According to Dr. David Perlmutter, one of the leading natural medicine neurologists in the United States, there’s a certain food group Americans tend to eat in bulk that might increase dementia risk. He wrote his New York Times best-selling book Grain Brain on the topic, packed full with the research to back it up. If the title of the book wasn’t a big enough hint, we’re talking about carbs.

Diet High In Carbohydrates Is Linked To Increased Dementia Risk

Research published in Neurology showed that chronically higher blood sugar levels have a negative effect on cognition. Researchers believe this is “possibly mediated by structural changes in learning-relevant brain areas.”

The study showed that these negative effects also occurred in people without type 2 diabetes. The results suggest that keeping your blood sugar levels lower than normal is still important when it comes to brain health. Even if you don’t have a glucose intolerance, impaired insulin secretion or insulin resistance, higher blood sugar levels may prove detrimental to your brain.

Researchers found that people who consumed higher amounts of carbs in their diets had an astounding 89% increased risk for dementia, while people who ate a diet high in fat showed a 44% decreased risk. Dr. Perlmutter explained, “We live with this notion that a calorie is a calorie, but at least in terms of brain health, and I believe for the rest of the body as well, there are very big differences between our sources of calories in terms of the impact on our health.”

He continued, “Carbohydrate calories, which elevate blood glucose, are dramatically more detrimental to human physiology, and specifically to human health, than are calories derived from healthful sources of fat. The diet that I recommend—high in fat and low in carbohydrates—has simply been what we have eaten for a million years, so it has a bit of a track record.”

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which makes prevention even more important. This research suggests that you can lower your risk of dementia by:

• Increasing healthy fat consumption
• Reducing non-vegetable carbohydrate consumption, including sugars and grains
• Increasing your omega-3 fat intake and reducing omega-6 fat intake
• Exercising
• Reducing overall calorie consumption

Watch the video below for more information: