There is a sweet addition to the growing list of foods and natural products that might aid in our fight against Alzheimer’s disease. To the list of tasty treats like curry, berries, red wine and pomegranate we can now add maple syrup. Wouldn’t that be great? A maple syrup cure for Alzheimer’s! Especially if it retains the maple flavor.

This video goes into another subject at about 1:45 minutes. I apologize and will try to shorten it.

Might Maple Syrup Cure Alzheimer’s?

The announcement was made at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society. As usual, more study is needed, but researchers are hopeful that the bioactive compounds available in maple syrup may prevent proteins in the brain from becoming entangled in a process called fibrillation. It is this fibrillation that creates the amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

Some of the compounds in maple syrup have anti-inflammatory properties. This may be one key to its effectiveness against Alzheimer’s disease. Click here to learn more about Alzheimer’s as a autoimmune disease.

In all, scientists at the gathering presented 24 studies that investigated the benefits of natural product in preventing neurodegenerative diseases.

I, for one, consider this great news!

Yet another natural means to combat dementia. And one that is very easy to take. I always have a bottle of maple syrup around, and I love the flavor. It’s great on pancakes and waffles, and on French Toast, but it can also replace refined sugar in almost any recipe.

The good doctor at WXYZ in Detroit listed some lifestyle choices that may help avoid dementia. Many of these avoidance tactics might also work to impede the progression of the disease once it has taken hold. His list includes:

• exercise
• diet
• cognitive stimulation
• quality sleep

That’s a short list. You can see our more comprehensive list of anti-dementia lifestyle choices by clicking here.

The medical reporter mentioned some of the other foods that are being investigated for their possible dementia fighting properties, including:

Berries are just one of the natural products being investigated for the  protection they might provide against Alzheimer’s disease.

• green tea
• red wine
• berries
• pomegranate
• mediterranean diet
• curcumin (turmeric)

He left out one of our favorites: coconut oil. Coconut oil just might be the most promising food on the long list. Another glaring omission on the doctor’s part is omega-3 fats, like those contained in fatty fish like wild salmon. See our recipe for maple glazed salmon here. And please send us your favorite recipes that use maple syrup. We will share them with our readers. In fact share any of your recipes that include ingredients from the list above, or here.

A little about sleep. It is important to get good sleep each night. That can be more difficult as we age. That’s part of aging. But no cheating. There is mounting evidence that even over-the-counter drugs used to promote sleep can contribute to or even cause dementia. And I am now seeing evidence that how you sleep may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. By that I mean the position you sleep in. Sleep is important – it is a time for cleaning out your brain. Metabolic wastes build up in the brain during waking hours. These wastes are flushed out during sleep in a process that is necessary for brain health.  Sleeping on your side seems to be more effective in this cleaning process.

I wonder what the incidence of Alzheimer’s in Canada (where they presumable use it more) is relative to the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Reminder: share your favorite dementia fighting recipes in the comment section below.