High-fat diets ‘can slow down brain ageing’

Signs of brain ageing could potentially be postponed by switching to a high-fat diet, according to a new study.

Carried out by the University of Copenhagen and Denmark's National Institute of Health, the research examined the effects of diet on mice affected by Cockayne syndrome, a condition associated with premature ageing.

It was found that a high-fat diet was able to postpone effects of the ageing processes such as impaired hearing and weight loss.

The scientists surmised that since ageing is a result of a constantly active cell repair mechanism, a diet with a high content of coconut oil or similar fats will have a beneficial effect, since brain cells are given extra fuel and thus the strength to repair damage.

Professor Vilhelm Bohr from the Centre for Healthy Ageing at the University of Copenhagen said: "A diet high in fat also seems to postpone the ageing of the brain. The findings therefore potentially imply that patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease in the long term may benefit from the new knowledge."

This could be an important finding given the ageing nature of the UK population, which means that dementia is becoming more common than ever before.