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Mediterranean diet improves health better than expected
The Mediterranean diet brings with it numerous health benefits such as a reduced risk of heart disease. Now, scientists around Professor Andrew Smyth of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, have shown that memory and thinking benefit from healthy eating.
The Mediterranean diet includes lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, olives, extra virgin olive oil and fish as well as significantly reduced consumption of processed foods, carbohydrates, sweets and red meats. Not only on the cardiovascular system, but also on the memory, this diet seems to have an extremely positive effect. In their latest study, Canadian researchers conclude that healthy eating is associated with a significantly reduced risk of impaired memory and memory.
Mediterranean diet counteracts memory loss Relationship between diet and cognitive abilities
In the study, 27,860 study participants from 40 countries were followed for an average of five years, with all subjects older than 55 years suffering from pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. Individuals with past history of stroke, heart failure or other serious illness were not included in the study. At the beginning of the study, the scientists checked the mind and memory of the subjects at the beginning of the study, after two years and after about five years. The researchers found this to be a significant decline if they showed a drop of three or more points in the cognitive test.
Reduced risk of impaired thinking
During the study period, 4,699 subjects showed a cognitive decline, write the Canadian scientists in the journal "Neurology". We observed a significantly lower risk of cognitive impairment in the most healthy subjects, study leader Professor Smyth said. "In comparison to subjects with a particularly unhealthy diet, the risk of memory impairment and loss of thinking was reduced by 24 percent. The result was independent of baseline cognitive abilities or other factors such as exercise, high blood pressure, and cancers, the researchers report.
Improving nutrition to curb cognitive ailments?
The researchers conclude that a higher quality of nutrition - as is the case with the Mediterranean diet - is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline. "The improved quality of nutrition is an important potential goal to reduce the global burden of cognitive impairment," write Professor Smyth and colleagues. (Fp)