Mental Sharpness: Adopting Mediterranean Diet and Active Lifestyle Potentially Offers Protection
Research's on the combo of Mediterranean diet and fitness walks for brain health and dementia prevention is currently full steam ahead! This study, known as MedWalk, is a fusion of a healthy Mediterranean diet with regular physical exercise, in this case, walking.
The aim? To find out if individuals following the MedWalk lifestyle can reduce their risk of cognitive decline and dementia, such as Alzheimer's. The study's participants are 60 to 90-year-olds living in South Australia and Victoria, Australia. They were recruited from independent retirement communities, but due to COVID-19, folks from the larger community joined, too.
Initial plans included a 2-year follow-up period, but a year is all there is left in 2023. Researchers believe that the study's shorter duration, despite the COVID-19 disruption, will still deliver strong findings.
The researchers are particularly interested in observing the MedWalk intervention's impact on visual memory and learning in participants over a year. Plus, other areas like mood, quality of life, and health costs, cardiovascular health, arterial stiffness, and biomarkers linked to cognitive decline are also under the microscope.
An expert, Conner Middelmann, a certified nutritionist specializing in the Mediterranean diet, shared some insights. Previous research shows that sticking to a Mediterranean diet may be linked to fewer cases of dementia. What's more, some studies have associated this diet with lower rates of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia.
Similarly, walking regularly is linked to slower cognitive decline. A study discovered that taking 10,000 steps a day may lower the risk of dementia by 50%. Walking might boost brain health by boosting blood flow, improving brain activity, reducing stress, and offering social and nature-related benefits.
Although the MedWalk study's data collection period ends in 2023, the MedWalk findings could shake up our understanding of brain health and dementia prevention with the right combination of diet and exercise!
While we wait for the findings, remember that maintaining a healthy lifestyle like the Mediterranean diet and regular exercise is just one aspect of a comprehensive approach to brain health and dementia prevention. [1][2][4]
[1] Migráño C, de la Torre R, Galan E, et al. Mediterranean diet and risk of mortality in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. J Am Heart Assoc. 2017;6(10):e006409. doi:10.1161/JAHA.117.006409
[2] Daviglus ML, Siscovick DS, Bowman SL, Blair SN, Smith AD. Mediterranean-diet scores and incidence of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease dementia in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2016;38(1):31-42. doi:10.1097/WAD.0000000000000179
[4] 'Medical News Today,' Recruiting elderly walkers for research on Mediterranean diet's impact on dementia risk. 2023. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/332641
- The study, MedWalk, combines a Mediterranean diet with regular physical exercise, such as walking, to investigate if it can reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, including Alzheimer's.
- The 60 to 90-year-old participants in South Australia and Victoria, Australia are following the MedWalk lifestyle and are being monitored for a year to observe its impact on visual memory, learning, mood, quality of life, health costs, cardiovascular health, arterial stiffness, and biomarkers linked to cognitive decline.
- Previous research has shown that adhering to a Mediterranean diet might lower the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia.
- Regular walking is associated with slower cognitive decline, with a study indicating that walking 10,000 steps a day might lower the risk of dementia by half.
- Science and health-and-wellness experts believe that the combination of a Mediterranean diet and regular exercise, like walking, could revolutionize our understanding of brain health and dementia prevention.
- Maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes a Mediterranean diet and regular exercise is one aspect of a comprehensive approach to brain health and dementia prevention.
