This is my theory, it might be far out and totally wrong but I want to share it anyway.
I believe the reason that way more people get Alzheimer's than in the past is because of what people eat nowdays.
In the past they had a balanced meal, enough vegetables, fruit and then meat. Today however we skip the vegetables and the fruit. We might eat a apple or a pear now and then but what about all the important things with the acids and other nutrition that we need.