Alzheimer's News: "Mediterranean" Diet Helps

The health benefits of the "Mediterranean" diet are well-known and it is particularly good for your heart. The diet emphasizes fruits and vegetables, fish and whole grains, and limits unhealthy fats.

Less well-known is its effect on brain health. Studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet helps prevent Alzheimer's disease. Those who adhere to the diet have significantly less incidence of developing the disease, and the closer they adhere to the diet the more pronounced the benefit.

Now, based on a study conducted by Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas of Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, it appears that the diet also aids those who already have the disease.

Study participants were divided into three groups based on how close their eating habits mirrored the Mediterranean ideal, and were then followed for 4.4 years, during which time 85 percent died. People in the middle group of Mediterranean diet adherence were 35 percent less likely to die during follow-up than those in the bottom group, which translated to 1.33 more years of life. Those in the highest group for adherence were at 73 percent lower risk of death, and lived nearly four years longer.

While more research is necessary in this area, it appears that the benefits of the diet are too significant to ignore.

Source: Reuters