Mediterranean Diet Enhances Elderly’s Mental Health, Study Discovers
The heart-friendly Mediterranean diet may boost brain health in the elderly, a study published in the journal Neurology has found.
The proponents, led by Michelle Luciano, Ph.D., from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, studied data recovered from 967 elderly participants (ages 73 to 76) who do not have dementia. Over half of them went through magnetic resonance imaging at age 73 to determine the overall gray matter, volume, and cortical thickness. After three years, 401 of the participants went back for follow-up measurements.
Aside from considering other factors relevant to brain volume such as diabetes, education level, age, or hypertension, better measurements were attributed to the Mediterranean diet. According to Dr. Luciano, meat or fish intake was not linked with preserving brain volume. The study thus points to other possible components of the diet or the overall diet itself. Such food combination may be helpful in preventing vascular and inflammatory disease, causing brain volume loss.
These findings may also be of help especially to care providers and the elderly’s family and friends. Considering the health benefits of such diet, it may be a great diet recommendation for their senior patients and loved ones. Home care services may likewise take note of this as they cater to their clients.
Comments