Mediterranean diet could be one way to limit dementia onset

Older persons who have gone on holiday in the Mediterranean may want to bring more than just souvenirs, as the region's cuisine could afford protection against the onset of dementia.


Two recent studies have led scientists to make the claim, one from Columbia University and the other from research conducted at Victor Segalen University in Bordeaux, France.


In New York, researchers followed more than one thousand seniors, monitoring their diet and exercise as well as the development of dementia.

They found the group who reported average exercise and diet adherence were more than 10 percent less likely to develop the degenerative condition, while those who exercised and ate the largest quantities of foods comprising the diet had their risk cut by up to 40 percent.


The French team found similar results in terms of diet alone on scores of older persons on mental acuity tests.


They argue that while the data could be affected by other healthy lifestyle habits, the diet is thought to contribute directly to limiting the onset of dementia.


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