QUANTIFICATION! A glass or two (or even three) of red wine might have been a more appropriate category given the enhanced (and published) cardiovascular benefits of larger volumes, unless, as one might suspect, the designer of this poll drinks his/her wine from considerably larger beakers than most of us. Perhaps also some differentiation should have been made between natural alpha-tocopherol, synthetic alpha-tocopherol, and natural isomer blends; the latter included since the benefits of vitamin E may be obtained more readily from other natural isomers, particularly the more potent anti-oxidant properties of gamma-tocopherol.

View all comments by Alex Osmand

In my opinion, a number of the items listed have been demonstrated one way or another to reduce the risk of AD: vitamn E, folate, blueberries, fish oil, reducing the intake of red meat and animal fat, and wine. Thus, to limit each person's response to a single item does not do justice to the topic. I would suggest rerunning the poll, permitting each person to check as many items as he/she thinks are beneficial. If you have the software, you could permit them to rank the items.

References:
Grant WB. Dietary links to Alzheimer's disease. Alz Dis Rev 1997;2:42-55 http://www.mc.uky.edu/adreview/Vol2/Grant/grant.pd Grant WB. Dietary links to Alzheimer's disease: 1999 update, J Alz Dis 1(4,5), 197-201, 1999 Grant WB, Campbell A, Itzhaki RF, Savory J, The significance of environmental factors in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease, J Alz Dis (Debates from Challenging Views of Alzheimer Disease) 2002;4:179-189. Grant WB. History of fish and Alzheimer's disease. BMJ electronic response, Aug. 2, 2003 http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/327/7409/248-b#35271

View all comments by William Grant

While several food items have been identified that may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, e.g. red wine, there is but one dietary factor that has been shown to INCREASE the risk of the disease. In their epidemiological study, Rogers and Simon demonstrated a significant (P=0.025) association between consumption of foods containing aluminum-containing leavening agents and Alzheimer's incidence. These leavening agents account for two-thirds of the dietary aluminum within our society.

References:
"A preliminary study of dietary aluminum intake and risk of Alzheimer's disease." Rogers MA and Simon DG. Age & Ageing, 1999 Mar;28(2):205-9.

View all comments by Colin Meyer

There is a huge list of diet modifications that are touted by all sorts of supplement nuts and anti-aging, often profit-motivated, delusional/magical thinkers. There are very few good studies showing positive results. Ironically, what few positive studies that exist demonstrate efficacy of a particular supplement that is rarely if ever found in commercial supplements at the levels used in those studies. Here is a "short" list of some interventions: phosphatidylserine, vitamin E, low homocysteine levels (and all the supplements presumptively used to lower homocysteine), coenzyme Q10, nexrutine, 5-loxin, high-dose pharmaceutical grade fish oil (omega 3s), statins, vinpocetine, acetyl carnitine, gingko, ginseng, quercetin, huperzine A, curcumin, melatonin, NSAIDS/cox-2 inhibitors, alpha-GPC, various hormone replacements (estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, pregenelone, DHEA, growth hormone), chelation therapy, removal of mercury amalgams, low glycemic diets, calorie-restricted diets, etc. It's up to good ethical scientists to sort out the nonsense from the valid interventions...  Read more

There is a huge list of diet modifications that are touted by all sorts of supplement nuts and anti-aging, often profit-motivated, delusional/magical thinkers. There are very few good studies showing positive results. Ironically, what few positive studies that exist demonstrate efficacy of a particular supplement that is rarely if ever found in commercial supplements at the levels used in those studies. Here is a "short" list of some interventions: phosphatidylserine, vitamin E, low homocysteine levels (and all the supplements presumptively used to lower homocysteine), coenzyme Q10, nexrutine, 5-loxin, high-dose pharmaceutical grade fish oil (omega 3s), statins, vinpocetine, acetyl carnitine, gingko, ginseng, quercetin, huperzine A, curcumin, melatonin, NSAIDS/cox-2 inhibitors, alpha-GPC, various hormone replacements (estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, pregenelone, DHEA, growth hormone), chelation therapy, removal of mercury amalgams, low glycemic diets, calorie-restricted diets, etc. It's up to good ethical scientists to sort out the nonsense from the valid interventions using scientifically based valid studies.

