Animal fats increase risk of Alzheimer's disease
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A fresh study conducted at the University of Kuopio shows a connection between a substantial consumption of animal fat and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. From saturated or so-called hard fat, deposits of beta-amyloid protein will accumulate in the brain. This protein causes nerve cells of the brain to die, thus bringing on the disease. According to docent Miia Kivipelto, the intake of hard fat, for example from butter and milk, should be cut down in middle age at the latest. Kivipelto urges people to replace butter with light margarines and to introduce olive and rape-seed oils to their diets. Fish is also recommended as part of the diet. In the study, which is an offshoot of the North Karelia Project, the nutritional habits of about 1,500 residents of Northern Savo and Northern Karelia were followed for a couple of decades. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. In Finland there are an estimated 70,000 Alzheimer's patients.

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