According to a new study, it has been found that eating a Mediterranean diet will keep you mentally sharp during the golden years.
People who follow the popular regiment, full of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains and healthy fats, have better cognitive function in later life, according to a new report from Scotland.
A group of over 500 seniors were asked about their eating habits and presented with a series of memory and thought challenges.
Those who followed the Mediterranean diet closely, especially eating lots of green leafy vegetables and just a little red meat, got a better score.
But there didn’t seem to be a connection between diet and better physical brain health, as if it were a larger volume of gray matter.
Researchers say the diet may affect specific areas of the brain that cannot be seen by neuroimaging the entire organ.
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Following a new study from the University of Edinburgh, eating a Mediterranean diet, especially lots of green leafy vegetables and little red meat, can improve cognitive function in later life.
The traditional Mediterranean diet includes many vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains and many healthy fats such as olive oil.
It contains moderate amounts of fish, some chicken and dairy products and very little sugar or red meat.
For decades, it has been linked to everything from protecting against diabetes and Parkinson’s to lowering the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.
In a recent study sponsored by Age UK and The Medical Research Council, scientists at the University of Edinburgh tested the thinking skills of more than 500 79-year-olds.
A study of more than 500 elderly people found that those who followed the Mediterranean diet had a slightly better memory and thinking skills than those who maintained their usual eating habits. But while the results were evident in the test results, they did not appear on the MRIs of the subjects ’brains.
Participants were given memory, vocabulary, and problem-solving tests and were interviewed about their eating habits.
Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on more than 350 subjects to collect data on their brain structures and form a statistical model to compare it.
According to the study, published in the journal Experimental Gerontology, staying tight on the Mediterranean diet had a small but statistical connection to the top scorers.
This was fulfilled even when the IQ, activity level, smoking and other child health conditions are taken into account.
The researchers said the association seemed the strongest for those who eat a lot of green leafy vegetables and little red meat, suggesting they are crucial parts of the diet.
Interestingly, the benefits of the power of thinking that were evident in the test scores were not evident in their MRIs.
There was no more volume of white or gray matter or other structural signs of better brain function.
“In our sample, the positive relationship between a Mediterranean diet and thinking skills is not explained by having a healthier brain structure, as might be expected,” said lead author Janie Corley, a postdoctoral researcher in the psychology department. of the University of Edinburgh.
“While there may be other structural or functional brain correlations with this measure of diet, or associations in specific regions of the brain, rather than the whole brain, as measured here,” Corley added.
Subjects were selected from the 1936 Lothian Birth Cohort, composed of people born in 1936 who participated in the 1947 Mental Survey of Scotland.
Cohorts have been helping researchers analyze the effects of thinking on thinking since 1999.
Although this study was one of the first to incorporate neuroimaging, it follows previous research linking the Mediterranean diet with better cognitive function.
In January, a team at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that adding foods from a typical Western diet (such as pizza, candy, and processed meats) reversed the cognitive benefits of the Mediterranean diet.
The study examined more than 5,000 adults over three years and found that those who adhered to the Mediterranean diet had brains nearly six years younger than their peers who abandoned their cravings for junk food.
A 2020 report published in the journal Gut found that seniors placed on the diet for a year showed slower cognitive loss, including memory, compared to others who maintained their normal eating habits.
Those who adhered to the diet closely also had better gait speed and hand grip strength.
Following the diet increased its benefits intestinal bacteria, which has been linked to the prevention of fragility and memory loss.
A 2018 study published in The Journal of Urology determined that men who followed a Mediterranean diet, especially one of rich fish, boiled potatoes, whole fruits, vegetables, legumes and olive oil and low juice consumption were at risk. minor aggressive prostate cancer.