THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET SAVES OUR BRAIN

According to a new study, the Mediterranean diet has protective effects on our brain, supporting our cognitive decline. The Mediterranean diet is in the centre of the discussion thanks to its benefic effects on health. After revealing as protective against cardio-vascular diseases, cancers and probably allergies and asthma, now a recent study has been published in the periodical “Archives” of Neurology”, showing its protection on our brain. This study shows how those who follow this diet have fewer probabilities to suffer a bad cognitive decline. Furthermore the Mediterranean diet seems to be protective against Alzheimer in those who already show cognitive difficulties.

PROTECTIVE EFFECTS
In this study, coordinated by the researchers of the Columbia University in New York, 1393 people without any cognitive problem have been involved together with 482 patients already showing a moderate mental decline. The researchers took into consideration the participants’ food-habits and checked them for four years and a half. In this period of time 275 people started to have this cognitive decline, over all in those people leading a diet far from the Mediterranean one. In those more adherent to the Mediterranean diet the risk revealed reduced at 28%. But the Mediterranean diet recipes were protective also in the people already affected by cognitive problems. Among the 482 patients that already suffered a moderate mental deficit, 106 developed Alzheimer and, even in these cases, the less risky cases (48%) were those more faithful to the Mediterranean diet. Among all the aspects bound to life-style, the diet can play an important role in the prevention and development of Alzheimer, this is what the responsibles of this study put in evidence, underlining that this result had already been found by other researches.

POSSIBLE MECHANISM
As suggested by previous researches it is possible that the protective effect of the Mediterranean diet, that t is to say a diet having fish, some alcohol, a lot of fruit and vegetable as key-food; can be considered as benefic on veins. In fact for these forms of cognitive decline and Alzheimer some vascular mechanism has been hypothesized : acting on this side the Mediterranean diet could also bring advantages:” this is the comment made by Giuseppe Micieli , responsible of the Neurology Department I and Stroke Unit of IRCCS Humanitas of Milan. We cannot think that Alzheimer and the various form of dementia can be solved by a healthy and balanced diet, for example the Mediterranean –one. Micilli explained:” there are several factors of risk for the cognitive decline: beyond age and a genetic familiarity, there are also other aspects, many of them bound to our life-style. For example today we know that it is important to keep our life active both from a social and a physical point of view ( regular exercise is adviced). Not only, mind should be trained continuously by reading or cultivating interests”.