Doctors discovered that healthy dietary habits can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – As there are 5.4 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease, scientists believe that his number will triple by 2050, if no cure is found.
However, rather than focusing on finding a cure, public health specialists are trying to develop efficient strategies to prevent the onset of this condition. A group of experts from the Rush University Medical Center has conducted a comprehensive research to establish whether there is a diet that can decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s in healthy patients and those suffering from other conditions.
Therefore, they developed the MIND diet, which combines the Mediterranean diet with Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, also known as DASH diets. Previous studies have shown that these diets deal with high blood pressure, prevent diabetes, reduce cholesterol levels, and provide a healthy weight loss.
MIND diets approach fifteen specific foods out of which ten are considered to be brain-healthy, so they should be included more in our daily meals, whereas the other five are regarded as brain-harming, so they should be avoided.
The ten foods are rich in key nutrients which play a vital role in maintaining the brain healthy. These foods are olive oil, poultry, fish, beans, berries, nuts, leafy greens, vegetables, whole grains, and wine.
The five foods considered to be brain-harming are the sweets or pastries, red meat, fat cheese, fast food, margarine or butter. The researchers included 923 participants in the MIND diet study.
They were asked to complete food logs and dietary questionnaires, while they also underwent neuropsychological tests between 2004 and 2013. The scientists gave participants points on how well they stuck to the MIND diet.
The highest score was 15 with one point for each diet component. Based on the findings, the participants who adopted healthier dietary habits scored 9.6 points and recorded a 53 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Also, those who had 7.5 points were 35 percent less likely to develop this condition. After the study, the team monitored the subjects for around five years to see the long-term effect of the MIND diet. The ones who followed the diet slowed down the brain aging effects by seven years.
In other words, this study underlines that by adopting a healthy diet we can significantly improve our lifestyle and prevent the onset of degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Image Source: Static Flickr