Healthy diet reduces the risk of developing dementia!
A very exciting article was just published in JAMA highlighting that a healthy diet can reduce the risk of developing dementia! Alzheimer’s Disease International reports there were over 55 million people living with dementia worldwide in 2020, with the number expected to increase to 139 million by 2050! The annual global cost of dementia is thought to be in excess of 1.3 trillion dollars. This is staggering data.
Over 1800 participants aged 60 and older, without dementia at the beginning of the study, were included. The authors analyzed dietary specifics using a 98-item food frequency questionnaire and followed the subjects dietary patterns for up to 15 years. The researchers obtained baseline serum markers that have been associated with an increased risk of dementia (p-tau217 (phosphorylated tau at threonine 217), NFL (neurofilament light chain), and GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein)), and also tracked the incidence of dementia onset over time in the participants.
What the authors found in their research should be life-transforming for us all—> a higher quality diet was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia! For those at highest risk (with elevated serum markers mentioned above) adherence to an anti-inflammatory diet was most beneficial.
So, what is a “high quality diet”? Answer (directly from the authors!): “consumption of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains and discouraging consumption of red and processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages.”
And what is included as “pro-inflammatory” in the diet? Answer (again, from the authors): “processed meat, red meat, organ meat, high-energy beverages.”
One last important point—> the authors emphasize that B vitamins, polyphenols, and polyunsaturated fatty acids may be the essential ingredients in the healthy diet that enhance cognitive health and resilience. I emphasize the key aspects of a healthy diet in my book Optimized, Chapter 2— check it out!
