Recent headlines talk about Dr. Dean Ornish’s study, which suggests that a whole-food, plant-based diet might help treat Alzheimer’s dementia. This idea sounds hopeful since current treatments have limited efficacy. But how solid is the science behind this claim? In this video, we take a closer look at the Ornish study, checking its methods, results, and limits to see what it really tells us about using a comprehensive lifestyle approach and a plant-based diet for Alzheimer’s.
Watch to learn more about the evidence (or lack of it) supporting a vegan diet for Alzheimer’s and to find out how to understand scientific studies better.
Studies Mentioned
Effects of intensive lifestyle changes on the progression of mild cognitive impairment or early dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease: a randomized, controlled clinical trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33622392/
Randomized crossover trial of a modified ketogenic diet in Alzheimer's disease https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11157928/
A really interesting paper analysis video. Basically, we don't have the right research to say Vegan is the best diet for Alzheimers, and feedback is given on how we could structure a study to give us more direct data.
TLDR - A whole life multi-modal intervention including group therapy, exercise, and a vegan diet has a improvement for treatment of Alzheimers...
But the study was structured in a way such that we cannot say the vegan diet is the best diet for this treatment.
Anything to keep denying the benefits of a whole foods plant-based diet despite the evidence.
It's not a criticism of the vegan diet, it's a review of the paper. Changing multiple variables at once and getting a good outcome means that you can't point to a single variable and claim it was the reason.
There are multiple studies that show that the whole foods plant-based diet improves cognitive health for older individuals.
Sure! But this was a paper review of one study.