Scientists say that drinking tea or coffee, eating walnuts, taking regular exercise and spending time in the sun could all help prevent the disease.
Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia afflict more than 800,000 Britons, but the number is expected to double within a generation because of the ageing population.
But a daily cup of tea or coffee could help protect against the disease. Both drinks have been shown to reduce memory loss by 40 per cent, according to research presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, in Hawaii.
Alzheimers
Those who had coffee at least five times a week reduced their memory loss by up to 20 per cent compared to those who didn’t drink it at all.
Eating walnuts could also ward off the disease, separate research has found. Mice which had a diet rich in the nuts were found to drastically improve their learning and memory abilities, according to a study carried out at New York’s Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities.
Scientists say the results suggest walnuts could have similar benefits on humans, but will need to carry out further work.
‘Our results suggest that dietary supplementation of walnuts may have beneficial effect in reducing the risk, delaying the onset or slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease,’ they concluded in their study, which was presented at the same conference.
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They have already been credited with helping reduce cholesterol.
But it appears walnuts may help the body deal with stress and reduce blood pressure too.
According to research, those with high levels of bad cholesterol had lower blood pressure in stressful situations when they had been on a diet rich in walnuts for three weeks.
For the study, participants were asked to give a three-minute speech or immerse one foot in cold water – both of which are triggers for stress.
Those with walnut in their diets had lower blood pressure, said Professor Sheila West, from Penn State university.
‘This is the first study to show that walnuts reduce blood pressure during stress.
People who show an exaggerated biological response to stress are at higher risk of heart disease.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1317467/How-walnut-stop-cracking-strain.html