Don’t eat a healthy diet? Doing so now won’t just increase your risk of obesity later in life–it could now cause dementia. A study from the University of Eastern Finland says that those who ate a healthy diet at 50 were 90 percent less likely to develop dementia later on in life.
While it isn’t the first study to link a healthy diet with a reduced risk of dementia, it is the first to look at a person’s overall diet during their midlife. Previous studies primarily focused on the effects of certain foods, such as fish or whole wheat products–studies which found mixed results for middle-aged to older adults.
Now a healthy diet in general may be the real key to vanquishing dementia later in life.
“The working hypothesis was that a healthy diet at midlife would reduce the risk of dementia/AD and cognitive impairment later in life,” says Margo Eskelinen, who presented her findings to the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland earlier this year. “In summary, these results emphasize that unhealthy dietary factors at midlife may increase the risk of developing dementia/AD later in life and have a negative effect on several cognitive domains, whereas healthier dietary choices may act in the reverse manner. The current data suggests that healthy dietary choices at midlife may increase the possibility for brain health later in life.”
The Study
Recruiting 2000 people with an average age of 50 years old, Eskelinen wanted to see how their overall diet impacted their risk of dementia–a growing problem in Finland. To do so , she questioned the participants about their diets using a set of questionnaires, asking about their consumption of certain food products associated with a healthy diet, such as fatty fish, vegetables, and fruits. They were also asked about other habits associated with a decreased or increased dementia risk, such as how often they exercised, if they smoked, and how often they consumed alcohol.
Then, for an average of 14 years, researchers kept tabs on the participants to see how many developed dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. It didn’t take long to find a connection–those who developed dementia commonly ate a diet high in saturated fats.
” In particular, the type of fat being consumed was important,” says Eskelinen. ” A moderate intake of unsaturated fats (PUFAs and MUFAs) from spreads was related to a decreased dementia risk two decades later, while a moderate intake of SFAs increased the risk of dementia and AD.”
In conclusion, Eskelinen says that eating a healthy diet–a diet primarily rich in vegetables, fruits, good fats, and lean meats–may be one of the biggest ways to avoid a dementia diagnosis later in life.
“Even those who are genetically susceptible can at least delay the onset of the disease by favouring [sic] vegetable oils, oil-based spreads and fatty fish in their diet,” says Eskelinen.
What You Should Do
To minimize your risk of dementia later in life, it’s never too late to eat a healthy diet. Replacing processed foods with vegetables, fruits and fatty fish could reduce your risk by up to 90 percent, according to Eskelinen’s findings.
Readers: How healthy is your diet?
Sources:
Study: Those Who Eat the “Healthiest” Diet Reduce Their Dementia Risk By 90 Percent – ScienceDaily.com
Report: Eating a Diet High in Saturated Fat Contributes to Dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease Later in Life – UEF.FI
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