Alzheimer’s increase due to less sun or more meat

Note - The sun has not changed significantly in the past 40 years, but meat consumption has

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Sunlight Incidence, Vitamin D Deficiency, and Alzheimer's Disease - April 2018

J Med Food. 2018 Mar 22. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2017.0130. [Epub ahead of print]
Câmara AB1, de Souza ID1, Dalmolin RJS1,2.
1 Bioinformatics Multidisciplinary Environment, IMD, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte , Natal, Brazil .
2 Department of Biochemistry, CB, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte , Natal, Brazil .

More sun associated with less Alzheimer's

Alz death rate in 90 countries having life expectancy >75 years
LEFT: 55 countries with high sunshine;    RIGHT: 35 countries with low sunshine.

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How Vitamin D and its receptor protect against Alzheimer's

Vitamin D (VD) deficiency is a growing problem, affecting a significant portion of the population in many countries. VD deficiency may be related to several diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aimed to review the relationship between VD deficiency and AD.

We describe the proteins involved in AD pathogenesis and how those proteins can be influenced by VD deficiency. We also investigated a relationship between AD death rate and solar radiation and we found an increased AD death rate in countries with low sunlight.
It was also observed that amyloid precursor protein, ryanodine receptor, mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1, and receptor for advanced glycation end products are associated with a worse prognosis in AD. While the Klotho protein, phosphatase and tensin homologue, and VD receptor are associated with a better prognosis in the disease.
The literature suggests that decline in VD concentrations may be involved in the establishment and progression of AD. According to sunlight data, we can conclude that countries with low average sunlight have high AD death rate.

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Alzheimer's increase is due to increased meat consumption - July 2016

Using Multicountry Ecological and Observational Studies to Determine Dietary Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease
J Am Coll Nutr. 2016 Jul;35(5):476-89. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2016.1161566.
Grant WB1.

TEACHING POINTS:
• Single-country ecological data can be used to find links between diet and AD because the national diet changes,
  such as during the nutrition transition to a Western diet.
• Multicountry ecological studies can be used to find links between dietary factors and risk of AD.
• Prospective observational studies are useful in linking dietary components and patterns to risk of AD.
• The most important dietary link to AD appears to be meat consumption, with eggs and high-fat dairy also contributing.
• Diets high in grains, fruits, vegetables, and fish are associated with reduced risk of AD,
  but these factors cannot counter the effects of meat, eggs, and high-fat dairy.
• Higher vitamin D status is associated with reduced risk of AD.

Rates of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are rising worldwide. The most important risk factors seem to be linked to diet. For example, when Japan made the nutrition transition from the traditional Japanese diet to the Western diet, AD rates rose from 1% in 1985 to 7% in 2008. Foods protective against AD include fruits, vegetables, grains, low-fat dairy products, legumes, and fish, whereas risk factors include meat, sweets, and high-fat dairy products.

The evidence comes from ecological and observational studies as well as investigations of the mechanisms whereby dietary factors affect risk.
The mechanisms linking dietary risk factors to AD are fairly well known and include

• increased oxidative stress from metal ions such as copper as well as from advanced glycation end products associated with high-temperature cooking
• increased homocysteine concentrations, and cholesterol and its effects on amyloid beta, insulin resistance, and obesity.

Lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations also are associated with increased risk of AD.
In addition to reviewing the journal literature, a new ecological study was conducted using AD prevalence from 10 countries

• (Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, India, Mongolia, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, and the United States)

along with dietary supply data 5, 10, and 15 years before the prevalence data. Dietary supply of meat or animal products less milk 5 years before AD prevalence had the highest correlations with AD prevalence in this study. Thus, reducing meat consumption could significantly reduce the risk of AD as well as of several cancers, diabetes mellitus type 2, stroke, and, likely, chronic kidney disease.

PMID: 27454859 DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2016.1161566
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Alzheimers vs Meat Consumption

Table 4. Mechanisms to Explain Dietary Risk Factors for AD

Table 5. Evidence That Meat Consumption Is Causally Linked to Risk of AD
   Using Hill’s Criteria for Causality in a Biological System