To Your Health
November, 2023 (Vol. 17, Issue 11) |
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The Midlife Diet (for a Healthy Brain)
By Editorial Staff
It's said that with age comes wisdom, but another truism is that with age comes changes to your brain. Your memory might not be as sharp or you may have more difficulty concentrating. These are normal consequences of aging, but if you experience cognitive decline, difficulty with memory, concentration, thinking and other brain functions occur beyond what's normal.
A new study suggests that as women get older, midlife diet may play a role in preventing cognitive decline.
This is significant because women are much more likely than men to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In the study, researchers used diet questionnaires to assess women's diet at midlife (average age: 49) and then tracked them for 30-plus years (until an average age of 79), with questionnaires also used to assess cognitive difficulties.
Women whose diet most closely resembled the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which limits red meat, added sugar, saturated fat, and salt, while promoting fish, poultry, beans, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, were much less likely to report cognitive decline (approximately 20% less likely) than women whose diet resembled the DASH diet the least.
Writing on their findings in Alzheimer's & Dementia, the researchers note several possible reasons why the DASH diet may help preserve brain health with age: "Many essential nutrients and bioactive substances that are abundant in vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and are hypothesized to reduce brain oxidative stress, promote neurogenesis, and improve neuronal connectivity. The association may also be explained by the fact that such a diet reduces hypertension, a risk factor of cognitive decline ... Additionally, by keeping the consumption of red or processed meat and sweets low in the DASH diet, the deleterious effect of high fat/sugar on brain inflammation and the production of amyloid beta protein may be minimized."
To learn more about the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, the Mayo Clinic has a great information webpage here.
