Do we really need to give you another reason to take care of your gut flora? Well, if you say so? Ok, here we go: Alzheimer’s disease. 

The other week, we read an article in the Swedish newspaper about a new study that suggests good gut bacteria may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. If you don’t know what Alzheimer’s is, it is the most common type of dementia – in Sweden, more than 100 000 people are suffering from the disease. Alzheimer’s is hereditary, even age and lifestyle matter, but other than that, what actually triggers Alzheimer’s has so far been unknown. But, according to the article in Sydsvenskan, scientists say that problems arise when an unbalanced gut flora, as a result of unhealthy eating habits, causes inflammation in your body. The first step, in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, is that plaques build up between nerve cells in the hippocampal region (the hippocampus is a part of the brain that’s primarily associated with memory), and then spread to other parts of the brain. Now that they’ve discovered that unhealthy gut bacteria can accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s disease, the scientists want to determine the kind of bacteria involved in the development of plaques.

– Previously, we haven’t been able to influence the development of Alzheimer’s, other than by giving drugs that reduce the symptoms. But now, we’re actually able to act and prevent the disease from occurring. If we’re able to delay the development of the disease, we might also be able to keep people from getting the disease in the first place. And, you’re able to do so by changing your eating habits, and ensuring you have strong and protective gut flora, says Frida Håk Hållenius, associate professor at Food for Health Science Center, Lund University, Sweden.

Wow. What a breakthrough for research on Alzheimer’s disease.

If you know any kind of Swedish, you can read the full article here: https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2017-02-10/vissa-tarmbakterier-kan-ge-alzheimer