A healthy diet reduces the risk of disease. Scientists have been saying this for a long time. Now that information has been further established. A new study has shown that following a Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of dementia by at least 35 percent and it helps to get a healthy energetic life. Dementia is a type of neurological health problem in which a person’s memory, thinking, and ability to function gradually declines.
This was mentioned in a research paper published in the scientific journal Nature. The study followed the lives of more than 5,700 people for 34 years. It revealed the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean region is a region of several countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa that surround the Mediterranean Sea. People in this region drink less alcohol. They eat less red meat. Their diet includes more vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, fish, and olive oil which gives enough vitamins and minerals for having an energetic life.
Richard Isaacson, director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in the US state of Florida, believes that this new research will change many old ideas.
The nutritionist said that this research is expected to change the popular belief that having two APOE-4 genes in the body means dementia.
Richard Isaacson, who was not involved in the study, published in Nature, said: “Genes will no longer determine a person’s future.”, He also said that “If just following a certain diet can reduce a person’s risk of dementia by up to 35 percent, imagine what could happen if we could work on things like exercise, sleep, stress, and other physical changes.”
This is not the first study to link a Mediterranean diet to dementia risk. A previous study in the UK in 2023 followed more than 60,000 people. It shows that those who closely follow the Mediterranean diet have a 23 percent lower risk of dementia than those who do not.
Another study conducted in 2023 found similar results. In that study, post-mortem examinations were performed on people who had consumed a plant-based diet from the Mediterranean region and certain foods for brain enhancement. It shows that the main signs of dementia in the brains of those people are 40 percent less.
Source: Click here