As Dr. Hutton discussed in his treatment of the medical aspects of dementia there presently is no single known cause or any associations of lifetime events that lead to the specific type of dementia known as Alzheimer’s disease. There are only theories suggesting cause­and-effect relationships, which provide some direction for future research. Since we are what we eat, a legitimate question is, “Does diet alone, in any way, contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease?” The answer to this question is most certainly no. It is possible, however, that some dietary components of food, over which we have no control, may participate in the disease once it has begun.

The most studied dietary component observed to be associated with Alzheimer’s disease is aluminum. It seems clear that aluminum does not cause Alzheimer’s disease. After all, many people use aluminum cook ware, and we store foods in aluminum containers. Aluminum is a major component of numerous antacids and deodorants, and many foods naturally contain aluminum. The mineral is also abundant in the soil, normally nontoxic, and has no known nutrition function. Aluminum accumulates in the brain plaques of Alzheimer patients as the disease progresses. The concentration of two other minerals, silicon and calcium, have also been observed to be concentrated in the brain plaques. Bromine and nickel, two more nonessential dietary components, have been found to be elevated in the blood and spinal fluid of a small sampling of Alzheimer patients. While the source of these minerals is probably dietary, at this time the evidence is insufficient to conclude that common dietary practices contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

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