It turns out that what people eat can help prevent or slow Alzheimer's disease – but when do they eat it?
A recent study published in the journal Cell Metabolism showed that engaging in intermittent (time-limited) fasting reduced the risk of cognitive decline.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine adjusted the feeding schedules of certain groups of mice so that they only ate within a six-hour window each day.
The researchers noted that this is equivalent to a 14-hour human fast.
Compared to control mice that ate on demand, fasted mice had improved memory, less ADHD at night, and fewer sleep disruptions.
According to a recent study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, engaging in intermittent (time-limited) fasting can reduce the risk of cognitive decline
They were also shown to have less accumulation of amyloid in the brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.
The goal of dietary restriction is to restore circadian rhythms, which may help counteract the numerous disturbances that Alzheimer's patients face in terms of sleep and schedule-related disruptions, the researchers said.
Our research highlights the power of eating time in adjusting the circadian clock and its effects on the brain," said Paula Desplats, Ph.D., senior study author and professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.
We wanted to see some improvement in pathology, but didn't expect such a profound impact in terms of reducing plaque and inflammation and improving memory," she continued.
Compared to control mice that ate on demand, fasted mice had improved memory, less ADHD at night, and fewer sleep disruptions.
The effect of time-restricted eating on lower amyloid pathology can also be measured in the blood using clinically found markers, which is another important finding.
The researchers hope that these findings will lead to human trials.
The goal is to secure funding to begin a pilot study with patients next year.
Accessible interventions like this have great translational potential because they are available and are generally well tolerated," Desplats said.
This may be especially important for older adults, as time-restricted diets do not require calorie restriction or dietary changes, but may provide important benefits ranging from metabolic and sleep regulation to potential cognitive improvements.
However, adopting a new dietary pattern should not replace health care, as Desplats stresses the importance of patients discussing options with clinicians.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than 6 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's, and every 67 seconds, one person in the United States develops the disease
A major limitation of the study is that the animal models it uses represent only certain aspects of the disease and "do not present complications associated with aging or other clinical diseases, which are very common in people with Alzheimer's," Desplats noted.
In addition, this study was carried out under tightly controlled conditions, unlike people's Xi and the diversity of the environment," she added.
Researchers want the public to recognize the importance of the biological clock in regulating many aspects of health.
In a society with constant exposure to food, light, and shift work, it's critical to maintain healthy sleep and eating Xi habits that are more in sync with the natural environment," Desplats said.
"Fasting mimics the diet has the potential to drastically reduce many aging and disease risk factors by reducing neuroinflammation or superoxide production in the brain," one researcher told Fox News Figures
Previous studies have supported this association between fasting and a reduced risk of Alzheimer's.
Last year, a study led by the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles also found that mice that followed a fasted diet had lower levels of "plaques and tangles" in their brains, had less brain inflammation and performed better on cognitive tests.
In two different types of Alzheimer's mouse models, the cycle of fasting mock diet (FMD) had a strong effect on Alzheimer's symptoms," the study's lead author, Dr. Valter Longo, a biogerontologist at the University of Southern California, told Fox News Digital.
In mice, the effects of FMD cycles are very strong and widespread, which means that they affect Xi and memory as well as Alzheimer's pathological peptide proteins (amyloid and tau).
Based on these findings, Longo recommends that people talk to their neurologist about considering a simulated fasting diet and other nutrition-based approaches to support standard of care medications and**.
Especially for Alzheimer's disease, the efficacy of drug interventions is very limited, and it will be very important to continue to study fasting mock diets and other dietary interventions that can make drugs more effective," he added.
The main difference is that we tested a method that didn't require a calorie reduction, which may be more sustainable and safer for older adults whose metabolism is already affected by the changes of aging
Desplats, lead author of the UC San Diego study, told Fox News Digital that Longo's study is on a similar trajectory, demonstrating the link between metabolism, fasting and brain health.
The main difference is that we tested a method that doesn't require calorie reduction, which may be more sustainable and safer for older adults whose metabolism is already affected by the changes in aging," she said.
Dr. Joseph Antoun, CEO and Chairman of L-Nutra, a California-based nutech company, was also involved in the USC study.
In these studies, mice fed a fasted mock diet showed improved cognitive performance, motor Xi, and short- and long-term memory, and promoted the growth of new neurons in the brain," he told Fox News Numbers via email.
A diet that mimics fasting has the potential to greatly reduce many aging and disease risk factors by reducing neuroinflammation or superoxide production in the brain.
Mice that followed a fasted diet exhibited lower levels of "plaques and tangles" in the brain, which are known hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in the human brain
Fasting can help the brain function in a number of ways, Antoun says.
Fasting can reduce the pro-aging factors we secrete after eating, which can slow down the aging of the brain," he told Fox News numbers in an emailed statement.
He points out that eating at restricted times can also improve sleep quality, which can help the brain recover better.
Antoun points out that because diets that mimic fasting can be done over a longer period of time, they can help the body move into higher levels of ketosis, which is wonderful for the brain.
Ketosis, in which the body burns fat instead of glucose for energy, has been shown to have cognitive benefits.
Prolonged fasting also helps with leaky gut, which can then help the brain," Antoun added.
In addition, intermittent fasting can help control blood sugar, which can slow the progression of Alzheimer's.
Adopting a new dietary pattern should not replace health care, the researchers say
Alzheimer's disease diagnoses have been steadily increasing over the past few decades, Antoun noted.
However, when we are able to detect neurodegenerative diseases early, we can take proactive steps to slow down the process and mitigate any major problems of the disease, he said.
During prolonged fasting, cells go through a process called autophagy, which involves removing and destroying cellular components, Antoun said.
This process is essential for maintaining normal cellular function and can help protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's," he explains.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than 6 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's, and every 67 seconds, one person in the United States develops the disease
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