Dementia Prevention by Intake of Fermented Dairy Products

Abstract

　Fermented dairy products are familiar foods that humans have prepared and consumed for millennia. In later years, there have been many reports regarding the physiological functions of lactic acid bacteria and the peptides and fatty acids generated during the fermentation of milk or cheese. Particularly, several recent studies have elucidated the effects of fermented dairy products on cognitive function. Epidemiological and clinical evidence has indicated that fermented dairy products have preventive effects against dementia, and preclinical studies have identified individual molecules generated during fermentation that are responsible for those preventive effects. In this review, the protective effects of fermented dairy products and their components on cognitive function and their prospects for future clinical development will be discussed.