The secret to protecting memory may lie in a staple of a bodybuilder’s diet. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center (United States) have shown that a muscle building supplement called beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutiratoalso called HMBcan help protect memory, reduce plaques and ultimately help prevent the progression of the disease Alzheimer.
HMB is not a prescription drug or steroid, but an over-the-counter supplement available at sports and fitness. Bodybuilders commonly use HMB to increase muscle size and strength induced by exercise, while improving your performance. HMB is considered safe even after prolonged use, with no known side effects.
“This may be one of the safest and simplest approaches to stop the progression of the disease and protect the memory of Alzheimer’s patients,” explained Kalipada Pahan, one of those responsible for this research, which has been published in the journal scientific Cell Reports.
Studies in mice with Alzheimer’s disease have shown that HMB successfully reduces plaques and increases neural growth factors to protect learning and memory.
Previous studies indicate that a family of proteins known as neurotrophic factors it is dramatically decreased in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s and has been found to help the survival and function of neurons, which are cells that receive and send messages from the body to the brain and vice versa.