Study Ties Less Sugar in First 1,000 Days to 46% Lower Alzheimer's Risk

3 articles · Updated · Medical News Today · Aug 4

Adults exposed to sugar restriction in their first 1,000 days had a 46% lower Alzheimer’s risk and a 27% lower risk of all-cause dementia in a new study using U.K. rationing data.
The analysis treated the 1953 end of British sugar rationing as a natural experiment, comparing people conceived or born during rationing with those born after sugar became more available.
Researchers also found 11% lower depression risk, 20% lower anxiety risk, and brains appearing 0.39 years younger on average, with larger hippocampal volumes offering a possible biological explanation.
Outside experts said the design reduces some nutrition-study bias but cautioned the Alzheimer’s estimate rests on relatively few cases and participants have not yet reached the ages when the disease is most common.
The findings strengthen advice to limit added sugar in pregnancy and infancy, while leaving open whether cutting sugar in adulthood can similarly reduce dementia risk.