There is no escape: the passage of time inevitably leads to the deterioration of our body. And the brain is no exception: it loses cells and shrinks as we get older , and that can affect our ability to learn and also our memory.
However, just as there are products to try to mitigate the signs of aging of our skin, in the diet could be the key to combat brain aging . Because, according to a study led by Dr. Michelle Luciano, from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland), and recently published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the foods typical of the Mediterranean diet would help us maintain volume of our brain.
” As we age, the brain shrinks and we lose brain cells that can affect learning and memory,” explains Luciano. “This study provides evidence to suggest that the Mediterranean diet has a positive impact on brain health,” he adds. .
To carry out this research, the researchers collected, through a questionnaire, information about the eating habits of 967 Scots of advanced age and without any type of dementia . When they were around 73 years old, 562 of them underwent an MRI to measure the total volume of the brain, that of the gray matter and the thickness of the cerebral cortex; and, of these, 401 returned three years later for a second MRI.
It helps us to better preserve the brain
When comparing the data, they found that in those three years the people who ate products typical of the Mediterranean diet had tended to conserve more brain volume than the others. The results did not change when the researchers took into account other factors that could influence brain volume, such as age, education and suffering from diabetes or high blood pressure.
Although Michelle Luciano explains that the diet may be able to provide long-term protection for the brain, she acknowledges that larger studies are still needed to confirm these results .
In the Mediterranean diet , the consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, white meat, fish, seafood, pasta, rice, nuts, olive oil … predominates, while red meat, eggs and butter are scarce in their dishes. and sweets.
