Interesting, Fred! When I was thinking that I had this dreaded disease, I
used to attend a group once a month at the Alzheimer's Association in
Indianapolis, IN and learned that Black berries also helped to forestall the
advancement of Alzheimer's Disease. Thank God that it has been demonstrated
by a PetScan that I do not have it but rather the usual forgetfulness of my
advancing age.

Joe




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Source: http://www.medicine net.com

Drinking Juice May Stall Alzheimer's
Fruit and Vegetable Juice May Cut Alzheimer's Disease by up to 76%
By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
on Thursday, August 31, 2006
Aug. 31, 2006 -- Drinking fruit or vegetable juice every other day may keep
Alzheimer's disease away.
A new study shows people who drank fruit and vegetable juices more than
three times a week were 76% less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than
those who drank juices less than once a week.
Researchers say the results suggest that a class of antioxidants found in
fruit and vegetable juices called polyphenols may have a protective effect
on the brain and help fight dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Polyphenols are found in fruits and vegetables, primarily in the skins and
peels, and are abundant in juices, teas, and wine.
Juice Fights Alzheimer's Disease
In the study, published in The American Journal of Medicine, researchers
followed nearly 2,000 Japanese-American adults from King County, Wash., for
10 years. The participants were aged 65 or older and were free of signs of
Alzheimer's or dementia at the start of the study. Self-reported dietary
information was obtained from 1,589 of the adults. The average age of this
group was 72 years at the start of the study.
Previous studies show Japanese adults living in Japan have a lower incidence
of Alzheimer's disease. But Japanese people living in the U.S. have higher
rates of the disease, which suggests that environmental factors such as diet
and lifestyle may play an important role in the development of Alzheimer's
disease.
After adjusting for possible confounding factors, like smoking, educational
status, and physical activity, the researchers found people who drank fruit
and vegetable juices more than three times a week had a 76% lower risk of
probable Alzheimer's disease compared with those who drank juice less than
once a week. Drinking fruit or vegetable juice once or twice a week was
associated with a 16% lower risk.
In addition, the study showed the protective benefits of juice appeared to
be particularly enhanced in people who had a genetic marker linked to an
increased risk of Alzheimer's disease known as apolipoprotein E å-4 allele.
They also found no relationship between dietary intake of vitamins C and E,
beta carotene, or tea and the risk for Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers say these results are only preliminary and more study is needed
to confirm the relationship between polyphenols and Alzheimer's disease.
Other recent studies looking at diet and supplement use with risk for
Alzheimer's disease have not been consistent.
They say the next step will be to determine which fruit and vegetables
juices might provide the biggest protective benefits.
"We don't know if it is a specific type of juice [that reduces risk]. That
information was not collected in the current study," says researcher Qi Dai,
MD, PhD, of Vanderbilt School of Medicine, in a news release.
This study was supported by the National Institute on Aging.



SOURCES: Dai, Q. The American Journal of Medicine, September 2006; vol 119:
pp 751-759. News release, The American Journal of Medicine. News release,
Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
© 2006 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.




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