Print    Email

Week of February 22 - February 28, 2009

The risk of developing Alzheimer’s and similar diseases seems to be reduced by dietary intervention, particularly by increasing one’s intake of antioxidant-rich foods such as apples.

CHICAGO—Eating a Mediterranean diet appears to be associated with less risk of mild cognitive impairment—a stage between normal aging and dementia—or of transitioning from mild cognitive impairment into Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

The following video provides a quick start for those interested in The Mediterranean Diet, courtesy of EatingWell.com. The article continues below it and the links to other articles provide more depth and detail.

Allow 15 seconds for video to load, then click the triangle to start.

"Among behavioral traits, diet may play an important role in the cause and prevention of Alzheimer's disease," the authors write as background information in the article. Previous studies have shown a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease among those who eat a Mediterranean diet, characterized by high intakes of fish, vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals and unsaturated fatty acids, low intakes of dairy products, meat and saturated fats and moderate alcohol consumption.

Nikolaos Scarmeas, M.D., and colleagues at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, calculated a score for adherence to the Mediterranean diet among 1,393 individuals with no cognitive problems and 482 patients with mild cognitive impairment. Participants were originally examined, interviewed, screened for cognitive impairments and asked to complete a food frequency questionnaire between 1992 and 1999.

Over an average of 4.5 years of follow-up, 275 of the 1,393 who did not have mild cognitive impairment developed the condition. Compared with the one-third who had the lowest scores for Mediterranean diet adherence, the one-third with the highest scores for Mediterranean diet adherence had a 28 percent lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment and the one-third in the middle group for Mediterranean diet adherence had a 17 percent lower risk.

Among the 482 with mild cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study, 106 developed Alzheimer's disease over an average 4.3 years of follow-up. Adhering to the Mediterranean diet also was associated with a lower risk for this transition. The one-third of participants with the highest scores for Mediterranean diet adherence had 48 percent less risk and those in the middle one-third of Mediterranean diet adherence had 45 percent less risk than the one-third with the lowest scores.

The Mediterranean diet may improve cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels and blood vessel health overall, or reduce inflammation, all of which have been associated with mild cognitive impairment. Individual food components of the diet also may have an influence on cognitive risk. "For example, potentially beneficial effects for mild cognitive impairment or mild cognitive impairment conversion to Alzheimer's disease have been reported for alcohol, fish, polyunsaturated fatty acids (also for age-related cognitive decline) and lower levels of saturated fatty acids," they write.

The Meditteranean Diet:
MORE ARTICLES ON THIS SITE

VIDEO + RELATED ARTICLE New York's Columbia University Medical Center revealed that the patients eating the most greens, grains, and olive oil lived 4 years longer.

A free, strongly endorsed book takes a look at the threat of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and how to reduce the risk. The just-released book is available for immediate download, or can be ordered in hard copy for a modest donation.

U.S. researchers find hard evidence in favor of The Mediterranean Diet, while Swiss researchers demonstrate an apparent slowing of cognitive decline in those who consume high levels of Omega-3.

MORE INFORMATION:

Additional studies are needed to confirm the role of this or other dietary factors in the development of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, they conclude.
(Arch Neurol. 2009;66[2]:216-225.

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging.

ARTICLE SOURCES:

Archives of Neurology
Reviewed by Dr. Boaz Ancselovic, MD, Geriatrician, Alzheimer's Weekly
Edited by Peter Berger, Alzheimer's Weekly
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Alzheimer's Weekly LLC. All Rights Reserved.