Mediterranean Diet Lowers Dementia Risk
Researchers examined data from the UK Biobank, an ongoing prospective cohort study with health data from over half a million adults, ages 40-60, between 2006 and 2010. They limited the data to 60,298 participants who were over the age of 60 and identified as white British or Irish citizens.
A diet questionnaire that collects information on 206 types of food and 32 types of drinks was completed 5 times per participant between April 2009 and June 2012. Researchers scored the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) using 2 different scoring instruments. They assessed dementia risk using hospital records and death registries.
Participants with the highest MedDiet adherence had a 23% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those participants with the lowest MedDiet adherence.
Another study examined data from 581 participants, average age of 84 years at the time of the diet assessment, who agreed to donate their brains upon death to study Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk. Researchers assessed the amount of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, which are known to be increased in patients with AD.
They looked at the MedDiet and consumption of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, olive oil, fish, and potatoes. These participants lost points if they consumed red meat, poultry, or full-fat dairy. They also looked at the MIND Diet and the consumption of green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil, and wine. They lost points if they consumed red meat, butter and margarine, cheese, sweets and pastries, fried foods, and fast foods. They divided the participants into 3 groups and compared the highest and lowest adherence to either the MedDiet or the MIND Diet.
After adjusting for age at death, gender, education, calorie intake, and AD gene risk, they found:
People in the top 1/3 of consumption of the MedDiet had average brain plaque and tangle amounts, similar to being 18 years younger than the 1/3 who had the lowest adherence to the MedDiet;
People in the top 1/3 of consumption of the MIND Diet had average brain plaque and tangle amounts, similar to being 12 years younger than the 1/3 who had the lowest adherence to the MIND Diet; and
People who at the most green leafy vegetables, seven or more servings a week, had brain plaque amounts similar to being 19 years younger than those who ate the fewest leafy green vegetables.
Takeaway: Foods that are likely to lower your risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease include: green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, fish, and olive oil.
Sources
Oliver M. Shannon, et al., Mediterranean Diet Adherence is Associated with Lower Dementia Risk, Independent of Genetic Disposition: Findings from the UK Biobank Prospective Cohort Study, BMC Medicine, Mar 14, 2023, Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic predisposition: findings from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study | BMC Medicine | Full Text (biomedcentral.com).
Natalie Conrad, MIND and Mediterranean Diets Associated with Fewer Alzheimer's Plaques and Tangles, NeurscienceNews, Mar 8, 2023, MIND and Mediterranean Diets Associated With Fewer Alzheimer’s Plaques and Tangles - Neuroscience News.
