There are plenty of ways our bodies (and minds) change as we age, and there are plenty of healthy ways to stay sharp. More and more research is coming out to help us understand how lifestyle factors, like diet, physical activity and sleep, influence our risk for diseases, likedementia, that are correlated with aging. Evenwalking as little as three times a weekcan lower your risk. Lucky for us, making healthy dietary choices is one great way to keep your brain healthy and mind sharp (For more on that, check out our guide to theMIND diet). A new study inNeurologyfound that one diet in particular that might help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease as we age.
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For this study, researchers followed 343 people, average age 69.5 years old, at a high risk for developing Alzheimers and 169 people who had a normal risk for cognitive decline. They assessed several biomarkers for brain aging, such as amyloid and tau proteins in the spinal fluid, and also tested participants on language, memory and executive function skills.
They then asked people about their eating habits and foods they ate to see how closely they followed the tenants of the Mediterranean diet, including how often they consumed foods like fish, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Those who did not follow the diet closely had higher biomarkers that are associated with Alzheimers and dementia. In fact, every point a participant lost from not closely following the Mediterranean diet was associated with one additional year of brain aging.
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