New US study: the Mediterranean Diet can help fight Alzheimer’s (and from farm to fork?)
The best way to reduce Alzheimer's disease risk could be a Mediterranean diet rich in fish, vegetables and olive oil, according to a new study.
The research, titled "Mediterranean diet, biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and brain atrophy in old age," was published in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and found that a rich Mediterranean diet can "protect The brain from the buildup and shrinkage of proteins that can lead to debilitating neurological disease.
The study looks at abnormal proteins called amyloid and tau. The precursor protein beta-amyloid plays a vital role in neural growth and repair. However, later in life, a corrupted version can destroy nerve cells, leading to memory loss, while tau is a protein that forms in a tangle. Both are found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, but they can also be found in the brains of older adults with healthy brain function.
While there is no single definition of the Mediterranean diet, it is typically rich in fish, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds, and olive oil. The diet is low in saturated fatty acids, dairy products and red meat.
"Our study suggests that a diet high in unsaturated fats, fish, fruits and vegetables and low in dairy and red meat can actually protect the brain from protein buildup that can lead to memory loss and dementia," he said. study author Tommaso Ballarini, Ph.D., of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany. "These findings add to the body of evidence showing that what you eat can affect your memory skills later on."
Ballarini and his team observed 512 people in the study. Of these, 169 were cognitively healthy, while 343 were at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Respondents were asked a series of questions about how closely they followed the Mediterranean diet.
The researchers then studied how each respondent closely followed the Mediterranean diet and the relationship with brain volume, tau and amyloid biomarkers, and cognitive abilities. They adjusted for factors such as age, education, and gender, finding that those who followed the Mediterranean diet had better brain function than those who did not.
By observing amyloid and tau in the interviewee's spinal fluid, those who did not follow the Mediterranean diet had higher levels of amyloid and tau than those who did.
The researchers found that people who didn't follow the diet scored worse on memory tests than those who did.
“More research is needed to show the mechanism by which a Mediterranean diet protects the brain from protein buildup and loss of brain function, but the results suggest that people can reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's by incorporating more elements. of the Mediterranean diet in their daily diets, ”Ballarini said.
Apart from that this explains MANY THINGS that happen at the European level, we wonder how the zero-kilometer agricultural policy could fit in with the Mediterranean Diet, especially in countries like the Baltics or Sweden.
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The article New US study: the Mediterranean Diet can help fight Alzheimer's (and from farm to fork?) Comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/nuovo-studio-usa-la-dieta-mediterranea-puo-aiutare-a-combattere-lalzheimer-ed-il-from-farm-to-fork/ on Wed, 12 May 2021 14:00:19 +0000.