From: mha23x@gmail.com   
      
   HEALTHY LIVING 02/21/2017 09:47 am ET | Updated Feb 21, 2017   
   Targeting Gut Bacteria May Be The Key To Preventing Alzheimer’s   
   Diet could be a powerful mode of prevention.   
   By Carolyn Gregoire   
       
   NOMADSOUL1 VIA GETTY IMAGES   
   A new study suggests that a gut-healthy diet may play a powerful role in   
   preventing one of the most feared diseases in America.     
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   Mounting research continues to show the links between the health of the gut   
   and that of the brain. Now, a new study from Lund University in Sweden finds   
   that unhealthy intestinal flora can accelerate the development of   
   Alzheimer’s disease.    
      
   The report, published Feb. 8 in the journal Scientific Reports, demonstrates   
   that mice with Alzheimer’s have a different gut bacterial profile than those   
   that do not have the disease.   
      
   The gut microbiome is highly responsive to dietary and lifestyle factors. This   
   suggests that a gut-healthy diet may play a powerful role in preventing one of   
   the most feared diseases in America.     
      
   “Alzheimer’s is a preventable disease and in the near future we will   
   likely be able to give advice on what to eat to prevent it,” study author   
   Dr. Frida Fak Hållenius, associate professor at the university’s Food for   
   Health Science Centre, told    
   The Huffington Post. “Take care of your gut bacteria, by eating lots of   
   whole-grains, fruits and vegetables.”    
      
   In the new study, Hållenius and her colleagues revealed a direct causal   
   association between gut bacteria and signs of Alzheimer’s in mice. When a   
   group of bacteria-free mice were colonized with the bacteria of rodents with   
   Alzheimer’s, they    
   developed brain plaques indicative of Alzheimer’s. When the bacteria-free   
   mice were colonized with the bacteria of the healthy rodents, however, they   
   developed significantly fewer brain plaques.    
      
   Beta-amyloid plaques between nerve cells in the brain are a central marker of   
   the disease. These sticky protein clumps accumulate between the brain’s   
   neurons, disrupting signals and contributing to the gradual killing off of   
   nerve cells.     
      
   “We don’t yet know how bacteria can affect brain pathology, we are   
   currently investigating this,” Hållenius said. “We think that bacteria   
   may affect regulatory T-cells in the gut, which can control inflammatory   
   processes both locally in the gut    
   and systemically ― including the brain.”    
      
   The contributions of microbes to multiple aspects of human physiology and   
   neurobiology in health and disease have up until now not been fully   
   appreciated.   
   The gut microbiome is intimately connected with the immune system, since many   
   of the body’s immune cells are found in this area of the stomach, Hållenius   
   added.   
      
   Anything that happens in the digestive tract can affect the immune system, she   
   explained. “By changing the gut microbiota composition, you affect the   
   immune system of the host to a large extent.”   
      
   The findings suggest that Alzheimer’s may be more more preventable than   
   health experts previously thought. The composition of bacteria in the gut is   
   determined by a mix of genetics and lifestyle factors. Diet, exercise, stress   
   and toxin exposure all    
   play a huge role in the gut’s bacterial makeup.    
      
   Now, the researchers can begin investigating ways to prevent the disease and   
   delay its onset by targeting gut bacteria early on. And in the meantime,   
   anyone can adopt a plant-based, whole foods diet and probiotic supplementation   
   as a way to improve the    
   health of their microbiome.    
      
   “The diet shapes the microbial community in the gut to a large extent, so   
   dietary strategies will be important in prevention of Alzheimer’s,”   
   Hållenius said. “We are currently working on food design that will modulate   
   the gut microbiota towards    
   a healthier state.”   
      
   The study is far from the first to show a connection between gut bacteria and   
   Alzheimer’s. In a 2014 paper published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular   
   Neuroscience, researchers listed 10 different ways that the microbiome may   
   contribute to the    
   development of Alzheimer’s disease, including fungal and bacterial   
   infections in the intestinal tract and increased permeability of the   
   blood-brain barrier.    
      
   “The contributions of microbes to multiple aspects of human physiology and   
   neurobiology in health and disease have up until now not been fully   
   appreciated,” that study’s authors wrote.   
      
      
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gut-bacteria-alzheimers_us_5   
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