Research for Alzheimer’s is a non-stop affair as long as a way to cure Alzheimer’s or to prevent it has not been created. Recent studies have found links between living an unhealthy lifestyle with an increased risk for Alzheimer’s, and seemingly points out that one of the best ways to prevent Alzheimer’s is by living healthy.
A recent study points out that salt is linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, which may be bad news for many western countries that have diets rich in sodium.
Teaspoon a Day of Salt
The University of Toronto did a study to see the effect that a sedentary lifestyle and sodium has on increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s. They found that even one teaspoon a day might be enough in some cases to make the mind dull and increase the risk for the disease.
The researchers studied over 1200 people that were aged 67-84. During 3 years, they constantly assessed their mental health and looked for signs of Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Alexandra Fiocco was the lead in the study. Dr. Fiocco says, “The results of our study showed that a diet high in sodium, combined with little exercise, was especially detrimental to the cognitive performance of older adults.”
Surprisingly, they found that people living a sedentary lifestyle didn’t increase their risk level, as long as they weren’t consuming high levels of sodium.
The researchers say that a high level of sodium is 7.7g of salt, or what is equivalent to over a teaspoon of salt.
The researchers believe that the results should lead to people being more vigilant about their diet in order to prevent the possibility of Alzheimer’s at a later age.
Salty Foods in the United States
The USDA recently released a report, telling people of all ages and health levels to decrease the amount of sodium they consume. This advice is given, even if they currently don’t have any glaring health risks.
Unfortunately, what is considered common in the American diet is also loaded with sodium. The most commonly sodium rich foods include frozen pizzas (2600 mg), frozen dinners (800-2000 mg), pretzels (1350 mg), and canned chili (1040 mg).
Eating a large Italian sub sandwich from Quizno’s contains over 3400 mg, having IHOP’s well-known Country Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs runs up over 4000 mg, while having only one of the favorite appetizers at Cheesecake Factory is loaded with a whopping 6700 mg.
The recommendation is to cut out these sodium rich foods out of a diet. When this is accomplished, a person should eat things like spinach, yogurt, white beans and bananas. Anything rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium will create a balancing effect after sodium rich foods have been dropped.
Sources:
Sedentary Lifestyle and Sodium Risk: Alzheimer’s Alert
Sedentary Lifestyle and Sodium Risk: America’s Saltiest Foods
Sedentary Lifestyle and Sodium Risk: Overweight During Middle Age