Consulting the nutritional information on the peelable labels of various food products could aid some people in preventing Alzheimer's disease, if new research is anything to go by.

A study conducted in the US and published in the Archives of Neurology journal indicates that following a diet low in saturated fat could lower the risk of developing the condition.

Jennifer Bayer-Carter of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle led the research, which saw experts conduct memory tests on and measure biomarkers in healthy people and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Both groups were found to perform better on memory tests while following a low-fat diet compared with those on an unhealthier eating regime consisting of foods high in saturated fat and simple carbohydrates.

The latter diet "moved CSF [cerebrospinal fluid] biomarkers in a direction that may characterise a pre-symptomatic stage of Alzheimer's disease", according to the authors of the report.

Those looking to minimise their risk of Alzheimer's disease should consider giving up smoking, keeping a healthy weight and taking exercise, according to the Alzheimer's Society.

Denny Bros Ltd, 15 June 2011