Can you even think about a world where you could know more about your risk of Alzheimer’s disease by consuming peanut butter? It may sound unbelievable, but a group of researchers from the University of Florida believe that there is a connection between this disease and peanut butter. In particular, they are speaking about the smell of this delicious paste. According to the Mayo Clinic, one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease is not cognitive decline but the sense of smell. Before Alzheimer’s patients encounter memory loss, they will endure the loss of this smell. Thanks to this correlation, the peanut butter test for Alzheimer’s disease was created.
Can Smelling Peanut Butter Detect Alzheimer’s?
The peanut butter–Alzheimer’s relationship was discovered through an experiment. Ninety people were gathered, some in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia, while other participants had no cognitive or neurological problems. All of them participated in what was later called a ‘’smell test.’’ All they had to do was smell a teaspoon of peanut butter from a short distance.
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The results showed that those people who had already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease had trouble smelling the peanut butter. What’s even more surprising is that it was even more difficult for them to detect it through their left nostril compared to the right one. The difference in the strength of smell between nostrils is unique for Alzheimer’s disease.
Is This Test Accepted by Experts?
For now, no, it is not widely accepted. It is not something you can use to determine the risk of this disease by yourself. There are even some scientists that entirely negate the findings of the experiment mentioned above. According to them, the study had too few participants. Like we said, less than 100 people participated. The sample size is considered too small to be widely accepted in scientific circles.
What’s even more against this test is that the same researchers from the University of Florida stated that various other traumas, not related to Alzheimer’s, could affect our sense of smell. The best example of this is that someone who had a severe sinus infection at any given moment during their lives could have their olfactory abilities reduced. Because of this, the test we talked about above can’t be precise enough. So in a manner of speaking, sense of smell and Alzheimer’s are connected, but one doesn’t always relate to the other.
What Are the Signs of Alzheimer’s We Know for Certain?
While scientists work on making better use of peanut butter in detecting Alzheimer’s in the early stages, there are symptoms that point to this disease more accurately. The best known are memory loss, especially regarding things we recently learned, and the loss of the ability to make a clear judgment. Some of the other signs that can show us Alzheimer’s disease include the inability to find objects that we use every day, issues with determining places and time, difficulty completing familiar tasks, reduction in our vocabulary, and problems with remembering words.
The signs that will be easiest to notice by family and friends include a change in personality and withdrawal from social activities. It is essential for your loved one not to rush to a conclusion that one has Alzheimer’s or dementia. There are symptoms that are tied to aging. So if your senior forgets a word or has issues with the recollection of one particular event, it might be that they just forgot—and not a sign of cognitive decline. The issue with family members is that they always think the worst. Sometimes it’s just plain life.
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