Mediterranean diet hopes debunked
Source: Agencies |
January 26, 2013, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HOPES a Mediterranean diet would be as good for the head as it is for the heart may have been hit by a French study that found little benefit for aging brains from the diet rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, wine and olive oil.
The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at the participants' dietary patterns in middle age and measured their cognitive performance at around age 65, but found no connection between Mediterranean eating and mental performance.
"Our study does not support the hypothesis of a significant neuroprotective effect of a (Mediterranean diet) on cognitive function," study leader Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot at the nutritional epidemiology research center of the French national health research agency INSERM said.
It's been suggested that the "good" fats in the diet might benefit the brain directly, or that low saturated fats and high fiber could help stave off cognitive decline indirectly by keeping blood vessels healthy.
Previous research has seemed to uphold that premise.
One large study in the US Midwest found people in their 60s and older who ate a mostly Mediterranean diet were less prone to mental decline as they aged. Another study of residents of Manhattan linked a Mediterranean-style diet to a 40 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.
The French study used data on 3,083 people who were followed from the mid-1990s, when they were at least 45 years old.
The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at the participants' dietary patterns in middle age and measured their cognitive performance at around age 65, but found no connection between Mediterranean eating and mental performance.
"Our study does not support the hypothesis of a significant neuroprotective effect of a (Mediterranean diet) on cognitive function," study leader Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot at the nutritional epidemiology research center of the French national health research agency INSERM said.
It's been suggested that the "good" fats in the diet might benefit the brain directly, or that low saturated fats and high fiber could help stave off cognitive decline indirectly by keeping blood vessels healthy.
Previous research has seemed to uphold that premise.
One large study in the US Midwest found people in their 60s and older who ate a mostly Mediterranean diet were less prone to mental decline as they aged. Another study of residents of Manhattan linked a Mediterranean-style diet to a 40 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.
The French study used data on 3,083 people who were followed from the mid-1990s, when they were at least 45 years old.
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