And if to reduce our risk of Alzheimer’s disease, it was enough to change diet? If that sounds a little too easy, that’s not the opinion of researchers at Rush University in Chicago (USA), who have developed a diet that is said to reduce the risk of heart disease by up to 53%. onset of Alzheimer’s. The encouraging results of their study were published in the scientific journal “Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association”.
Called MIND (spirit in English), this diet combines the Mediterranean diets and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) dedicated to people with hypertension. To develop this diet, the researchers based themselves on the numerous studies proving the beneficial long-term effects of certain foods on brain function.
Conducted among 923 elderly people between 2004 and 2013, the study reveals that the MIND diet could reduce the risk of illness by 53%.Alzheimer’s if followed correctly. The results also showed a 35% lower risk in people who didn’t follow the diet to the letter.
Berries at will, animal fats to limit
According to scientists, this diet would be easier to follow than the other two diets from which it is derived. Indeed, the Mediterranean diet requires the daily consumption of fish and 3 to 4 servings of fruits and vegetables.
MIND, for “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention of Neurodegenerative Delay” is based on two groups of foods: on the one hand healthy foods to contribute to good brain health (green vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, fish, poultry, olive oil, wine and seeds), and on the other hand more harmful foods, such as red meat, animal fats, sweets and those from fast food.
These are of course not to be favored and must be limited. The principle of the diet is to consume healthy products regularly throughout the week, tolerating the more harmful foods only twice a week. On a daily basis, fat must also be dosed sparingly: a tablespoon of butter per day at most. Berries, like blueberry or strawberries are foods to be preferred, because they have a protective effect on our brain.
Even if the researchers call for confirmation of these results, they agree that this diet is an effective way to reduce the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, especially if followed over the long term. And when we know that red meat and animal fats consumed excessively increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, it would be wrong not to try to reduce their consumption.
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