High Protein Diet Could Cause Alzheimers

Researchers have uncovered that mice that ate meals akin to those of the original Atkins Diet had brains which were 5 per cent lighter the other rats.
They also discovered that the hippocampus section of the brain, responsible for memory, was less developed in the mice on the high protein diet .
These findings go to suggest that the ravages of dementia may be slowed down or avoided through a healthy diet .
Past research has highlighted how Mediterranean-style low calorie, low fat diets rich in fruit, vegetables and fish could delay the start or slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The animals were placed on a normal high fat, low carbohydrate diet, a high protein-low carbohydrate version or a high carbohydrate-low fat option.
Then the researchers assessed the rodents’ brain and body weight, in addition to plaque build up related with Alzheimer’s.
Professor Sam Gandy, a neurologist based at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, stated: “The most unexpected result of our study was the loss of overall brain mass associated with a high protein-low carbohydrate diet.
High protein diets and especially high protein-high fat diets can be doubly damaging, should the high fat lead to an increase in the accumulation of plaques and the high protein sensitizes nerve cells to the poison released by plaques.
At its height, 3 million Brits followed the original Atkins Diet which was marketed as a revolution in dieting, advocating people to eat eggs, cheese and meat, whilst shunning carbohydrates.
The diet was especially popular with men, however, fell from favour after concerns that it may increase the risk of heart disease and kidney problems.