Mediterranean diet and brain shrinkage

reference

Luciano M., Corley J., Cox SR, et al. Mediterranean diet and structural change in the brain of 73 to 76 years in a Scottish cohort. neurology . 2017; 88 (5): 449-455.

participant

The participants of this study came from the Lothian cohort of 1936, a group of 1,091 participants who were born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1936. They were 70 years old at the beginning of their studies. Nutrition data were collected by post -sent questionnaires. Three and then 6 years later, capable and willing participants underwent a structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain.

target parameter

Two longitudinal brain volumes (total and gray substance; n = 401 or 398) plus a longitudinal measurement of the cortical thickness (n = 323) were measured. Compliance with the Mediterranean diet was calculated based on data that was collected from a questionnaire for the frequency of food at the age of 70, 3 years before the baseline image data is collected.

important knowledge

A lower compliance with the Mediterranean diet was associated with a larger 3-year reduction of the total brain volume (which explains 0.5 % of the variance, p <0.05). A less compliance with the Mediterranean diet in an older Scottish cohort is an indicator of total brain atrophy over a period of 3 years. The consumption of fish and meat does not drive this change forward, which indicates that other components of the Mediterranean diet or possibly all their components are responsible for association.

practice implications

Over the years, this magazine (and especially this author) has checked several studies on the Mediterranean diet. The diet is characterized by a high consumption of fruit, vegetables, beans and grain, olive oil as a primary fat source, a moderate consumption of fish, a low to moderate consumption of milk products and wine (with meals) as well as a low consumption of red meat and poultry. An increased compliance with this diet was associated with less inflammation, a better cognitive function, a reduced risk for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's as well as mortality from cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Three previous studies have reported that a higher compliance with the Mediterranean diet is connected to a larger brain volume and a cortical thickness, measured by MRI.

The largest of these 3 studies (GU 2015) reported that Americans (n ​​= 468, average age 80.1 years) were closely complied with with a larger brain volume. This data indicated that higher fish and lower meat consumption were the main causes for these effects. These previous studies only measured the brain volume at a single time. This current study is of interest because you are investigating the effects of compliance with a diet over time, a difference that we could translate into a simple clinical implication: "The way you now eat will affect how much your brain will shrink in the next few years."

The results reported in this current study differ in some essential points from previous reports. The consumption of fish and meat was not directly connected to the brain volume, which indicates that the advantages of the Mediterranean diet cannot be limited solely to these two properties. It is up to us to choose between terms such as holistically or synergistically to describe how the combined effects of the several food components that make this diet are made of work together to achieve benefits.

This current study is of interest because it examines the effects of diet compliance over time.

Measuring changes in the brain volume and trying to determine associations is a complex process, and while the authors of this study tried to control a long list of possible disruptive factors and other variables, we have to consider these results with reservations, even if the results are in line with previous studies. However, if we look at these results in connection with the positive results of other studies that indicate a benefit of compliance with the Mediterranean diet, it seems easy to imagine that the "prevention of brain shrinkage" is only another advantage that this diet offers that you follow.

Admittedly, the sheer simplicity of the Mediterranean diet can be a challenge. Many patients wish stricter guidelines with lists of prohibited food and more complex rules. They doubt that a relatively liberal nutrition that contains meat, gluten, wine, fruit or a number of other foods can be healthy. The inclination of some people to convert nutritional proposals into sect -like belief systems probably speaks more for deep psychological needs than for well -proven nutritional sciences. If you doubt it, look for diet books online and calculate what percentage the title of diet gives certain names and what percentage of these names belongs to the author of the book.

eating, and the readers of this magazine can undoubtedly call some, have played an outstanding role in modern culture. Dr. Kima Cargill writes in her new book: 9

Essen cults probably replace what religion once did by providing rules and rituals for the organization of Essen. Like religion, they make sense in confusing situations, give us meaning and consolation. In urban secular cultures and in places such as the United States, eating skulties are more attractive than ever, both because they act as new religions as well as because of the unprecedented cultural importance, health, longevity and body.

The challenge in promoting the Mediterranean diet is that it is almost too vague, too general and does not have orthodoxy that many people seem to long.

note of the editorial team: Click for the free full text of the study reviewed here.