We’ve heard the Mediterranean diet is good for the heart and longevity, but new research gives us another reason to try it - it may protect against memory loss and dementia, too. A new study from Germany suggests that eating this way - with lots of fish, legumes, vegetables and olive oil - may help ward off Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers analyzed brain scans of more than 500 older adults and found that those who followed a Mediterranean diet were less likely to show brain shrinkage and high levels of the abnormal proteins that have been found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Lead study author Tommaso Ballarini explains that eating “a Mediterranean-like diet could help slow down Alzheimer’s disease pathology and prevent cognitive decline.”
What the study doesn’t explain? Exactly how eating a diet like this affects brain health and whether the diet is helping the brain or if it’s just a marker for an overall healthy lifestyle. But even if this diet doesn’t preserve brain function, it’s been shown to be good for you in other ways. Ballarini sums it up by saying, “This study adds to the body of evidence concerning the protective effects of a healthy lifestyle on brain health and gives hopes for preventing dementia.”
HT: Today