Intermittent fasting may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease

A new study in mice shows that intermittent fasting may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Although there is no cure for dementia, it is believed that there are a number of ways to reduce your risk of developing these conditions, including keeping your brain active as you age.

And the study, published in the journal Cell Reports, discovered that the number of times you eat can also make a difference, as reported by "Russia Today".

As part of the study, a team from the University of Southern California studied healthy mice and two groups of mice at risk for developing dementia, known as E4FAD and 3xTg.

The mice were fed a diet that mimics intermittent fasting for four to five days at a time, twice a month, and between these cycles, they ate a regular diet.

The results showed that mice participating in the simulated fasting regimen showed a "significant" decrease in beta-amyloid, a substance that builds up in the brain and is suspected of leading to dementia.

The results also found that tau proteins, which have the same effect on the brain, were also reduced among the fasting mice.

And mice on the fasting diet had lower levels of encephalitis.

The study says: "The effect of FMD cycles in reducing several factors of aging and disease risk suggests that it can influence Alzheimer's disease. Here, we show that FMD cycles reduce cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease in models of Alzheimer's disease. E4FAD and 3xTg AD mice, with effects that exceed those of protein restriction cycles."

The study continued: "In 3xTg mice, cycles of the long-term fasting-mimicking diet reduce hippocampal beta-amyloid load and tau hyperphosphorylation, promote neural stem cell formation, decrease the number of microglia, and decrease expression of neuroinflammatory genes."

The authors conclude: "Clinical data suggest that FMD courses are feasible and generally safe in a small group of Alzheimer's patients. These findings suggest that FMD courses delay cognitive decline in Alzheimer's models in part by decreasing neuroinflammation and and/or superoxide production in the brain.

The team also analyzed data from a small clinical trial that examined a diet focused on intermittent fasting in humans with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease.

The results showed that fasting would be a "safe" option for humans, however, more research is needed.

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