Mediterranean diets rich in vegetables, whole grains, and fish can reduce risks of mental decline and dementia, according to two studies from the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI).
“We do not always pay attention to our diets. We need to explore how nutrition affects the brain and the eye,” lead author Dr. Emily Chew said in an NEI news release.
The data was taken from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and the follow-up AREDS2 study, which included 8,000 people in all, and designed to explore eye disease age-related macular degeneration.
Participants were first assessed on their consumption of specific Mediterranean diet foods over the past 12 months, including veggies, whole grains, fish, whole fruits, nuts, legumes, and olive oil. The diet is also characterized by lower amounts of red meat and alcohol.
AREDS tested participants’ mental (cognitive) function at five years, and AREDS2 tested mental function at the start, and again at the two, four and 10 year marks.
Those who most closely followed the Mediterranean diet had the lowest risk of mental impairment.
Though the study can’t link a direct cause-and-effect relationship, it seems eating lots of fish and vegetables offered the greatest protection and benefits. For example, after 10 years, those in the AREDS2 who ate the most fish had the slowest mental decline rates.
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What these studies do clearly indicate is the effects of diet on mental function and brain health, say the authors. Additionally, the researchers found that people with the APOE gene – which puts someone at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease – on average had lower cognitive function scores and greater mental decline than those without the gene. The benefits of following a Meditteranean diet were similar for people with and without the APOE gene – this means that the effects of diet on mental function are independent of genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease, according to the researchers.
These findings were published in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia on April 14.
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