Study finds good diet may slow brain aging in elderly
Print Edition
A diet rich in green leafy vegetables, beans, berries, whole grains and wine can help to slow normal brain aging and cognitive decline, researchers said.
Cognitive decline is a normal part of aging but a study by scientists at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago showed that elderly adults who strictly followed the MIND diet were 7.5 years younger cognitively over a period of nearly five years than those who adhered the least.
鈥淭he study findings suggest that the MIND diet substantially slows cognitive decline with age,鈥 Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center, and her team said in a report in the journal 鈥淎lzheimer鈥檚 & Dementia.鈥
In an earlier study, the researchers showed that the diet developed at the Rush University Medical Center may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.
MIND, or Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, is a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil and vegetables and the DASH eating plan designed to control high blood pressure.
It consists of 15 dietary components and recommends at least three servings of whole grains, a salad and another vegetable each day and a glass of wine. Beans and poultry should be eaten at least twice a week and fish once a week.
Followers of the diet limit the amount of the five unhealthy food groups 鈥 red meat, butter, stick margarine, cheese, pastries and sweets and fried or fast food 鈥 they eat.
The only fruits in the MIND diet are berries.
The researchers tested the cognitive ability of 960 adults with an average age of 81.4 years at 40 retirement community and senior public housing units in the Chicago area over a period of 4.7 years. They uncovered a slower decline in mental ability among the elderly who adhered most closely to the diet. 鈥淓veryone experiences decline with aging; and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the US.鈥 Morris said.
鈥淭here is still a great deal of study we need to do in this area, and I expect that we鈥檒l make further modifications as the science on diet and the brain advances.鈥
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
