5 ms·

There is no known link between how much you eat and Alzheimers, substance abuse, etc. If it was as simple as eating less makes these issues go away, we would've

There is no known link between how much you eat and Alzheimers, substance abuse, etc. If it was as simple as eating less makes these issues go away, we would've figured that out a long long time ago.

dmicah 2y ago
There have previously been associations between caloric intake and Alzheimer Disease or Cognitive Aging, for example: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/782575 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/7... https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0808587106 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0808587106
- Etheryte 2y ago
  I think it's a fair bit of a stretch to broadly say that this study shows an association. > Conclusion: Higher intake of calories and fats may be associated with higher risk of [Alzheimer Disease] in individuals carrying the apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele. > The hazard ratios of [Alzheimer Disease] for the highest quartiles of calorie and fat intake compared with the lowest quartiles in individuals without the apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele were close to 1 and were not statistically significant. For the general population, there was no correlation. Identifying specific genetic outliers where there may be a connection is still useful, but far from a general result.
arijo 2y ago
Alzheimer's is now being referred as type 3 diabetes for a reason. Human metabolism is sensitive to the type of food you eat. Check https://www.metabolicmind.org/ https://www.metabolicmind.org/ as a starting point and follow the rabbit hole to understand the link between what you eat and mental and metabolic illness. Also, GLP-1 also eliminates muscle - your heart is a muscle.
- phil21 2y ago
  GLP-1 reduces calorie intake and puts many people on a deficit (typically on purpose). This of course will reduce muscle just like any other calorie deficit anyone runs long term.
  - johnyzee 2y ago
    Fasting increases growth hormone release (dramatically, in the case of extended fasting), which counters muscle loss. Does this happen with GLP-1?
    - phil21 2y ago
      This goes against all evidence I have seen for folks who have lost a drastic amount of weight very rapidly. Bodybuilders seem to see the same effect as well when on cuts. When you are losing 5% of your bodyweight per month (as I was, and many do) a substantial portion of that is simply going to be mean muscle mass. You can counteract some, but not all, of this by heavy resistance training. It's very difficult to not lose muscle mass while losing weight - it takes extreme measures for most folks (e.g. athletes) to do so.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- cyberax 2y ago
  > Alzheimer's is now being referred as type 3 diabetes for a reason. No it's not.
  - ZYbCRq22HbJ2y7 2y ago
    Some are referring to it that way https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2769828/#:~:text=We%20conclude%20that%20the%20term,1%20diabetes%20mellitus%20and%20T2DM https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2769828/#:~:text=We....
- Etheryte 2y ago
  What you eat is a very different concept to the amount you eat. Especially on topics like these, the distinction is critical.
bb88 2y ago
Exactly. There are lots of skinny alcoholics and drug addicts. Unfortunately many of them are homeless. The real surprise I learned is that GLP-1 may discourage other addictions as well, including gambling. Source: A nurse I talked to who works with GLP-1 trials.
phil21 2y ago
As others have already stated, it’s starting to become mainstream science that there is a strong correlation between obesity/poor body composition and Alzheimers. It’s not settled science yet, but the correlation is starting to look a whole lot like causation at a society level.
- eli_gottlieb 2y ago
  Not to cite anecdotal evidence, but my father-in-law was skinny as a rail and got severe, early-onset Alzheimer's. Obesity might be one potential cause of Alzheimer's, but it's among many.
  - phil21 2y ago
    Yep, just like there are skinny as rails type 2 diabetics. My grandfather was one. There is also a huge correlation between obesity and type 2 diabetes as well. I imagine they share similarities, but that’s pure speculation.
ugh123 2y ago
>If it was as simple as eating less makes these issues go away, we would've figured that out a long long time ago. You can't get people in large enough quantities to do that reliably and for long enough as part of a study. Best you can do is a small quantity of lab rats. The data is already rolling in as part of prescribed out-patient data.

There is no known link between how much you eat and Alzheimers, substance abuse, etc. If it was as simple as eating less makes these issues go away, we would've figured that out a long long time ago.

dmicah 2y ago

There have previously been associations between caloric intake and Alzheimer Disease or Cognitive Aging, for example: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/782575 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/7... https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0808587106 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0808587106

Etheryte 2y ago
I think it's a fair bit of a stretch to broadly say that this study shows an association. > Conclusion: Higher intake of calories and fats may be associated with higher risk of [Alzheimer Disease] in individuals carrying the apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele. > The hazard ratios of [Alzheimer Disease] for the highest quartiles of calorie and fat intake compared with the lowest quartiles in individuals without the apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele were close to 1 and were not statistically significant. For the general population, there was no correlation. Identifying specific genetic outliers where there may be a connection is still useful, but far from a general result.

arijo 2y ago

Alzheimer's is now being referred as type 3 diabetes for a reason. Human metabolism is sensitive to the type of food you eat. Check https://www.metabolicmind.org/ https://www.metabolicmind.org/ as a starting point and follow the rabbit hole to understand the link between what you eat and mental and metabolic illness. Also, GLP-1 also eliminates muscle - your heart is a muscle.

phil21 2y ago
GLP-1 reduces calorie intake and puts many people on a deficit (typically on purpose). This of course will reduce muscle just like any other calorie deficit anyone runs long term.
- johnyzee 2y ago
  Fasting increases growth hormone release (dramatically, in the case of extended fasting), which counters muscle loss. Does this happen with GLP-1?
  - phil21 2y ago
    This goes against all evidence I have seen for folks who have lost a drastic amount of weight very rapidly. Bodybuilders seem to see the same effect as well when on cuts. When you are losing 5% of your bodyweight per month (as I was, and many do) a substantial portion of that is simply going to be mean muscle mass. You can counteract some, but not all, of this by heavy resistance training. It's very difficult to not lose muscle mass while losing weight - it takes extreme measures for most folks (e.g. athletes) to do so.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
cyberax 2y ago
> Alzheimer's is now being referred as type 3 diabetes for a reason. No it's not.
- ZYbCRq22HbJ2y7 2y ago
  Some are referring to it that way https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2769828/#:~:text=We%20conclude%20that%20the%20term,1%20diabetes%20mellitus%20and%20T2DM https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2769828/#:~:text=We....
Etheryte 2y ago
What you eat is a very different concept to the amount you eat. Especially on topics like these, the distinction is critical.

bb88 2y ago

Exactly. There are lots of skinny alcoholics and drug addicts. Unfortunately many of them are homeless. The real surprise I learned is that GLP-1 may discourage other addictions as well, including gambling. Source: A nurse I talked to who works with GLP-1 trials.

phil21 2y ago

As others have already stated, it’s starting to become mainstream science that there is a strong correlation between obesity/poor body composition and Alzheimers. It’s not settled science yet, but the correlation is starting to look a whole lot like causation at a society level.

eli_gottlieb 2y ago
Not to cite anecdotal evidence, but my father-in-law was skinny as a rail and got severe, early-onset Alzheimer's. Obesity might be one potential cause of Alzheimer's, but it's among many.
- phil21 2y ago
  Yep, just like there are skinny as rails type 2 diabetics. My grandfather was one. There is also a huge correlation between obesity and type 2 diabetes as well. I imagine they share similarities, but that’s pure speculation.

ugh123 2y ago

>If it was as simple as eating less makes these issues go away, we would've figured that out a long long time ago. You can't get people in large enough quantities to do that reliably and for long enough as part of a study. Best you can do is a small quantity of lab rats. The data is already rolling in as part of prescribed out-patient data.