Recent research published by researchers from the University of Newcastle and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom suggests that a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with a reduced risk of dementia.
Studies have found that people who adhere to a more Mediterranean diet have up to a 23% lower risk of dementia compared to those who adopt a less Mediterranean diet.
Can the Mediterranean diet really prevent dementia? What can be done to better prevent dementia?
01
What is dementia?
Dementia refers to a type of clinical syndrome with mental decline and cognitive decline as the main manifestations, such as memory loss and decreased reasoning and calculation ability, but generally there is no consciousness disorder.
Dementia is characterized by a deterioration in cognitive function that exceeds expectations of normal aging and is more common in older people.
The disorder affects memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning, language and judgment and is a major cause of disability in older adults.
02
What causes dementia?
Neurodegenerative diseases are the main cause of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, etc.
Among them, 60%~70% of dementia is caused by Alzheimer's disease (AD), so everyone often equates Alzheimer's disease with "Alzheimer's disease".
In fact, in addition to the above neurodegenerative diseases, infection may also cause dementia, such as HIV infection; Vascular disease and stroke are also causes of dementia; Other causes, such as depression and chronic drug use, can also contribute to dementia.
Regardless of the cause of dementia, life is not easy for patients.
As dementia progresses, patients' cognitive abilities will gradually decline, and self-care ability will be devastatingly affected, which is the main cause of disability in elderly patients.
03
How harmful is dementia?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dementia is now a rapidly increasing public health problem, affecting around 50 million people worldwide.
There are nearly 10 million new cases every year.
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Dementia is a leading cause of disability and dependence in older adults.
The disease imposes a heavy economic burden on society as a whole, with the annual cost of caring for people with dementia estimated to rise to $2 trillion by 2030.
Our situation in China is more serious. China already has the largest elderly population in the world, with more than 143 million elderly people over 60 years old, accounting for 1/5 of the world's elderly population.
Data released by authoritative institutions in 2015 show that cognitive impairment (that is, "dementia") has been a middle-aged and elderly disease with a high incidence like diabetes, hypertension, and coronary heart disease.
This can be a heavy burden for every family.
04
Can dementia be cured?
As far as current medical technology is concerned, dementia cannot be cured, and only dedicated care.
05
What can be done to prevent dementia?
While there is no cure for dementia, dementia is not inevitable.
In fact, there is a relationship between the development of cognitive impairment and dementia and lifestyle-related risk factors such as physical inactivity, smoking, unhealthy diet, and harmful use of alcohol, while many chronic diseases increase the risk of dementia, including high blood pressure, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, and depression.
The World Health Organization (WHO) "Reducing the Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia" believes that by improving the way of life and diet, dementia can be prevented, at least delaying or delaying the onset of dementia.
The World Health Organization recommends starting with the following:
1. Exercise exercise
Exercise is important. Exercise can help maintain muscle strength, increase coordination, and help keep away obesity and cardiovascular disease, which are themselves risk factors for dementia.
Exercise can also improve mood, calm mood, reduce anxiety, and slow down memory and mental decline.
WHO guidelines strongly recommend exercise for cognitively normal adults; Exercise is recommended for adults with pre-existing mild cognitive impairment.
However, the World Health Organization does not give clear recommendations for exercise time.
Personal advice, you can refer to the mainland's dietary guidelines, for ordinary people, the general recommendation is about 45 to 60 minutes a day of moderate intensity exercise can be, tai chi, brisk walking, swimming, jogging, etc. are good choices.
2. Quit smoking
There is plenty of research evidence that smoking increases the risk of dementia. Not only for Alzheimer's disease, but also for many other types of dementia, smoking later in life increases the risk.
So don't think that smoking can wake up the brain, in terms of inducing Alzheimer's disease, smoking will only make you confused faster.
Smoking cessation is strongly recommended in WHO guidelines and recommends that smoking cessation interventions should be offered to adults who smoke, as smoking cessation reduces cognitive decline and the risk of dementia, among other health benefits.
3. Try to drink as little as possible
Alcohol increases the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and these diseases are also risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer's disease, so it is recommended that everyone try not to drink, and if you want to drink, try to drink as little as possible.
4. Maintain a healthy weight
Maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding obesity can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc., all of which are risk factors for dementia.
Therefore, weight control from middle age and a BMI between 18 and 24 are recommended.
5. Eat a healthy diet with balanced nutrition
People who eat a diet low in salt and fat and often eat vegetables, fish, and nuts have a lower chance of suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Such a diet can prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and the microscopic cerebrovascular lesions caused by these diseases are often the cause of brain damage.
Therefore, the guidelines of the World Health Organization encourage people to eat healthy and develop healthy eating habits.
06
"Mediterranean diet"
Can it really reduce the risk of dementia?
The WHO guidelines also mention that "the Mediterranean diet may reduce risk", but the evidence is not very sufficient.
Therefore, I also remind everyone that the Mediterranean diet pattern is not very clearly defined, it does not mean what you want to eat, how much you have, etc., we still try to follow the recommendations of the dietary pagoda, try to be low salt and low fat, eat more vegetables, fish, nuts.
07
Can taking supplements prevent or treat dementia?
This may be a matter of great concern to many people, and the WHO guidelines also give the answer: no.
The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines point out that there is currently insufficient evidence to prevent or treat dementia by eating health foods. B vitamins, vitamin E, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and multivitamins are not recommended to reduce the risk of dementia.
Bibliography:
[1] Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic predisposition: fndings from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study
[2] WHO. Reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia
Author: Ruan Quang Feng, Director of Science and Technology Department, Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center
Reviewed: Shuang Song, associate researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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