Researchers at Aberdeen University believe they may have found a major breakthrough in the battle against Alzheimer’s. They believe the disease can be fought with omega 3 oils, which can be found in seeds, nuts and oily fish, like salmon and mackerel. The researchers found that older people whose diets were high in omega 3 oils did far better in mental tests than those without the oils in their diet.

The Aberdeen research adds weight to previous research earlier this year from the US which discovered that an increased intake of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may boost the production of a protein known to destroy the plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Cells from mice, rats, and humans were used by the researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to show that the DHA-induced production of the protein LR11 may cut the build-up of plaque from beta-amyloid deposits, which have been found to result in brain cell damage and the onset of Alzheimer’s.  (I use a fish oil supplement in the clinic (Omega 3 Plus) which has a high content of DHA (over 500mg of DHA in just two capsules) and also contains over 700mg of EPA in two capsules – see the Resources Page).

Research from the University of Helsinki has suggested that taking probiotic supplements during pregnancy may reduce the risk of babies suffering from childhood allergies. Probiotics which can be found in live, natural yogurts are living organisms designed to restore a healthy balance in the gut and prevent stomach upsets. Some experts believe they may also stimulate the growth of the immune system and play a part in preventing asthma, allergies and eczema.  (see BioKult on the Resources Page).

This month more research has been published by British scientists to confirm what many of us already know: food additives do serious physical and mental harm to children.

The researchers from the University of Southampton believe that if artificial colourings was removed from children’s foods, cakes, drinks and sweets it would bring significant health benefits, cutting hyperactivity by a third, reducing antisocial behaviour and boosting IQ. According to their research the harm caused by additives to the IQ of youngsters is similar to the damaging impact of lead on developing brains and they are calling on the Food Standard’s Agency (FSA) to take measures to ban food chemicals that can cause psychological harm to normal, healthy children. The colouring additives that caused the Southampton team the most concern are tartrazine (E102); quinoline yellow (E104); sunset yellow E1110); carmoisine (E122); ponceau 4R (E124) and allura red (E129) but, in my opinion, any food that contains E numbers should be treated with suspicion.