What you eat could have an impact on your brain and memory

AMES, Iowa – You may know the saying "you are what you eat", but did you know that the food you eat could affect your memory?

Auriel Willette, an badistant professor, and her team of researchers from the Department of Food Sciences and Human Nutrition at the University of Iowa State have discovered a satiety hormone that, at levels higher, could decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. A document presenting the results of their study was recently accepted for publication at Neurobiology of aging.

Using data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), researchers examined the satiation hormone, cholecystokinin (CCK), in 287 people. CCK is found in both the small intestine and the brain. In the small intestine, CCK allows the absorption of fats and proteins. In the brain, CCK is located in the hippocampus, which is the region of the brain that forms memory, said Willette.

The researchers found that people with higher levels of CCK, a chance to have a mild cognitive impairment, a precursor state of Alzheimer's disease or Alzheimer's disease decrease by 65%.

"We hope this will help shed more light on how the satiety hormones in the blood and brain affect brain function," Willette said.

Why CCK?

Alexandra Plagman, lead author and graduate student in nutrition science, said she chose to focus on CCK, a highly expressed expression in memory training. The researchers wanted to see if there was any significance between the levels of CCK and the levels of memory and gray matter in the hippocampus and in other important areas.

They also examined p-tau and tau proteins, considered toxic to the brain, to see their potential impact on CCK and memory. They found that the higher the level of tau, the higher the level of CCK, the lower the memory decline.

The researchers hope that this study will encourage others to look into the nutritional aspect of diets, instead of limiting themselves to caloric intake. Plagman is already studying the impact of diet on an individual's CCK levels by conducting research on fasting glucose and ketone bodies.

"Looking at the nutritional aspect, we can tell if a certain diet can prevent Alzheimer's disease or prevent the progression of the disease," Plagman said.

"The timing and quantity of food we eat can be tied to the quality of our memory," said Willette. "Bottom line: what we eat and what our body does affects our brain."

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