New evidence finds that mind diet can live up to its name even at the beginning of later life.
According to a report at the annual meeting of the American Nutrition Society, among middle-aged and older participants in a large long-term study, it is unlikely that they will develop Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia if they follow a diet filled with green leaves, olive oil, whole grains and many berries.
Researchers from the University of Hawaii Manoa and the University of Southern California found that adhering to a psychological diet, combining the Mediterranean diet with a dash diet that lowers blood pressure, leads to a greater and more consistently lowering the risk of dementia.
Song-Yi Park, the lead author of the study and associate professor at the University of Hawaii, said the new findings suggest that switching to a healthy diet is never too late. “This shows that sticking to a healthy diet and improving the health of that person’s diet over time is very important for older people who want to prevent dementia.”
Although all Mediterranean-related diets seem to be good for the brain, the idea diet pattern is designed specifically for brain health.
"One important difference is that the mind includes berries related to brain health," Parker said.
Thinking about diet or Mediterranean pollution interventions for neurodegenerative delays, scoring individual foods based on their protectiveness and how much they are consumed. For example, berries, especially strawberries and blueberries - if consumed two or more servings per week, you will get 1 point. If only one serving per week is required per week, the score drops to 0.5, and if not, the score is 0.
A person’s personal diet earns an overall score by adding the scores of individual foods. The higher the total score, the better it is for the human brain.
Park and her colleagues turned to data from nearly 93,000 U.S. adults who provided information about them as a research project known as the multiethnic cohort to examine carefully how diet affects the risk of developing dementia.
The multiethnic cohort began in the early 1990s through a joint effort between the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. The men and women who participated in the study came from five ethnic/ethnic populations: Japanese Americans, Native Hawaiians, Black Americans, Latin Americans, and Whites.
First, 215,000 participants were between 45 and 75 years old. When analyzing data from the new study, more than 21,000 participants developed Alzheimer's disease or related dementia.
At the beginning of the study, those who followed compliance scored higher and had a 9% lower risk of developing dementia.
In the new analysis, the reduction in ethnic groups varies. Among participants identified as black, Latino or white, people saw a greater reduction in risk, at 13%.
The risk of dementia was 25% lower than that of participants with decreased adherence and this trend was seen among all ages and racial groups.
According to a 2015 study, some suggestions for achieving the best score for thinking diet:
Parker warns that, like all observational studies, the new study reports an association that does not prove that diet can prevent dementia.
It is a high-quality study, Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, said in an email.
"This adds evidence that Mediterranean-type diets have important benefits for reducing the risk of dementia," said Willett, who was not involved in the study. "The differences between groups defined by racial/ethnicity are likely due to random changes, so it is currently reasonable to assume that this healthy dietary pattern is beneficial to all groups."
When it comes to leafy greens, it is best to eat one variety rather than one type, Willett said.
"In particular, spinach is good in many ways, but the oxalate content is high and the high intake of spinach can cause kidney stones," he said.
In general, the mindful diet fits in the two dietary principles it establishes, said Yian Gu, Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience at the Irving Medical Center at Columbia University. “These diets have unique characteristics,” she said.
The Mediterranean Diet emphasizes the daily consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, beans, olive oil, seafood, as well as nuts and seeds such as Chia, Flax, pumpkin, pumpkin and sesame.
The way to stop hypertension in the dash or diet is to prevent hypertension, so it emphasizes low salt, which is not a major component of the Mediterranean diet.
Gu said the mind diet is easy to follow, encouraging people to choose the green leafy green vegetables they like. It is important to increase the diversity of vegetables.
Another benefit of Mediterranean-type diets, she said, are helpful for other types of chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer.