Through data analyses, researchers found that people who consistently adhered to a Mediterranean diet had a 40 percent reduced risk of cognitive impairment, 32 percent reduced risk of depression, and a 29 percent reduced risk of stroke. Those who moderately adhered to the diet had similarly reduced risks for both cognitive impairment and depression, while the reduction in stroke risk was minimal. After further analysis, the authors noted that the effects on stroke risk appeared to be more prominent in men than in women.
The authors concluded that consistently adhering to a Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk for a number of brain diseases, particularly cognitive impairment, stroke and depression. A study published earlier this year also found that maintaining a Mediterranean diet rich in extra-virgin oil or mixed nuts may improve brain function.
It makes perfect sense that eating a diet high in essential fatty acids would be found to enhance cognitive function as the brain thrives on a fat-rich, low-simple carbohydrate diet. One important point that I find to be missing when it comes to discussions about the benefits of a particular diet is that we need to understand that the authors assume that the person is only eating that particular way. In other words, does the individual eat a Mediterranean-type diet AND eat refined sugary snacks or soda, eat a high-glycemic index diet, drink caffeine-containing beverages or eat processed foods and/or smoke? You get the idea. Eating well some, or even most, of the time is not a license to eat poorly, especially if one has any predisposing factors to ill-health or systemic imbalances.
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