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Todays’ menu:

Research:

1) A link between gut health and Alzheimer’s confirmed!

2) Could deficiencies in older adults lead to confusion?

News: Drive through service time at all time low

🦠 A link between gut health and Alzheimer’s confirmed!

💩 From gut to gut

A potential link between gut health and Alzheimer's disease has been found using mice.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, and one in three people born today are likely to develop it. So, scientists are busy trying to understand what causes Alzheimer's disease, and they are rightly starting to look at the gut.

In this study, scientists transferred gut microbes from human patients with Alzheimer's disease into healthy adult rats (Gross, but with huge implications!).

The rats developed cognitive impairments, including fewer new nerve cells and impaired memory. More importantly, the degree of impairment in the rats was proportional to the severity of Alzheimer's disease in the human subjects.

This basically means that Alzheimer's disease symptoms can be transferred to a healthy species via the gut microbiota, confirming the role of gut health in the disease.

🏠 Take home message

Clearly, the gut microbiome is implicated in Alzheimer's disease, most likely because of its direct exposure to lifestyle and environmental influences.

We don't yet know the exact mechanism by which gut health and Alzheimer's disease are linked. However, this study (and hopefully more to come) can help us understand how to better screen for Alzheimer's disease in time for therapy before the disease becomes too advanced.

Understanding how the gut microbiota responds to lifestyle influences like diet and exercise may just be the key to this!

Watch this space!

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👴🏼 Could deficiencies in older adults lead to confusion?

😕 Just some confusion

Older adults can experience sudden, temporary episodes of confusion called delirium. Delirium is even more common after major surgery or the onset of medical conditions in older age.

Delirium may be a neuro-inflammatory disorder (but scientists are not yet sure). Additionally, deficiencies in certain vitamins are known to cause neural impairments.

Therefore, some scientists have investigated the relationship between specific vitamins (e.g., B12, B1, and vitamin D) and delirium in older adults.

They found a link between a lack of these nutrients and a greater risk of delirium. This may be because such deficiencies can disrupt the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain.

🏠 Take home message

The results are both revealing and vague. Don't rush to Holland and Barrett on payday just yet!

On the one hand, we don't know how or whether a deficiency in B12, B1, or vitamin D leads to delirium, or vice versa.

On the other hand, regular nutritional screening for older adults can help identify those at risk and allow for early intervention through supplementation.

Even if this doesn't prevent delirium, it can at least boost their overall health.

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🍟 Drive through serving time at all time low

🚗 Fast and furious

Fast food chains in the US are competing to reduce wait time at the drive-thru.

This year's winner is Taco Bell, with an average wait time of 4.6 minutes, a decrease of 39 seconds from last year.

Wait time was measured from the time cars pull into the line until they receive their orders.

🏠 Take home message

Nothing. It's just a vanity metric.

Significant investments in serving fast food faster could have been better spent on healthier menu options.

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🏎️ And finally!

I bet this fruit seller would beat the 4.6 seconds serving time achieved by Taco Bell. The only difference is the quality of food!

To your health!

Paolo

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