While studies have shown the Mediterranean diet to provide many health benefits, it will not protect against dementia. This conclusion was made by researchers from Sweden.
Scientists from Lund University set out to investigate the role of diet in the development of dementia, as well as the ability of different types of food to provide protection against senile dementia. The nutritional data of about 28,000 people in Sweden over a 20-year period were analyzed. Participants had a mean age of 58 at baseline, and none had been diagnosed with any form of dementia. They filled out food diaries that recorded the frequency of meals and the foods they ate.
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Over 20 years, 7% of study participants were diagnosed with various types of senile dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Then the scientists studied the adherence of the participants in the experiment to various types of nutrition, including the Mediterranean diet. In addition, age, gender, level of education and lifestyle were taken into account. The researchers excluded those participants who were diagnosed with dementia within the first 5 years of follow-up, as the role of nutrition could not be established in this case.
Mediterranean diet may combat dementia
After reviewing all the data, the researchers found no significant association between adherence to dietary recommendations, including the Mediterranean diet, and reduced risk of all-cause dementia. There is no evidence that following any diet at all affects the presence of biomarkers associated with senile dementia. So, the Mediterranean diet does not provide any additional protection against dementia. (READ MORE)
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Lund University
Healthy Life
university in the city of Lund in southern Sweden, founded in 1666, the second oldest university within the current borders of Sweden