Scientists have been investigating phenomena such as dementia and Alzheimer’s for a long time. In addition to issues such as our sleep patterns, stress levels, and activities, another issue that researchers are curious about is the effect of our diet on our brain. A 12-year-long study conducted in France may give us some answers at this point.
The Mediterranean diet, which is preferred in our country on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts and in a small part of Greece, Italy, Southern Spain and France in Europe, is used to describe a diet consisting mainly of vegetables and fruits, unprocessed legumes, fish, cheese and olive oil. A study conducted in France shows that this type of nutrition has a positive effect on brain health.
Eating a Mediterranean diet prevents dementia
The positive effects of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular health were known. The new study, conducted with 840 participants over the age of 65, revealed that the benefits of this diet include its contribution to brain health. First of all, the Mediterranean diet was divided into seven main dietary components and a Mediterranean diet metabolomics score was created according to this separation. Thus, the researchers determined the biomarkers they would monitor throughout the study.
In this study, scientists examined biomarkers. These small molecules, called metabolomics, which we see from time to time in tissues, cells and other cell components, can provide information about both diseases and past nutritional preferences. Scientists who studied these structures also performed regular tests on the participants. The tests, administered by five neuroscientists, were carried out every 2-3 years. These tests included both measurement of cognitive skills and value measurements such as tomography.
The data collected from the test results were also compared with the results of the control group that was not fed the Mediterranean diet. In this comparison, it was revealed that people who prefer the Mediterranean diet are in better condition, both in terms of examination results and metabolomics that indicate diseases. Moreover, it was observed that the decline in cognitive capacity of people who ate a Mediterranean diet was lower.
On the other hand, another point that attracted attention in the research was that some results seemed inconsistent. According to researchers, the reason for this situation is that the answers given by the participants in the surveys do not fully reflect the truth.
The research was published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.
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