We’re all used to seeing sumptuous AI-enhanced and generated food images floating around the Internet. But what about an AI-generated Diet aimed at fighting Alzheimers? Because AI knows all, sees all, 24/7/365…
Sounds simple. But it’s more than just turning a big, wide-awake, unblinking eye on a clinical population’s diet and nutrition habits 24/7/365…
What they did…
Alzheimer’s remains a relatively low-profile disease. But it’s numbers and effects, likewise remain shocking and devastating. And because it’s progressive and incurable, it remains one of the most terrifying scourges of our time.
More than 10 million cases of dementia are diagnosed each year, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). That’s a new case roughly every 3.2 seconds. And we’re apparently not making too much headway against it.
Worth a try…
ADI estimates that the global cost of dementia will rise to (US)$2.8 trillion by 2030, a number that includes the cost of informal care by family and friends as well as direct medical costs. In the face of this daunting trajectory, one new study offers a glimmer of hope by suggesting that following an AI-designed diet may significantly lower one’s risk of developing dementia.
Researchers from Shanghai, China, explain, there has been work done in this field [though], “existing observational studies are often hampered by relatively small sample sizes, short-term follow-up, or both, especially considering the long preclinical phase of dementia.” Which basically means that it takes so long for Azheimers’ Symptoms to show up in many patients, that the damage has already been done by the time they do.
To fill these research gaps, the scientists used data from the UK Biobank, which collected 24-hour dietary information from 185,012 participants and followed up with them after an average of 10 years to review who developed any type of dementia.
What they sought…
According to the preamble of to the new study’ official report, the team undertook a, “food-wide association analysis and identified food groups associated with incident dementia,” out of this massive cohort. Based on this data, the researchers, “ranked the importance of food groups in predicting dementia risk with a machine-learning approach, and derived a new dietary pattern for dementia prevention.”
Something no regular human group could never have accomplished in a month of Sundays…
Finally, they compared the magnitude of this new dietary pattern’s association with dementia to that of the MIND diet, a well-known eating regime that was developed in 2015 to promote healthy brain aging. In short, they investigated which one was likely more effective to prevent dementia.
What they found…
Results revealed that a number of foods we already know to be nutritious are also linked to reduced risk of dementia. Chief among these ingredients are leafy greens, citrus, and berries. Consuming grapefruit was found to be associated with a lower risk of dementia compared to not eating grape-fruit at all, and similar results were revealed for sweet peppers and tomatoes. Moderate intake of potatoes, eggs, olive oil, and poultry was recommended as well, with the study providing guidelines for how much of each one a client should eat per day.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the machine-learning model and researchers found that some foods could increase the risk of dementia – notably sweetened beverages.
Following the revelation of connections between some foods and risk of dementia, the study created a suggested dietary pattern consisting of seven components, dubbed the, “Machine learning-assisted Optimizing Dietary intERvention against demeNtia risk,” or MODERN diet, built around three factors: adequacy, moderation, and restriction.
My take
Let’s get the new, MODERN anti-Azheimer’s, anti-dementia dining model out there and see what kind of a dent it can make against the advance of the mind-stealing affictions it’s supposed to fight. Even it’s a small one, it’s a start. And but it’ll be more than we had to work with before the Shanghai team made the mindful decision to turn the power of AI on the problem.
I have a hunch this kind of problem may turn out to be one of the most valuable applications we can give AI to work on…
~ Maggie J.