As a retailer of gluten free foods, I am constantly scouring the internet for food related news and research to keep my customers informed. I ran across this piece that is, on the surface, unrelated to dietary restrictions due to intolerances, but is actually a wonderful by-product of leading a gluten free lifestyle.  Hey, good news for a change!

A new study out of Columbia University reports that a diet that is heavy on tomatoes, nuts, fish, salad dressing, cruciferous vegetables (see definition of these on Wikipedia), dark & leafy vegetables, fruits and poultry may actually reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by almost 40 percent.  The study followed a little over 2,000 adults over age 65, without dementia, and assessed their diets every 18 months for four years. During this time frame, 253 of them developed Alzheimer’s disease.

For those of you out there that like “scientific jargon”, the actual quote from these researchers in the publication, Archives of Neurology, was “For example, vitamin B12 and folate are homocysteine-related vitamins that may have an impact on Alzheimer's disease via their ability of reducing circulating homocysteine levels, vitamin E might prevent Alzheimer's disease via its strong antioxidant effect and fatty acids may be related to dementia and cognitive function through atherosclerosis, thrombosis or inflammation via an effect on brain development and membrane functioning or via accumulation of beta-amyloid.”

For the rest of us, we can take potential solace in knowing that a diet free from gluten or wheat products can still be good for you. Always try to find that Silver lining!