Rich in vegetables, legumes, and healthy fats like fish and olive oil, the Mediterranean diet is packed with delicious food options (yes, dark chocolate is allowed!) but it also comes with a slew of health benefits including lower blood pressure, reduced insulin sensitivity, reduced inflammation, and reduced oxidative stress. And new study just uncovered another benefit that we may be able to add to that list: Protection against Alzheimer’s disease. For the study, published in the journal Neurology, researchers looked at brain scans of 512 older adults (their average age was 69), some of whom followed the Mediterranean diet. Those who followed a Mediterranean diet were less likely to have high levels of the proteins associated with Alzheimer’s, and less likely to have brain shrinkage. They also did cognitive tests that focused on memory, executive function, and more—and again, those who followed the Mediterranean style of eating came out on top. “It is possible that the Mediterranean diet protects the brain from protein deposits and brain atrophy that can cause memory loss and dementia. Our study hints at this,” study author Tommaso Ballarini, PhD, said. “But the biological mechanism underlying this will have to be clarified in future studies.” As a followup, Ballarini and Professor Michael Wagner, the other lead author on the study, will follow up with these participants in four to five years to see what kind of shape their brain is in, and how this may correlate with the type of the diet they follow. This isn’t the first time research has found a correlation between the Mediterranean Diet and a lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease—a study published in Annals of Neurology in 2006 came to a similar conclusion, so the results of this new study are particularly encouraging. All this to say: More research needs to be conducted before we can confirm that there’s a real correlation between the Mediterranean diet and Alzheimer’s disease risk, but this is a promising finding. Next up, here are 110 foods you can eat on the Mediterranean Diet.
Sources
Neurology:“Mediterranean Diet, Alzheimer Disease Biomarkers and Brain Atrophy in Old Age"Annals of Neurology: “Mediterranean Diet and Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease”
