Dementia warning: Four foods linked to ‘worsening of thinking skills’ as you get older

Using collected blood samples from the trial, these researchers found that people with higher levels of saturated fats in their blood were more likely to experience cognitive losses and develop Alzheimer’s disease than individuals with higher levels of linoleic acid – a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid which is found in many plant oils.

Scientists had already begun to link higher dietary saturated fat intake to higher risk of dementia and cognitive decline, but this study is one of the first to use blood tests in such a large number of people in order to understand the link between diet and later brain health.

In the future, researchers will likely look into the effects of specific fat-related diet interventions on the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Saturated fat UK guidelines

UK health guidelines recommend that:

• The average man aged 19 to 64 years should eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day
• The average woman aged 19 to 64 years should eat no more than 20g of saturated fat a day.

Source: Daily Express