The Longevity Diet

A summary of Chapter 10
…
FMD and Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Alzheimer's and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases

Dear Rookie

First, the wake-up statistic:

Right now there's a 5% chance that you or I have Alzheimer's disease in our brains and we don't know it.* By the time we reach 85 the chance of actually having Alzheimer's increases to 40%.

Alzheimer's has a hereditary component for about half the people who develop the disease. There are other proposed causes, but the science is complicated and the consensus is that understanding Alzheimer's, let alone curing it, is a long way off.

Alzheimer's is not the only form of dementia. But there's one thing common to most dementias:

If you can delay the symptoms for five years you are only half as likely to get dementia.

That's because, although you might have incipient dementia, the symptoms usually don't appear until old age. Delay the symptoms for long enough and you die before the symptoms appear. Comforting, I suppose!

Dietary prevention of Alzheimer's disease in mice – and humans

In the Longo Lab, mice were bred to be guaranteed to develop Alzheimer's.

Those mice fed on cycles of a fasting mimicking diet had improved cognitive scores at all stages of the study.

It is likely that a similar dietary intervention (i.e. regular cycles of ProLon) will have a similar effect with humans. But don't do this if you're over 70. Most older people need plenty of protein to maintain muscle mass.

In other words, this is more about prevention (when you're younger) than ameliorating symptoms (when you're older).

I recommend reading chapter 10 to understand the nuance. Valter Longo includes sections on:

• the longevity diet plus extra olive oil and nuts
• coffee and coconut oil
• 'bad' fats and Alzheimer's disease
• sufficient nourishment
• age-appropriate weight and abdominal circumference
• exercise [Since the book was written there has been a growing body of evidence to show how long-term exercise interventions contribute to delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease – and to improving symptoms for those who have it.]

Valter Longo's prevention and treatment summary for neurodegenerative disease

• adopt the Longevity Diet and the periodic FMD (ProLon)
• incorporate plenty of olive oil and nuts
• drink coffee
• take coconut oil
• avoid saturated fats and trans fats
• avoid all animal-based products except low-mercury fish and goat's milk and cheese
• follow a high nourishment diet containing omega-3, B vitamins and vitamins C, D and E
• take a multivitamin and mineral daily

Treatment

For people who have already been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia:

1. follow the dietary recommendations above
2. talk to your neurologist about following cycles of a protein- and essential amino acid-deficient diet followed by normal calorie intake and/or cycles of the periodic FMD

But bear in mind, with late onset diseases such as Alzheimer's, calorie- and nutrient-restricted diets are potentially dangerous for the elderly.

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* This is an often cited, approximate statistic. For example: 'Believe it or not, there are 46 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease in their brain right now, but no symptoms.' – Richard Isaacson, Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College – author of many articles and books about Alzheimer's – speaking with Dr Peter Attia on this podcast on 23 November 2020.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Good diet in youth and middle age + cycles of calorie restriction + exercise is your best bet to avoid most forms of dementia. Or delay the symptoms!

Best wishes…

Peter Jerrim
LifeX Australia

(Be quick. They're going fast. The 3-box bundle is already sold out.)