Fat found in butter, red meat and eggs ‘reduces risk of dementia by 18%’
FATS found in butter, eggs and red meat could lower your risk of dementia, a study suggests.
Older adults with higher triglyceride levels in their blood were 18 per cent less likely to get the deadly condition than those with half the amount.
The fats — also found in cooking oils — are one of the main energy sources of the brain.
Dr Zhen Zhou, of Monash University in Melbourne, said: “Higher triglyceride levels may be reflective of better health and lifestyle behaviours that would protect against dementia.
“Our findings suggest that triglyceride levels may serve as a useful predictor for dementia risk and cognitive decline in older populations.”
Around 944,000 Brits are currently living with dementia and experts predict the numbers will exceed one million by the end of the decade.
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Alzheimer’s is the most common form of the condition, and is thought to be caused by build-ups of proteins in the brain, including tau and amyloid.
There is currently no cure for the disease, although three promising drugs to slow down its progress are currently in trials.
In the meantime, experts say focusing on how to improve your lifestyle is the best way to fight the disease.
Triglycerides are fats found in foods and produced by the liver that move through the blood and are either used as energy or stored as body fat.
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High levels can be dangerous, increasing your risk of deadly heart disease, stroke and pancreatitis.
The latest research, published in Neurology, looked at how levels impact your risk of dementia.
Researchers looked at data from more than 86,000 adults aged 65 and over in the UK, US and Australia.
None had dementia at the start of the study and 2,778 had developed it after an average of 12.5 years.
Higher triglyceride levels within the “normal to high-normal range” were linked to a lower dementia risk across the group.
Dr Zhou said: “Future studies are needed to investigate whether specific components within triglycerides may promote better cognitive function.
“These could help with developing new preventive strategies.”