HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Researchers have found that regular consumption of laxatives may increase the risk of dementia.
Studies have shown that laxatives can influence the composition of micro-organisms in the gut and induce long term changes in the immune response.
Scientists believe these changes may increase the production of toxins linked to inflammation, neural damage and a biomarker for dementia.
“So there’s this idea of a gut brain access and it’s a bi-directional communication system between the nervous and enteric systems. And in order for your cognitive function to be working correctly that access needs to be in proper balance. So the idea, or the theory is that the laxatives can be altering the gut microbiome to the point where it has an effect on this gut-brain access and there by possibly leading to dementia,” said Gastroenterologist Dr. Ari Lamet.
He said this study found the risk was greater among people who had higher laxative use.
Lamet said further investigation of how laxatives and other agents that disrupt the microbiome may affect dementia could lead to improved treatment and prevention strategies.
And there’s news that Keto diets may be doubling a person’s risk of heart problems.
That’s according to new study by researchers in the U.K.
Scientists compared the diets of several hundred people on the Keto diet to about 12-hundred people on a regular diet.
They found that low-carb high fat-diets are linked to higher levels of bad cholesterol which increases a person’s risk of heart problems like blocked arteries, strokes and heart attacks.
Researchers said they cannot prove the diet directly caused the increase, only that there’s a correlation.