Following a Mediterranean diet can help delay Alzheimer’s disease – and perhaps even prevent it altogether, brain imaging suggests.
Population studies have found that people who eat a Mediterranean diet – mostly plants, fish and olive oil and limited red meat, sugar and processed food – tend to be less prone to Alzheimer’s disease.
To understand why,ĚýĚýat Weill Cornell Medical College and her colleagues scanned the brains of 70 healthy adults aged 30 to 60, half of whom had been following aĚýMediterranean diet for at least five years.
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The Mediterranean diet group hadĚý15 per cent less beta-amyloidĚý– the sticky protein that gradually turns into the plaques found in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Their brain cells also metabolised glucose faster – a sign of healthier activity.
When the researchers scanned the volunteers’ brains again three years later, they found that those on a Mediterranean diet had slower build-up of beta-amyloid and slower decline in brain metabolism. From these rates of change, they calculated that the diet should provide at least 3.5 years of extra protection against Alzheimer’s disease.
Thinking ahead
However, this is probably an underestimate, saysĚýĚýat Edith Cowen University, in Joondalup, Australia. The study followed relatively young people for only three years, meaning it may not have been able to capture the full benefits. His research group is about to publish the results of a bigger, longer brain imaging study in older people that found even more positive effects.
The trial followed 1100 people over the age of 60 for 12 years. “We clearly saw that those who adhered strongly to the Mediterranean diet had significantly less beta-amyloid in their brains,” says Martins.
The results hint that the diet could prevent Alzheimer’s disease altogether, especially if it is combined with exercise and adequate sleep, Martins says. “Lifestyle has a huge role to play,” he says. “I think that’s whyĚýAlzheimer’s drug trials keep failingĚý– they’re coming in too late when the brain is already damaged.” Imaging studies have found that beta-amyloid starts accumulating in the brain 20 years before Alzheimer’s symptoms first appear, he says.
Researchers are now trying to pinpoint exactly why the Mediterranean diet is good for the brain. Preliminary evidence indicates that anti-inflammatory molecules in its staple foods – like omega-3 in fish and flavonoids in plants – may prevent damage to the tiny blood vessels that nourish the brain.
Neurology
Read more: Brain shrinks less in older people who eat Mediterranean diet; Mediterranean diet linked to higher chance of successful IVFĚý
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