Thanks for this. I appreciate the recommendations for humility, given the lack of high quality evidence in this space.
Can you provide references for this statement
" And restrict saturated fat, which in E4 carriers is associated with up to a 7-fold increased risk of Alzheimer’s compared to non-carriers eating the least saturated fat."?
Laitinen MH, Ngandu T, Rovio S, et al. "Fat intake at midlife and risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease: a population-based study." Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. 2006;22(1):99-107. doi: 10.1159/000093478
The 7-fold figure is a combined risk comparison. E4 carriers in the highest saturated fat intake group versus non-carriers in the lowest saturated fat group.
Thank you. This is a Swedish observational study from 2006 with small numbers and lots of different subgroup analyses. They only had data from dairy and spreads. Hard to know if these findings are applicable to a current US population which does not get 50% of its fat from dairy and spreads. Also, the finding of significantly higher dementia risk were in the 2nd quartile of saturated fat consumption, Third quartile looks is markedly lower. "A somewhat surprising finding was that moderate SFA
intake (2nd quartile), but not a higher intake (3rd or 4th
quartile), was significantly related with an increased risk
of dementia. Similarly, the protective effect for MUFA and
PUFA intake was more pronounced in the 2nd quartile
than in the two highest quartiles"
Are you aware of more recent or more compelling studies on dementia risk, E4 carrier and dietary fats?
Very helpful guide, Dr. Christin! It’s interesting how often Mediterranean-style eating shows up as the common denominator across different research angles—metabolic health, cognition, longevity.
Really appreciated this balanced overview. The tension between animal studies suggesting lower protein and human observational data suggesting benefits from higher protein is fascinating.
One question that keeps coming to my mind when reading discussions like this is whether the deeper issue might sometimes be transport rather than intake. We tend to focus on how much protein (or any nutrient) is consumed or circulating in the blood. But the physiological question might also be how efficiently amino acids actually reach the cells that need them.
In other words, intake represents potential — but biological function depends on movement through the system.
Perhaps that’s one reason why nutrition debates often look so contradictory: different people may have very different metabolic “throughput,” even when eating similar diets.
Curious to see where this field goes — especially as we learn more about metabolism at the level of tissues and cells rather than just dietary totals.
This was helpful, Dr. Glorioso. I'll be stocking up on fish and plant proteins.
Thanks for this. I appreciate the recommendations for humility, given the lack of high quality evidence in this space.
Can you provide references for this statement
" And restrict saturated fat, which in E4 carriers is associated with up to a 7-fold increased risk of Alzheimer’s compared to non-carriers eating the least saturated fat."?
Laitinen MH, Ngandu T, Rovio S, et al. "Fat intake at midlife and risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease: a population-based study." Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. 2006;22(1):99-107. doi: 10.1159/000093478
The 7-fold figure is a combined risk comparison. E4 carriers in the highest saturated fat intake group versus non-carriers in the lowest saturated fat group.
Thank you. This is a Swedish observational study from 2006 with small numbers and lots of different subgroup analyses. They only had data from dairy and spreads. Hard to know if these findings are applicable to a current US population which does not get 50% of its fat from dairy and spreads. Also, the finding of significantly higher dementia risk were in the 2nd quartile of saturated fat consumption, Third quartile looks is markedly lower. "A somewhat surprising finding was that moderate SFA
intake (2nd quartile), but not a higher intake (3rd or 4th
quartile), was significantly related with an increased risk
of dementia. Similarly, the protective effect for MUFA and
PUFA intake was more pronounced in the 2nd quartile
than in the two highest quartiles"
Are you aware of more recent or more compelling studies on dementia risk, E4 carrier and dietary fats?
Very helpful guide, Dr. Christin! It’s interesting how often Mediterranean-style eating shows up as the common denominator across different research angles—metabolic health, cognition, longevity.
Really appreciated this balanced overview. The tension between animal studies suggesting lower protein and human observational data suggesting benefits from higher protein is fascinating.
One question that keeps coming to my mind when reading discussions like this is whether the deeper issue might sometimes be transport rather than intake. We tend to focus on how much protein (or any nutrient) is consumed or circulating in the blood. But the physiological question might also be how efficiently amino acids actually reach the cells that need them.
In other words, intake represents potential — but biological function depends on movement through the system.
Perhaps that’s one reason why nutrition debates often look so contradictory: different people may have very different metabolic “throughput,” even when eating similar diets.
Curious to see where this field goes — especially as we learn more about metabolism at the level of tissues and cells rather than just dietary totals.
Thank you very much! Your analysis supports my current diet.
Woahh a good read!!