Alzheimer's protection linked to food and cookware

Foods have been identified as helping prevent Alzheimer's and a guest on Dr. Oz added the material in our kitchen pots and pans to the list.

A blood test to identify people at risk for Alzheimer's was announced by British researchers.

It is years from being used and it still needs to be verified, reported the BBC.

In the present however, people are being encouraged to eliminate certain foods and increase consumption of others.

A recent guest on The Dr. Oz Show laid out a plan for brain protection that included those foods, vitamins and identified how our kitchen cookware might need changing.

Dr. Neal D. Barnard, Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine gave Dr. Oz what he called a 3 step plan for Alzheimer's prevention.

What's this about cookware?

Cast iron pots and pans as well as those made from copper could be hurting us without our knowledge.

Excessive amounts of copper and iron, according to Dr. Barnard, "produce free radicals that damage brain cells."

Copper and iron from cast iron cookware is transferred into our food as it cooks and even the copper pipes used in plumbing systems adds to the problem.

Barnard pointed to copper and iron being added to certain brands of multivitamins and suggested reading labels carefully.

Foods to avoid for brain protection.

Saturated fat has been identified as a culprit and not just in heart disease.

Dr. Barnard used previous research announced by the Chicago Health and Aging Project.

He told Dr. Oz that large amounts of saturated and trans fat in one's diet increased the risk of Alzheimer's by three times that of people who avoid them. Where do they come from?

Dairy products
Meats including chicken
Desserts and snack foods

It doesn't take ridiculously large amounts of the fats to do the trick. Barnard characterized the consumption as only needing to be "reasonably large amounts."

In other words, mix up the foods you eat on a regular basis. Here are some to add to your meal planning that help reduce the Alzheimer's risk.

Green leafy vegetables
Fruits such as blueberries and grapes, tomatoes, oranges and bananas
Sweet potatoes
Legumes including like chickpeas, lentils and beans
Vitamins E and B-12.

Added to getting a good night's sleep, exercise and using brain stimulating exercises, watching what you eat can help protect your brain.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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