Recent study Mediterranean diet strengthens our brain

Mediterranean diet is rightly considered healthy. These include vegetables such as zucchini, peppers and eggplant, lots of fish, little meat, old-pressed olive oil, herbs like thyme, rosemary and oregano and red wine.

Much variety
The food of the Greeks, Southern French, Andalusian and Adriatic inhabitants is as varied as fresh: Ideally, the fish comes directly from the sea; Oregano and rosemary grow on the doorstep, as do the olive trees. In reality, olive oil comes mostly from the supermarket as well as the seafood, but it does little harm to health.

Mediterranean food is varied, contains many vitamins, fruits and vegetables. (Floydine / fotolia.com)

Mediterranean food against Alzheimer's
Studies from 2016 showed that Mediterranean cuisine slows Alzheimer's. So stigmasterol works against plaques, it is included in zucchini, avocados and eggplant. Fish like salmon and trout contain omega-3 fatty acids. Underneath, docosahexaenoic acid protects against Alzheimer's disease.

High life expectancy
Greece, Spain and Italy are among the countries with the highest life expectancy worldwide (81-83 years). In Scotland it is much lower at an average of 75 years, although the Scots have a higher standard of living by all other values.

Greeks, Italians and Spaniards benefit from a fish and nutrient-rich diet; they eat less sugar and industrially processed food than Central Europeans.

Kräuterküche
The Mediterranean cuisine is full of herbs that are even used as medicine: sage and mint, thyme and rosemary, lavender and oregano.

Rosemary oil contains, for example, 1,8-cineole, camphor and alpha-pinene, as well as bitter substances such as carnosic acid and Lamiaceengerbstoffe. It works against muscle tension, stimulates blood circulation and counteracts flatulence.

Sage is the all-rounder among the culinary herbs and sage tea a proven cure for cough, hoarseness and gastrointestinal infections - against tonsils such as pharyngitis and bronchitis. Sage infusions can be used against pimples and skin fungus; Sage has an antibacterial effect and helps against tartar and halitosis.

Positive effects on diseases
Residents of the Mediterranean can not only hope for a long life, but are also less exposed to typical "diseases of affluence" than Britons, Germans or Americans: They suffer less frequently from hypertension, cardiovascular problems and obesity.

A healthy brain
Dr. Michelle Luciano and other researchers are now looking at retirees in Scotland who are "Mediterranean" and comparing them to Scots eating Scottish food.

Some of them used a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables and olive oil, the other little fresh fruit, few vegetables, but a lot of greasy meat and simple carbohydrates.

The result was, according to Luciano: "As we age, our brains shrink and we lose brain cells. This study helps to suggest that a Mediterranean diet has a positive effect on brain health. "

Almost 1000 examined
Luciano's team examined 976 Scots around the age of 70 who showed no dementia. Three years later, 562 of the subjects did an MRI brain scan. Thus, brain volume, gray cells and cerebral cortex could be measured. 401 also did a scan at 76.

Clear result
The result was clear. Those who followed a strict Mediterranean diet lost less brain volume. However, the gray matter and cerebral cortex did not change as much with "Mediterranean foodies" as with Scottish home cooking. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)