Research presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society is touting the beneficial effects of natural products like pure maple syrup in the battle against Alzheimer’s disease.
Real maple syrup was included for the first time among the foods that showed promise in protecting brain cells against the kind of damage found in Alzheimer’s disease according to the study presented by Dr. Donald Weaver from the Krembil Research Institute at the University of Toronto.
The research showed pure maple syrup extract helped prevent the misfolding and clumping of certain proteins in the brain. Doctor Weaver said when cellular proteins fold improperly they accumulate and form plaque which can lead to Alzheimer’s.
Separate research out of the University of Rhode Island showed maple syrup helped prevent the tangling of certain proteins in the brain cells of rodents.
"Natural food products such as green tea, red wine, berries, curcumin and pomegranates continue to be studied for their potential benefits in combatting Alzheimer’s disease. And now, in preliminary laboratory-based Alzheimer’s disease studies, phenolic-enriched extracts of maple syrup from Canada showed neuroprotective effects, similar to resveratrol, a compound found in red wine," said Dr. Navindra P. Seeram, University of Rhode Island
Blueberries were also identified as another possible weapon against Alzheimer’s disease at the meeting of the American Chemical Society going on in San Diego.
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