The Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of dementia by 23%, concludes a study published by the digital medical journal BMC Medicinewhich evaluated data from more than 60,000 Britons over almost 10 years.
Research shows that those who follow the Mediterranean diet – including more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and unsaturated fats, such as olive oil in their meals – have a lower risk of dementia compared to those who follow other types of diet, although there is a genetic risk of contracting the disease.
The study, however, has several limitations: it focused on Britons of European origin, excluding minorities such as Asians and people of African descent. Nor were characteristic British eating habits taken into account, such as the different way of cooking potatoes, for example.
Another factor to take into account is not directly related to what you eat, but to the habits that accompany the food: the inhabitants of Mediterranean countries like to sit and socialize at the table, which favors interpersonal relationships.
Speaking to TSFMaria do Rosário Zincke dos Reis, Vice President of the Portuguese Alzheimer’s Association, admits that she is not familiar with the study in particular, but confirms that it is possible to prevent dementia, so she is very satisfied with the conclusions.
“It’s great news,” he says. “In addition, because it seems to me to be a very robust study, with many participants and it goes in the direction of what we already knew, that it is possible to prevent dementia by combating risk factors.”
Physical exercise, moderate consumption of alcohol and healthy eating (as a characteristic of the Mediterranean diet) are the main recommendations of the Associação Alzheimer Portugal.
Studies published in the scientific journal Lancet had already indicated that it is possible to prevent dementia by 40%, but Portugal does not invest adequately in prevention, laments Maria do Rosário Zincke dos Reis.
“We know that in Portugal the percentage of the budget allocated to prevention is very small. And I’m not just thinking about dementia, but in general terms, ”she points out.
, especially since there are still no drugs capable of curing dementia and Alzheimer’s. “It was very important that the big bet was for prevention, because it turns out to be within the reach of all of us, as long as there are campaigns that properly clarify the issue and that does not exist, at least systematically and with real impact”
Source: TSF
