a high-saturated-fat, high-sugar diet showed a change in their ApoE, such that the ApoE would be less able to help clear the amyloid," Confounding variable; voids study.

We wouldn't be storing saturated fat for energy if it was a deadly poison.

ETA: I always remember Ronald Reagan and his jelly beans...

[SteveinMN]

So I eat fat, I go through about a bottle of olive oil a month (not a super size one or anything). I eat nuts nearly daily (though that might have some downside, but the darn things are addictive!). I eat olives here and there - they are one of my snacks. I eat fatty fish. I eat chocolate (usually 70% or so) with all that cocoa butter. An occasionally avocado. And then I eat all the bad things your not supposed to. Cream in tea, and on berries. Cheese for snacking and in dishes. Grass fed red meat (beef or lamb), about once a week (every other week might be better). Omega 3 eggs and full fat yogurt occasionally (I do try to get grass fed dairy, it's not always available). Pastured poultry occasionally.
I've done that, and while it has not done much for my weight (I'm really to sedentary for my own good), it has kept a family history of diabetes at bay long past the time most other people's bodies succumb.

[The Storyteller]

I'm going with fat, when I was low fat vegetarian the fat cravings were out of control, I think the body craves fat a lot more than it does protein (or mine sure does). So I eat fat, I go through about a bottle of olive oil a month (not a super size one or anything). I eat nuts nearly daily (though that might have some downside, but the darn things are addictive!). I eat olives here and there - they are one of my snacks. I eat fatty fish. I eat chocolate (usually 70% or so) with all that cocoa butter. An occasionally avocado. And then I eat all the bad things your not supposed to. Cream in tea, and on berries. Cheese for snacking and in dishes. Grass fed red meat (beef or lamb), about once a week (every other week might be better). Omega 3 eggs and full fat yogurt occasionally (I do try to get grass fed dairy, it's not always available). Pastured poultry occasionally. Then again I don't think bananas or rice or potatoes are particularly bad either. I just like eating mostly. :~) Well ahem there is something to be said for portion control .....

Actually, that doesn't sound all that high-fat to me. In fact, it sounds pretty low fat. :)

Me, I'm unabashedly low-fat. I do go out of my way to take in some fat, but mostly "good" fats that don't add to my heart problems. I do take in a bit of saturated fat (pastured skinless chicken and eggs mostly), but try to keep it to a minimum. I eat nuts daily, portioned out because they do contain a lot of calories, use canola oil and olive oil, eat fish when I can. I eat NO trans fats.

But I'm also careful about my carb intake, and try to avoid refined carbohydrates as much as possible. A spoonful of sugar in my tea in the morning, and a coke every other week or so. I carefully portion out my high calorie starchy carbs, but still eat some. I place no limit at all on my fruit and green vegetable intake.

I'm losing weight at a good pace and feel better than I have in years, so this is what works for me. I like this quote in the linked article:


The research highlights the importance of a well-rounded diet, says lead author Rosebud Roberts, M.B., Ch.B., a Mayo Clinic epidemiologist.

"We think it's important that you eat a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat, because each of these nutrients has an important role in the body," Dr. Roberts says.

Sounds sensible to me. The question is, what's balanced? I'm getting the impression from this discussion that it means different things to different people.

[JaneV2.0]

I ran across this fascinating experiment, in which a young, fit man compares two diets consisting of vastly different macronutrients: 5000 calories, over a period of a month, meticulously recorded. If the "calories in, calories out" theory is correct, he should have the same result both time--a predictable weight gain. In fact, that's not what happened.

The second half of his experiment (low fat, high carb) is ongoing. During the first half (HFLC), he gained a little over 2 pounds, and lost 3" off his waist. So far, one week into the LFHC experiment, he's gained 7 pounds and added 2 inches to his waist. Preliminary results suggest not all calories are created equal. You can follow him here:http://live.smashthefat.com/5000-calorie-carb-challenge-day-7/

[Tussiemussies]

I ran across this fascinating experiment, in which a young, fit man compares two diets consisting of vastly different macronutrients: 5000 calories, over a period of a month, meticulously recorded. If the "calories in, calories out" theory is correct, he should have the same result both time--a predictable weight gain. In fact, that's not what happened.

The second half of his experiment (low fat, high carb) is ongoing. During the first half (HFLC), he gained a little over 2 pounds, and lost 3" off his waist. So far, one week into the LFHC experiment, he's gained 7 pounds and added 2 inches to his waist. Preliminary results suggest not all calories are created equal. You can follow him here:http://live.smashthefat.com/5000-calorie-carb-challenge-day-7/


That is really interesting...I think I need to stop being so sedentary and see if that helps.....if not maybe I will revisit a low carb diet again. Just so hard not to eat bread.