A new study has shown that a popular diet could help lower your risk of dementia.
According to Medical News Today, a study published in Nature Medicine showed that the Mediterranean diet could have a protective effect for people with a genetic disposition toward getting dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Dementia is a tricky disease to figure out. It’s caused by a variety of factors, including genetics, age, and various lifestyle choices. While scientists have found that certain gene structures can make someone more susceptible to the disease, this study shows there are ways to decrease that risk through dietary choices.
“Genetics set the baseline risk, but they are not destiny,” said Dr. Dong D. Wang, one of the authors of the study.
“Understanding how diet and other modifiable factors work together with our genes is important, because their influence may depend on a person’s genetic makeup. Unlike inherited genes, which we cannot change, lifestyle factors such as diet are modifiable, and that means they offer a way to lower risk and possibly delay disease onset, even for those at higher genetic risk.”
The study showed that this diet can help to provide significant protection for people who have two copies of the APOE4 gene variant, which is one of the highest risk genetic markers for dementia.
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“For so long, genes like APOE4 have been viewed as a non-modifiable risk factor for developing dementia,” Megan Glenn, clinical neuropsychologist at the Center for Memory and Healthy Aging in the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, said when asked about the study.
Glenn continued, “However, this study contributes to the growing literature base on how modifiable lifestyle factors, in this case diet, can help mitigate that risk. This is empowering because, even for people at high genetic risk, diet becomes a tool — something they can do to actively fight back against developing Alzheimer’s disease.”
The Mediterranean diet has a strong focus on plant-based foods, fish, and shellfish. It leans heavily on things like olive oil, nuts, beans, and lentils, seasonings like oregano, rosemary, and turmeric, and fatty fish like mackerel, salmon, anchovies, and sardines.
It has been shown to improve overall health outcomes, both in terms of weight management and things like cardiac issues, as the foods eaten are often loaded with good cholesterol and the kinds of fatty acids your body needs to function well.
Eating less meat is also great for the environment. Massive deforestation to feed cattle has destroyed many ecosystems. The meat and dairy industries are also major contributors to our global carbon pollution output. Eating a more plant-based diet would help secure a safer and cooler future for us all.
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Dining and Cooking