Researchers say this hormone could reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease

A recent study has linked impaired brain memory and a higher risk of Alzheimer’s to when and what people eat.

The study, carried out by a team of researchers in Iowa State University’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, US, showed that the higher the level of a satiety hormone, the lesser a person’s likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Satiety hormones are hormones that suppress hunger in the body. The hormones are said to be lower when you are thin and higher when you are fat.

According to the researchers, they focused the study on a satiety hormone, cholecystokinin (CCK), “because it is highly expressed in memory formation”.

The researchers looked at CCK in 287 people and found that individuals who have higher CCK levels have less chance of having mild cognitive impairment, a precursor state to Alzheimer’s disease.

It also showed that Alzheimer’s disease decreased by 65 percent in such persons compared to those with lover CCK levels.

The researchers advised that people should give more consideration to the component of the diet than calories intake.

“By looking at the nutritional aspect, we can tell if a certain diet could prevent Alzheimer’s disease or prevent progression of the disease,” said lead author Alexandra Plagman.

On his part, Auriel Willette, assistant professor, said: “The regulation of when and how much we eat can have some association with how good our memory is.

“Bottom line: what we eat and what our body does with it affects our brain.”

The study was published in Neurobiology of Aging.