Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1219209
www.AbbysHealthFood.com - Issue 41 | Page 21 disease. Pregnant mice were fed a high-fat diet from the beginning un l the end of gesta on. The moment offspring were born; mothers were switched to a regular diet, which was maintained during the lacta on period. Offspring of these mothers were always kept at the same regular, or standard, diet throughout their life. At 11 months of age, offspring underwent behavioral tests to assess learning ability and memory. "Surprisingly, we found that animals from mothers fed a high-fat diet during gesta on had be er learning and memory skills than their counterparts born to mothers fed a regular diet during gesta on," Dr. Pra cò said. The observed improvements in memory and learning were associated with the maintenance of good synap c integrity. In fact, offspring from mothers exposed to a high-fat diet had significant improvement of synapse func on when compared with offspring from mothers on a regular diet. Synapses, the places where neurons come together to relay informa on, play a vital role in learning and memory forma on. In addi on, compared to animals born to mothers fed a regular diet, offspring from mothers on a high-fat diet had lower levels of amyloid-beta, an abnormal protein that builds up in neurons, contribu ng to nerve cell dysfunc on and eventually significant impairments in memory and learning. When the team searched for possible mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effect, they discovered that offspring from mothers fed a high-fat diet exhibited reduced levels of three important genes involved in Alzheimer's disease: beta-secretase, tau, and the pathological tau-regula ng gene CDK5. Dr. Pra cò's team found that already in the early developmental stages, the three genes were effec vely switched off in offspring because the high-fat diet had increased ac vity of a protein called FOXP2. They demonstrated that the repressive ac vity of FOXP2 on these genes ul mately protected offspring from later declines in brain func on and Alzheimer's disease development. "Our findings suggest that, to be effec ve, Alzheimer's disease preven on probably needs to start very early in life, during gesta on," Dr. Pra cò said. "Diet at this specific life stage can have cri cal, but underes mated, long-term impacts on brain health." Dr. Pra cò and colleagues plan next to compare the effects of a high-fat diet to those of other diets, including diets high in sugar and protein and diets resembling the Mediterranean diet in humans. "We also want to see whether our findings can be replicated in wild-type animals" Dr. Pra cò added. • NON-GMO CHICKEN • • ORGANIC TURKEY • • VEGETARIAN & VEGAN RAW • • WILD CAUGHT SEAFOOD • • Customize Your Meal! • qUINOA bURGER bLACKENED COD HERb GRILLED CHICKEN 14374 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. Tampa, FL 33618 Mikeb@AbbysHealthFood.com (over 30 personalized healthy meals available) Personalized Meals Personalized Meals 813-265-4951