Why the Mediterranean diet protects the brain from signs of Alzheimer's disease: study

nutrition

by Brooke Steinberg

The Mediterranean Diet continues to prove why it has been named the #1 Best Overall Diet by U.S. News & World Report seven years in a row.

A new study published in JAMA Neurology found that following a Mediterranean diet can help keep your mind sharp in old age, even if your brain shows signs of Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers at Rush University in Chicago found that people who followed this diet had higher scores on cognitive tests, despite the presence of markers of dementia in their postmortem brains.

The Mediterranean diet is derived from the traditional diets of 21 Mediterranean countries rich in fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, and olives. This includes eating plant-based foods, grains, and lean poultry along with a healthy amount of extra virgin olive oil.

Medical diets do not focus on specific nutrients or food groups, but instead focus on quality and the importance of including a wide range of foods on your plate, such as fruits, vegetables, seafood, olive oil, and whole grains. It emphasizes gender.

Researchers used data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a study that used autopsy data from up to 24 years of follow-up from 1997 to 2022, to examine 586 participants who died at an average age of 91 years. analyzed.

Participants self-reported lifestyle factors into the project, including smoking, alcohol intake, exercise frequency, Mediterranean diet, and cognitive activity scores.

Healthy lifestyle scores were ranked from 1 to 5 based on these factors, with higher scores indicating a healthier lifestyle and better cognitive function closer to death.

These scores were compared to cognitive function scores from tests taken within 1 year of the participant's death.

After death, the brains were removed from the subjects' bodies and the researchers looked for signs of amyloid beta and tau tangles, two of the main signs of Alzheimer's disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dementia is not a specific disease, but rather a term that refers to impairments in memory, thinking, and decision-making abilities that interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's disease is the most common dementia.

Even if participants' brains showed signs of Alzheimer's disease, a healthy lifestyle appeared to provide some protection against cognitive decline, the study showed.

Because this diet is balanced, you feel full longer and are less likely to munch on junk food or snacks, which is thought to be effective against cognitive decline.

An October 2023 study found that a Mediterranean diet may help reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder through the gut microbiome.

Other recent studies have shown that people who follow a diet may have a 29% lower chance of premature death, and women alone have nearly 25% lower odds of heart disease and early death.

Previous research from Harvard University states that the Mediterranean diet is one of four common healthy eating patterns that can help reduce the risk of premature death by up to 20%.