Can cheeseburgers cause Alzheimers?

According to research done at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, it just might.

Swedish research Susanne Akterin found similarities between the chemical makeup in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and rats fed a diet with the nutritional equivalent of burgers and fries. In other words, a diet high in calories, cholesterol, and saturated fat.

One of the new Alzheimer's findings is an excessive build-up of a protein called tau in "Alzheimer's brains." It is one of the few common threads researchers have found. At the same time, they found low amounts of arc - a protein that plays a key role in memory storage.

We've long been aware that fast food isn't good for us. Not only does it give us too much fat and calories, but living on fast food means we aren't eating the fruits and vegetables our bodies need. Until now we thought it was about obesity, heart disease, and high cholesterol.

Now it seems that we need to lay off the junk food to protect our brains!

It doesn't look like we're doing a very good job of it. According to one report I read, McDonald's sales increased 8.2% in November alone. And it's not just Americans who are chowing down on burgers and fries - outlets in Europe, the Asian Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East are all doing quite well.

More research will be done before our public health officials will make any kind of statement about fast food, but Akterin is quoted as saying that it "can be a contributory factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease."

Hmmm... Go eat an apple.