A Mediterranean Diet May Offer Additional Health Benefits

By Drucilla DyessPublished: Wednesday, 10 February 2010

By following a Mediterranean diet, you may gain more than just dietary benefits. Mediterranean-type diets are plentiful in fish, fruit, whole grains, nuts, and olive oil. They are known to be heart healthy, and have also been shown to lessen the risk of cancer and depression. Now, more health benefits have been added to the growing list associated with the diets that limit dairy, meat, poultry, and saturated fatty acids. A new study suggests that they may also ward off cognitive problems associated with aging.

According to Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas, an associate professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, and the lead author of the study, the analysis relates diet to strokes. The results of the research will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in April.

The study involved a total of 712 men and women who had no history of stroke, and were an average age of 80 years. Participants were asked questions about their diet, and several years later, each underwent an MRI. Because dietary patterns remain consistent for a minimum of seven years, following up with an MRI approximately six years later allowed the researchers to look for brain infarcts that could be related to diet. Brain infarcts are tissues that have died due to a lack of blood supply. Scarmeas noted that the infarcts are true strokes that escape notice because they are so small. However, and MRI brain scan can detect the small strokes.

The MRI results revealed that 238 of the study participants had at least one area of brain damage. The researchers then examined participant adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet during the six years prior to undergoing the MRI. Regarding the results, Scarmeas said, “What we found was, those people who were following a healthier diet, more Mediterranean-like, had fewer brain infarcts, strokes, on the MRI.” In fact, findings showed that people who most closely followed a Mediterranean-like diet were 36 percent less likely to have areas of brain damage, in comparison to those did not.

Scarmeas pointed out the association between diet eaten and having a reduced risk of damage to the brain by explaining, “We broke the diet adherence into three groups: those who adhered very, very little [to a Mediterranean-type diet], those who adhered to a moderate degree, and those adhering to a high degree.” People who followed the diet to a moderate degree were 21 percent less likely to have brain damage than those in the group with the least adherence, while individuals closely following the diet had a 36 percent less risk in comparison to those who followed it the least.
Scarmeas said that the findings suggest the effects of diet on brain health is similar that of blood pressure. While participants who followed the Mediterranean diet were shown to have a level of protection against damage to the brain comparable to people who do not have hypertension, an increased risk for having strokes based on their dietary habits was similar to people who have hypertension. Scarmeas and his colleagues have shown in previous studies that a Mediterranean diet can decrease the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, and possible expand the life expectancy of those having the disease. The new findings have now shown further benefit by decreasing the likelihood of cognitive decline. However, the promising results will require further research to determine if the reduced number of strokes is actually due to following the Mediterranean diet itself. Regarding the study outcome, Scarmeas noted “It's not a clinical trial, where we assign people to a certain diet.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, between one and four percent of Americans suffer from vascular dementia, and the National Institute on Aging projects that between 2.4 million and 4.5 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's disease. In addition to the promising results of recent studies on Mediterranean-type diets, other studies have suggested that following this type of diet could end the need of drug therapy for type 2 diabetes patients. New and forthcoming information continues to make clear the direct effects of diet on health. Eating healthy is the key to staying healthy. Visit the Health News diet pages to arm yourself with the knowledge you need to start eating and living healthy. Begin you journey here.