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Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s
10/Oct/2006: A diet study carried out by U.S researchers, has found that ‘Mediterranean’ diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, olive oil, cereals and fish, lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease substantially.
The Mediterranean diet is a popular nutritional model, enthused by the dietary patterns of the countries like Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, in the Mediterranean basin. The Mediterranean diet is usually low in saturated fats and rich in dietary fiber and monounsaturated fats.
Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas, the lead researcher of this study and an assistant professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York, said that the study has confirmed the association of the Mediterranean diet with Alzheimer’s disease.
He added that the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by offering protection against oxidative stress and controlling inflammation in the brain. The findings of this study were published in the October’s online issue of the ‘Archives of Neurology’.
Dr. Scarmeas and his team analyzed the data on 2,000 people with an average age of 76, for this diet study. 194 individuals in this study group had developed Alzheimer’s.
The team analyzed the diet of every person in this group during the previous year and gave a score to the diet (in the range of 1-9) based on how close it was to the Mediterranean diet. High scores were given to diets that were similar to the Mediterranean diet, which includes mild-to-moderate drinking and little intake of red meat.
The study found that people, who stuck to a diet similar to that of the Mediterranean’s, had significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, with the risk of the disease reducing by 19-24% for every additional point on the diet score developed by the researchers.
Dr. Scarmeas said that the Mediterranean diet not only reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, but also protects the body from coronary heart diseases, myocardial infarction, hypertension, obesity and many forms of cancer.
Further Reading
http://www.memorystudy.org
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