WID E -RAN GIN G E F F E CT S: BON E,K I D N E Y I EYE I BRA IN DIS E A S E S 2211/4 cup tomato sauce, 112 cup broccoli or one potato.^73 Half a cup is not
much food. In fact, the men in this study who consumed the most fruits
and vegetables consumed as many as nineteen servings a day. If every
three servings lower the risk by 22%, the benefits can add up fast (risk
reduction approaches but cannot exceed 100%).
This study provides evidence that the health of the arteries and ves-
sels that transport blood to and from your brain is dependent on how
well you eat. By extension, it is logical to assume that eating fruits and
vegetables will protect against dementia caused by poor vascular health.
Research again seems to prove the point. Scientists conducted mental
health exams and assessed food intake for over 5,000 older people and
monitored their health for over two years. They found that the people
who consumed the most total fat and saturated fat had the highest risk
of dementia due to vascular problems.^74
Alzheimer's disease is also related to diet and is often found in con-
junction with heart disease,5 3 which suggests that they share the same
causes. We know what causes heart disease, and we know what offers
the best hope of reversing heart disease: diet. Experimental animal stud-
ies have convincingly shown that a high-cholesterol diet will promote
the production of the beta-amyloid common to Alzheimer's.53 In con-
firming these experimental animal results, a study of more than 5,000
people found that greater dietary fat and cholesterol intake tended to
increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease specifically,15 and all dementia
in general. 74
In another study on Alzheimer's,16 the risk of getting the disease was
3 .3 times greater among people whose blood folic acid levels were in
the lowest one-third range and 4.5 times greater when blood homo-
cysteine levels were in the highest one-third. What are folic acid and
homocysteine? Folic acid is a compound derived exclusively from
plant-based foods such as green and leafy vegetables. Homocysteine
is an amino acid that is derived primarily from animal protein.^77 This
study found that it was desirable to maintain low blood homocysteine
and high blood folic acid. In other words, the combination of a diet high
in animal-based foods and low in plant-based foods raises the risk of
Alzheimer's disease.^78
Mild cognitive impairment, the stuff jokes are made of, still permits
the afflicted person to maintain an independent, functional life, but
dementia and Alzheimer's are tragic, imposing almost impossibly heavy
burdens on victims and their loved ones. Across this spectrum, from