A new nutritional cocktail is showing some real promise in the fight against Alzheimer’s.

But don’t drink this Kool-Aid just yet… and I’ll tell you why in a moment.

First, the good news: A nutritional blend called Souvenaid made by the French company Danone (as in Dannon yogurt) appears to help improve some brain function in Alzheimer’s patients, according to a small study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

The researchers say the patients who drank Souvenaid had better verbal recall than those on the placebo. In other words, they were able to better remember what they had been told earlier. They did not, however, show improvement in other cognitive areas.

The drink is a patented blend of uridine, choline and DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid). These aren’t drugs, but nutrients already found in a healthy human body (although the company says the drink should be taken under the guidance of a physician).

On the surface, the research is promising. But don’t put your hopes in Souvenaid just yet–because there are some real problems with this study.

First, it was a small, short study. Researchers tracked 225 patients with mild Alzheimer’s for just 12 weeks. For a progressive disease like Alzheimer’s, 12 weeks is almost no time at all.

Second, the study was funded by Danone, and carried out by researchers with ties to the company. The authors even hold the patent on the drink’s nutritional blend.

Does it mean the research is bad? Not necessarily. But it also means that, on its own, the study is essentially worthless. There are enough questions and conflicts here that we need to see more research on this–real, impartial research over a longer period of time.

If Souvenaid really works as well as the company believes, they should have nothing to be afraid of, right?

Whether it gets that extra research or not, the company thinks it’ll be on the market here next year. Since it’s not a drug, it won’t need the usual FDA approval–but you can bet they’ll be watching every letter of the wording used to market this drink.

Then, get set for a real heavyweight fight–Big Pharma vs. Big Food. The pharmaceutical suits won’t be very happy with the idea of a supplement drink muscling in on their turf.

Stay tuned.