Researchers wanted to understand the real effects of excess on a balanced diet: unsurprisingly, they find that the consumption of processed, too fatty or too sweet products reduces the benefits of a healthy diet, in particular on cognitive abilities.
- Deviations from this diet can negate all of its benefits.
- The benefits of the Mediterranean diet relate to cardiovascular health and diabetes and cognitive abilities
- Deviations from this diet can negate all of its benefits.
Overeating is not serious, as long as it remains occasional… But what happens when they are combined? For several years, science has highlighted the benefits of the Mediterranean diet on health: enriched with whole grains, fruits, vegetables but low in red meat, it would reduce cognitive decline in the elderly. “But when this diet is combined with fried foods, sweets, processed grains, red or processed meat, we find that the benefits of the Mediterranean diet are reduced.“says Puja Agarwal, a nutritional epidemiologist. Together with his colleagues at Rush University Medical Center, he conducted a study on the subject.
Better food for a brain”more young“
More than 5,000 people were recruited for this research. Aged over 65, they were followed for almost twenty years. Every three years, the participants answered a questionnaire to test their cognitive abilities and a second on their diet. Scientists sought to understand whether they were closer to the Mediterranean diet, or the Western diet, which is based on a high consumption of fried foods, processed cereals, red or processed meat.
Then, they compared these results to those of the cognitive tests. “Participants with the slowest cognitive decline were those who adhered the most to the Mediterranean diet, limiting foods from the Western diet“, analyze the American scientists. Conversely, people who were closer to the Western diet did not experience any of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet on slowing cognitive decline. The researchers measured the cognitive age of the participants according to the results: the people following the Mediterranean diet the most scrupulously were 5.8 years younger, compared to the others.
The importance of greening our diet
“The more we include green vegetables, berries, olive oil and fish in our diet, the better it is for our brain and body aging“, insists Puja Argawal. Previous studies have proven the benefits of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular health, diabetes and general health. Conversely, a processed diet rich in red meat is associated with a higher inflammation. In 2015, theWorld Health Organization classified red meat as a probable carcinogen, and processed meat as a group 1 carcinogen, which includes asbestos and tobacco.
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