Mediterranean diets may be good for the brain as well as the heart, research has shown.
New evidence suggests eating the way people do in southern France, Italy, Spain and Greece, can help prevent age-related mental decline. It also appears to reduce the risk of shifting from mild mental impairment to Alzheimer's disease.
The typical Mediterranean diet involves eating a lot of fish, vegetables, fruit, cereal and unsaturated fats such as olive oil, while drinking moderate amounts of alcohol and consuming small quantities of meat and dairy products.
Previous research has linked the diet with healthy hearts and arteries, and living a long life.
Scientists led by Dr Nikolaos Scarmeas from Columbia University Medical Centre in New York looked at the diets of 1,393 healthy individuals and 482 patients with mild cognitive impairment. Participants were examined and asked to answer questions about their food consumption.
High, middle and low scores were given to the volunteers according to the degree to which they followed a Mediterranean diet. Compared with those in the bottom bracket, high scorers were 28% less likely to suffer mild cognitive impairment while middle-range scorers had a 17% reduced risk.
Over a period of four-and-a-half years, 275 of the volunteers who originally had no symptoms of mental decline went on to develop them. Among the 482 who started out with mild cognitive impairment, 106 progressed to Alzheimer's disease.
High consumption of a Mediterranean diet was associated with a 48% reduced risk of making the transition to Alzheimer's for this group. Middle-range consumers were 45% less likely to develop the disease than people with low consumption scores.
Reporting their findings in the journal Archives of Neurology, the scientists wrote: "Among behavioural traits, diet may play an important role in the cause and prevention of Alzheimer's disease."
The Mediterranean diet may exert its beneficial effects by improving cholesterol and blood sugar levels and reducing inflammation, experts believe. Individual food components of the diet may also influence brain health.
Source Google