Regional Diet May Help Stave Off Memory Conditions
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There are many good health reasons not to eat certain foods. For example, olive oil should be used for cooking sparingly because of its high fat content. Olives are also usually banned from “healthy eating” columns because of fat and are usually only thought of as a condiment thrown on top of salads, pasta, pizza, and appetizers. Alcohol is highly debated because wine helps your heart, but too much can hurt you and the sugar alone in cocktails can throw off your metabolism and overload your calorie intake. Fish, while always on the “good” list, can also be a red flag because of the mercury content depending on what type of fish you are eating, where it was caught, and how much of it per week you are consuming. However, all of these foods are part of a regional cuisine called Mediterranean and a new study has found that eating more of this type of cooking can increase your memory capacity and help to lessen your risk for diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Published Monday in the Archives of Neurology , a primarily Mediterranean-based diet can keep you from developing “mild cognitive impairment,” (MCI) the just before normal memory loss and a serious condition.
Researchers at Columbia University already knew that people that followed a high-intake regimen of these regional foods could help distance Alzheimer’s disease but they did not know if there was a direct connotation between a Mediterranean diet and MCI. The study, conducted in New York, tracked a volunteer group of 1,393 people who had no problems with their memory and an additional group of 482 patients who were already diagnosed with MCI.
The diet is largely made up of fish and vegetables, legumes such as peas, beans, and lentils, fruits, and cereal, with a glass of wine with most lunches and dinners. Low in saturated fats, meat, and dairy products, this diet has been catching on in recent years with a wealth of benefits for your body including a longer life span, better cholesterol and has also been used to show contrast with low-fat diets in terms of weight loss and overall health.
The volunteers were recruited between 1992 and 1999 and each was given a “diet score” by researchers to determine the level of diet they would consume. The higher the score, the bigger Mediterranean diet they would eat. After completing a survey about their current food intake, the Medicare volunteers from Manhattan were all monitored by their diet category and cognitive skills for a period of four and a half years.
The results were conclusive that a rich diet of these regional ingredients mostly of fish and vegetables was associated with a lessened risk of MCI development and those already diagnosed with MCI had less of a chance of developing full blown Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Specifically, 275 of the healthy 1,393 volunteer group developed memory problems within the time period of the study and patients in the top diet score (meaning they ate more Mediterranean-type foods overall) had 28 percent lower risk compared to those in the bottom group of diet scores. Of the 482 participants who already had MCI at the beginning of the study, 106 developed Alzheimer’s but the top third who ate the more healthy diet reduced their risk for development of AD by 48 percent.
Published Monday in the Archives of Neurology , a primarily Mediterranean-based diet can keep you from developing “mild cognitive impairment,” (MCI) the just before normal memory loss and a serious condition.
Researchers at Columbia University already knew that people that followed a high-intake regimen of these regional foods could help distance Alzheimer’s disease but they did not know if there was a direct connotation between a Mediterranean diet and MCI. The study, conducted in New York, tracked a volunteer group of 1,393 people who had no problems with their memory and an additional group of 482 patients who were already diagnosed with MCI.
The diet is largely made up of fish and vegetables, legumes such as peas, beans, and lentils, fruits, and cereal, with a glass of wine with most lunches and dinners. Low in saturated fats, meat, and dairy products, this diet has been catching on in recent years with a wealth of benefits for your body including a longer life span, better cholesterol and has also been used to show contrast with low-fat diets in terms of weight loss and overall health.
The volunteers were recruited between 1992 and 1999 and each was given a “diet score” by researchers to determine the level of diet they would consume. The higher the score, the bigger Mediterranean diet they would eat. After completing a survey about their current food intake, the Medicare volunteers from Manhattan were all monitored by their diet category and cognitive skills for a period of four and a half years.
The results were conclusive that a rich diet of these regional ingredients mostly of fish and vegetables was associated with a lessened risk of MCI development and those already diagnosed with MCI had less of a chance of developing full blown Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Specifically, 275 of the healthy 1,393 volunteer group developed memory problems within the time period of the study and patients in the top diet score (meaning they ate more Mediterranean-type foods overall) had 28 percent lower risk compared to those in the bottom group of diet scores. Of the 482 participants who already had MCI at the beginning of the study, 106 developed Alzheimer’s but the top third who ate the more healthy diet reduced their risk for development of AD by 48 percent.
