We know that a Mediterranean diet is excellent for our waistline but a new study published by Columbia University says this diet is also good for our brain.
The diet, which consists of fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil has been shown to reduce the onset of Alzheimer's in patients already showing signs and also helps prevent the disease from even occurring in some cases.
Not only does the diet ward of dementia, people who consume a moderate to high amount of these foods are at a much lower risk of developing heart disease, some cancers and Parkinson's disease.
The study also says that people who were not extremely stringent in the diet still saw tremendous health improvements and a reduction in brain cognitive impairment.
The study couldn't pinpoint an exact reason why this diet is so good for the brain. But maybe it is the high fish content (they're packed with Omega-3s) or the olive oil (great for a healthy heart) and you can never go wrong with fruits and veggies.
What do you do to keep your brain healthy? What do you think about this study? Let us know.....
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I think it's a great study. It's hard to argue against frankly. It seems to me that common sense would show that this kind of diet has been a healthy diet given just looking at the historical data. I'm glad to see a scientific study to go along with it.
ReplyDeleteThe older I get the more I'm certain that a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables with a moderation of meats is superb. And make sure you include nuts.
All this preprocessed, chemical laden stuff just isn't good for the body.
It's always good to read!
ReplyDeleteThere is much to learn from the eating habits of old countries. When you read Richard Beliveau's book on Foods to Fight Cancer, you can see from researches from around the world that people living in those countries have much less risks to have some of the most frequent cancers & diseases we see in America.
So... tonight, I'll have a home-made pizza with tomato-pesto sauce, olive oil, onions, garlic, a touch of aragula and chuncks of raw feta cheese, with a glass of natural red wine... that's it! I'm hungry!
(here's the link to the book I mentioned: http://bit.ly/ar6l3t )
Lucie