According to a Finnish research, eating a high vegetable diet at midlife, combined with fewer saturated fats, lowers the human risk of dementia by 90 percent.
This recently published 14 year study is the first to investigate the relationship between food combinations and poor cognition and memory. Previous research on diet and dementia has mainly focused on the impact of single dietary components.
“But nobody’s diet is based on one single food, and there may be interactions between nutrients, so it makes more sense to look at the entire dietary pattern,” says Marjo Eskelinen, author of the study.
She says that “Even those who are genetically susceptible can at least delay the onset of the disease by favoring vegetable oils, oil-based spreads and fatty fish in their diet.”
Healthy Diet Index.
Eskelinen assessed the link between diet and dementia using a healthy diet index based on the consumption of a variety of foods. Vegetables, berries and fruits, fish and unsaturated fats from milk products and spreads were some of the healthy components, whereas sausages, eggs, desserts, sugary drinks, salty fish and saturated fats from milk products and spreads were indicated as unhealthy.
The Participants
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The study group was between 39 and 64 years of age at the beginning of the study.
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While 2,000 participants were involved in the initial study, 1,449 completed the follow-up.
Other Issues Studied Separately
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The impact of dietary fats on cognitive performance/dementia was studied separately.
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A high intake of saturated fats was linked to poorer cognitive and memory functions and an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment in a 21-year follow-up.
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A higher saturated fat intake was associated with an increased risk of dementia among those carrying a genetic risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease, the epsilon 4 variant of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene.
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“Even those who are genetically susceptible can at least delay the onset of the disease by favoring vegetable oils, oil-based spreads and fatty fish in their diet,” says Eskelinen.
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Coffee intake was also studied
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Those consuming 3 to 5 cups of coffee daily had a smaller risk of dementia than those consuming less or more.
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The Alzheimer’s Association Recommends Healthy Eating too.
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This new research adds credence to the Alzheimer’s Association recommendations to increase the intake of protective foods to maintain a healthy brain.
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These include dark-skinned fruits and vegetables such as prunes, raisins, red grapes, plums, blueberries, cherries, broccoli, spinach, kale, onion, red bell pepper, beets and eggplant. Nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pecans are also recommended, as are cold-water fish such as trout, salmon, tuna, mackerel and halibut. Increasing intake of vitamins such as C, E, folate and B12 is also considered helpful.
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Reference:
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Eskelinen, Marjo. The effects of midlife diet on late-life cognition: an epidemiological approach. Publications of the University of Eastern Finland. Dissertations in Health Sciences., no 220. Itä-Suomen yliopisto, 2014. Terveystieteiden tiedekunta Väitöskirja.
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