Paste for the brain
Mediterranean diet improves brain function in old age, scientists say
The Mediterranean diet and its individual components were associated with an increased likelihood of maintaining mental clarity in old age and avoiding the development of senile dementia or neurodegenerative diseases, scientists write in an article published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (McEvoy et al., Neuroprotective Diets Are Associated with Better Cognitive Function: The Health and Retirement Study).
In recent years, doctors have discovered several positive qualities of the Mediterranean diet at once, which may explain why residents of some regions of Italy and other countries of southern Europe are record holders in life expectancy.
For example, two years ago, scientists found out that eating a large amount of fruits, vegetables, olive oil and other components of Mediterranean cuisine significantly reduces the likelihood of developing uterine and breast cancer in women, and a year ago – that such a diet significantly reduces the likelihood of heart attack and obesity.
Clare McEvoy from the University of California at San Francisco (USA) and her colleagues have revealed another positive quality of the Mediterranean diet by observing how it affects brain function in people aged 60 years and older.
According to scientists, a large amount of antioxidants and other substances that can potentially improve the functioning of nerve cells, forced them to pay attention to the fact that they and the appropriate food could affect the brain and the likelihood of developing neurodegenerative diseases. To test this idea, McEvoy and her colleagues analyzed data collected by US medical services as part of the HRS project, which involved over 30,000 elderly Americans.
Some participants in these observations not only told scientists about their health and passed memory and intelligence tests, but also told how they ate and how their diet changed over time. This allowed scientists to trace how the Mediterranean diet and its traditional foods affected brain function and the ability to think.
Observations have shown that the Mediterranean diet really has a lot of advantages – older Americans who adhere to it were much less likely to suffer from diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and other health problems that can affect intelligence.
Thus, they were 15-35% less likely to develop senile dementia than the rest of the HRS participants. Interestingly, the chances were lowest for those who followed an almost perfect diet, and higher for those who included only some dishes and products of Mediterranean cuisine in the diet.
So far, scientists do not recommend switching to the Mediterranean diet en masse in order to save your brain in old age. According to them, to confirm the findings, larger-scale observations are needed, which will show that the revealed pattern was not accidental.
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26.07.2017