View all comments by Anthony Vitto

Please note that there is some commonality in the dietary factors that influence Alzheimer's risk. The Rogers and Simon study cited above demonstrates a direct association with aluminum-containing leavening agents, and numerous epidemiological studies have linked aluminum in drinking water as a risk factor(1).

If we consider the dietary factors that reduce Alzheimer's risk, I suggest that this effect may be attributable to silicic acid content. Silicic acid has been suggested as a chelator to diminish the bioavailability of aluminum and to reduce aluminum toxicity(2,3).

So what are the foremost dietary sources of silicic acid? Well, drinking water is a key factor. It has been suggested that the studies that have indicated a direct relationship between the aluminum content of water and Alzheimer's risk are actually showing an inverse relationship between silicic acid content and AD risk. And, indeed, drinking water is a trivial source of aluminum, but is the primary source of silicic acid.

Other rich sources of silicic acid are small, thin-skinned fruit such as grapes...  Read more

Please note that there is some commonality in the dietary factors that influence Alzheimer's risk. The Rogers and Simon study cited above demonstrates a direct association with aluminum-containing leavening agents, and numerous epidemiological studies have linked aluminum in drinking water as a risk factor(1).

If we consider the dietary factors that reduce Alzheimer's risk, I suggest that this effect may be attributable to silicic acid content. Silicic acid has been suggested as a chelator to diminish the bioavailability of aluminum and to reduce aluminum toxicity(2,3).

So what are the foremost dietary sources of silicic acid? Well, drinking water is a key factor. It has been suggested that the studies that have indicated a direct relationship between the aluminum content of water and Alzheimer's risk are actually showing an inverse relationship between silicic acid content and AD risk. And, indeed, drinking water is a trivial source of aluminum, but is the primary source of silicic acid.

Other rich sources of silicic acid are small, thin-skinned fruit such as grapes and blueberries, plus marine seafood. Small thin-skinned fruits have a high surface-to-volume ratio and their diaphanous epidermous allows considerable transpiration. This loss is continuously replaced with groundwater coursing through the plant, but the silicic acid in the fruit does not evaporate and, therefore, concentrates.

Similarly, the sea has been concentrating silicic acid for eons in the same manner that it concentrates salt. Therefore, fish harvested from seawater also have a high silicic acid content.

References:
(1) Flaten TP. Aluminum as a risk factor in Alzheimer's disease, with emphasis on drinking water. Brain Res Bull. 2001 May 15;55(2):187-96. Abstract

(2) Yokel et al. Prevention and treatment of aluminum toxicity including chelation therapy: status and research needs. J Toxicol Environ Health. 1996 Aug 30;48(6):667-83. Abstract

(3) Doucet et al. Direct and indirect identification of the formation of hydroxyaluminosilicates in acidic solutions. J Inorg Biochem. 2001 Nov;87(1-2):71-9. Abstract

View all comments by Colin Meyer

Today in America, two thirds of dietary aluminum is attributable to leavening agents. Aluminum-containing leavening agents came into use after the Civil War as a quick and inexpensive alternative to the centuries-old chore of maintaining yeast starter cultures. Baking with aluminum-containing leavening agents became commonplace by the turn of the century, and the first known case of Alzheimer's diesease was described in 1906. It is widely assumed that Alzheimer's has been prevalent for centuries, but in fact we cannot identify a single probable victim in all of mankind prior to the Civil War. Given that AD is now the #3 cause of death in our society, and that there is usually a distinct pattern of symptoms, and that we have little trouble diagnosing millions of victims based solely on clinical signs, it seems that we should have little trouble identifying just one probable case prior to 1865.

View all comments by Colin Meyer

Blueberries, blueberries, blueberries.

View all comments by J. Lucy Boyd