The type of carbs that protect against dementia (and the ones that don't)
It's not just about how many carbs you eat, but which ones. A large prospective study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology followed more than 200,000 adults in the UK for over 13 years and found that diets centered on low-glycemic foods (fruit, legumes, whole grains) were associated with a 16% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, while higher glycemic diets were linked to a 14% increase in risk. The glycemic index measures how quickly carbohydrate-containing foods raise blood glucose levels after eating, with foods like white bread and potatoes scoring high, while whole grains and most fruits score lower. This finding shouldn't surprise us. Highly processed foods disrupt the gut microbiome, and there's a strong connection between the gut and the brain. They also create blood sugar spikes and crashes, and we now know that Alzheimer's disease involves disrupted glucose metabolism in the brain. The quality of your carbohydrates matters just as much as, if not more than, the quantity. This is yet another compelling reason to choose whole, minimally processed foods over their refined counterparts.