It’s just a coincidence that two research studies that show the significant impact of diet on expensive chronic diseases showed up this morning. Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease are so common and so expensive that they have Macroeconomic impact.
Mediterranean diet offsets genetic risk for dementia, study finds
Greatest benefit for those with highest predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease
Mass General Brigham Communications, August 25, 2025
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03891-5
…
People who carry one copy of the APOE4 variant have a three- to fourfold higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s. People with two copies of the APOE4 variant have a 12-fold higher risk of Alzheimer’s than those without.
To explore how the Mediterranean diet may reduce dementia risk and influence blood metabolites linked to cognitive health, the team analyzed data from 4,215 women in the Nurses’ Health Study, following participants from 1989 to 2023 (average age 57 at baseline)…
They found that the people following a more Mediterranean-style diet had a lower risk of developing dementia and showed slower cognitive decline. The protective effect of the diet was strongest in the high-risk group with two copies of the APOE4 gene variant, suggesting that diet may help offset genetic risk….
Furthermore, we found that 39.5% of the association between MedDiet adherence and dementia risk was mediated by a set of metabolites among APOE4 carriers (P = 0.05), whereas no mediation effect was observed among noncarriers or in the full dataset… [end quote]
Approximately 20-25% of Americans carry at least one copy of the APOE4 gene, while about 2-3% carry two copies. More than 50% of Alzheimer’s patients have ApoE4. An estimated 164 million people globally carry two copies of APOE4.
One copy of APOE4 doubles the risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared to individuals without the gene. Two copies of APOE4 increases the risk by 8 to 12 times.
Previous research showed that the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease in double APOE4 people who exercise daily is the same as people without the APOE4 gene.
The other chronic disease is diabetes.
Low-calorie Mediterranean diet and exercise may help lower diabetes risk
About one in every nine adults around the world lives with diabetes, with 90% of them having type 2 diabetes.
A new study has found that a combination of following a calorie-restricted Mediterranean-style diet, plus moderate exercise and following a weight-loss program, is a more effective way to lower type 2 diabetes risk compared to only following the Mediterranean diet.
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The economic burden and suffering caused by Alzheimer’s Disease and diabetes is immense.
Many METARs own pharmaceutical company stocks. The research to reduce the burden of these chronic diseases by drug treatments has been going on for decades.
The research to prove that lifestyle changes can reduce the risk at no cost has also been going on for decades. The proof is in hand now.
The problem is convincing people to modify their lifestyles.
Wendy
