Health

Could eating a healthy diet reduce the risk of Alzheimer's in people with Type 2 diabetes?

By Mallika Marshall, MD

Updated on: March 25, 2024 / 5:32 PM EDT / CBS Boston

Healthy diet could reduce risk of Alzheimer's in people with Type 2 diabetes, study says

BOSTON - A new study finds that a healthy diet could reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease in people with Type 2 diabetes.

Previous research has pointed to a link between Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease.

Scientists at Texas A&M University wanted to find out whether diet could influence the development of Alzheimer's disease in people with diabetes.

Studying mice, they found that inflammation that starts in the intestine may move through the liver to the brain, which may trigger the accumulation of proteins that have been associated with Alzheimer's.

The researchers said the good news is that people might be able to lower their risk of Alzheimer's by eating a healthy diet and either avoiding Type 2 diabetes altogether or by keeping their blood sugar under good control.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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