London - Cutting back on fry-ups could reduce your risk of dementia, according to research.
A “compelling” study has linked compounds found in fried meat and eggs with a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
Bacon is particularly problematic and the suspect chemicals are also found in many cakes, biscuits and pastries. The researchers said that reducing intake could help prevent the crippling condition – and may even help restore memory that has been lost.
Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia affect 800 000 Britons and the number is predicted to double in a generation as the population ages.
The research, from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, focused on compounds called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. They are formed when fat, protein and sugar react on being heated and are found in particularly high levels in bacon, sausages, pizzas and burgers. Frying and grilling is particularly bad, while boiling does not lead to AGEs being formed.
The researchers tracked the progress of a group of mice fed food containing levels of AGEs proportional to those in a Western diet and another group fed half the amount of the compound. Their calorie intake was the same but only the mice on the AGE-rich diet suffered problems with memory, learning and co-ordination as they get older.
They also made less of an anti-ageing protein and their brains contained beta-amyloid, a sticky protein considered a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported.
* Alcohol, not chocolate, is often the dieter’s downfall, according to scientists who asked 80 slimmers to keep food diaries.
Volunteers were tempted to break their diets 11 times a week on average. They were more likely to go for alcohol than sugary snacks or bigger helpings, according to the British and Australian researchers. - Daily Mail