The Mediterranean diet, already known for health benefits like decreasing the risk of breast cancer and uterus cancer, gives consumers one more reason to eat a diet rich in fish, vegetables, fruits and olive oil. A new study says that sticking to a Mediterranean-style diet could delay the brain's aging process and promote a healthy mind in old age, CBS News reported.
The researchers studied 674 people who were asked questions about their diet and were divided into two groups based on whether they closely followed the Mediterranean diet. The participants, aged 80 on average, went through brain scans about seven months after they answered the diet survey.
At the end of the study, the researchers found that those who followed a Mediterranean diet had less brain shrinkage and had a bigger brain volume compared to those who did not. The total brain volume of those from the Mediterranean diet group was 13.11 mm bigger than that of the other group.
The researchers said the difference in brain shrinkage between the two groups could translate to about five years in the brain's aging process.
"Eating at least three to five ounces of fish weekly or eating no more than 3.5 ounces of meat daily may provide considerable protection against loss of brain cells equal to about three to four years of aging," lead study author Yian Gu from Columbia University said in a press release.
The Mediterranean diet described in the research was rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, cereals and olive oil; the intake of meat and dairy products was limited. Alcohol consumption was allowed, but only at moderate amounts.
"The magnitude of the association with brain measures was relatively small, but when you consider that eating at least five of the recommended Mediterranean diet components has an association comparable to five years of aging, that is substantial," Gu said.
"These results are exciting, as they raise the possibility that people may potentially prevent brain shrinking and the effects of aging on the brain simply by following a healthy diet," she added.
The study was published in the online Oct. 21 issue of the journal Neurology.
