Mediterranean, MIND diets reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms in the brain, study finds
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center Chicago, Illinois, conducted a study, which was published in the journal Neurology.
The researchers analyzed the autopsy results of 581 participants in the Rush Memory and Aging project who provided detailed dietary information at the start of the study. Those who ate a Mediterranean diet — especially green, leafy vegetables — had fewer signs of Alzheimer’s in their brain tissue.
In an email to Fox News Digital, the study’s lead author called the results “encouraging.”
The Mediterranean diet is a plant-based eating plan that mimics the regional cuisine of countries along the Mediterranean Sea, such as Italy and Greece.
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According to the Mayo Clinic website, her staple foods include whole vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. Olive oil is the main source of added fat.
Other foods, including fish, poultry and dairy products, can be included in moderation. The diet limits red meat, sweets, fat and sugary drinks.
The MIND diet—a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH diets—is designed to stimulate eating. brain health in older adults. It was first introduced in 2015 by Dr. Martha Claire Morris and colleagues at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health and Rush University Medical Center.
Additionally, the DASH diet was introduced as a dietary approach by the American Heart Association in 1996. lowering blood pressure. Its main foods are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, beans, nuts and low-fat milk.
Alzheimer’s disease occurs when things called “plaques” and “plaques” build up in the brain.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association website, plaques are “deposits of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid that accumulates in the spaces between nerve cells.”
Tangles are “twisted fibers of another protein called tau that accumulate inside cells.”
MOST PATIENTS DO NOT HAVE THE FIRST DRUG SHOWN TO SLOW ALZHEIMER’S FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.
“There are encouraging results that people who eat a healthy diet have less plaque and less tangles in their brains,” said Dr. Pooja Agarwal, an assistant professor at the Rush Alzheimer’s Center in Chicago and the study’s lead author.
Participants who scored highest for consumption of the Mediterranean diet were almost 40% less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the doctor added.
“These results are encouraging because improving people’s diets in one area—for example, eating more than six servings of green, leafy vegetables a week or not eating fried foods—was associated with a reduction in amyloid plaques in the brain, about four times as much. years younger,” said Dr. Agarwal.
Based on the results of the study, the doctor said that choosing simple foods such as green leafy vegetables, berries, fish, beans and nuts and limiting high-fat, high-sugar foods may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Linsday Allen, A Located in Largo, Florida A registered dietitian nutritionist who was not involved in the study believes the findings reinforce the strong correlation between specific dietary choices and brain health.
“We’ve known for a long time that Mediterranean-style diets protects against heart disease and other metabolic conditions due to high levels of antioxidants, phytochemicals, fiber and healthy fats,” he said in an email to Fox News Digital.
“Now we see a correlation between this type of eating and brain health.”
“I think it drives home the message that people, especially in their wiser years, need to rethink eating the typical ‘Western diet’ filled with refined grains, sugar, fried foods and unhealthy (refined) fats,” Allen added.
study adjusted for factors such as smoking habitsphysical activity and history of heart disease.
Individuals with mild cognitive impairment or dementia were excluded.
However, there were some limitations.
Because most of the participants were white, non-Hispanic and older (with an average age of 84 at the start of the study and 91 at death), Dr. Agarwal said the study’s findings may not be generalizable to other populations.
Dr. Jared Brownstein, DO, a physician at Manhattan Medical Offices, who reviewed the study but was not involved, is a proponent of the Mediterranean diet but is cautious about the results.
“I think the Mediterranean diet has health benefits, especially for people with diabetes — it prevents heart disease and cerebrovascular disease,” he told Fox News Digital in an email.
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“However, due to the small sample size of the population tested, I cannot confidently say that this diet is a game-changer for reducing Alzheimer’s symptoms.”
This isn’t the first study to show a correlation between the Mediterranean diet and Alzheimer’s prevention.
Another study published in the same journal in 2021 evaluated 512 seniors with an average age of 69. About 343 were considered at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers found that those who strictly followed the Mediterranean diet performed better on cognitive tests, showed less brain shrinkage and had lower levels of two abnormal proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease than those who did not strictly follow the diet. This was reported by Fox News Digital.
Further studies are needed to further clarify these findings, the researchers said.