Eating these foods lowers dementia risk, even with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, study says
CNN — According to a recent study, the incidence of dementia was found to be 31% lower when eating an anti-inflammatory diet rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables as opposed to an inflammatory diet high in red and processed meats and ultraprocessed foods such sugary cereals, drinks, fries, and ice cream.
According to lead author Abigail Dove, the effect persisted even for those who were already diagnosed with cardiometabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or stroke. The study was published in the journal JAMA Network Open on Monday.
According to Dove, a PhD candidate at the Aging Research Center at Karolinska Institutet in Solna, Sweden, “Following an anti-inflammatory diet was related to lower risk of dementia, even among people with cardiometabolic diseases who are already at elevated risk of dementia,” via email.
According to her, those who consumed the greatest amounts of anti-inflammatory foods and had type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or stroke “developed dementia 2 years later than those with cardiometabolic diseases and a pro-inflammatory diet.”
According to Dove, brain scans of people who ate an anti-inflammatory diet also revealed noticeably reduced levels of biomarkers for vascular injury and neurodegeneration.
Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine who was not involved in the study, stated via email that although the study is observational and cannot demonstrate cause and effect, the findings reflect current studies that suggests a link between dietary inflammation and brain health.
“A better quality, lower-inflammatory diet has the potential to directly affect several pathways linked to brain and neurocognitive health over time,” stated Katz, who founded the nonprofit True function Initiative, an international alliance of specialists devoted to evidence-based lifestyle medicine.
What is an anti-inflammatory diet?
It’s still unclear exactly how meals affect inflammatory pathways on a cellular level. However, scientists think that the Western diet’s preponderance of red and processed meats, sugary, highly processed foods, and radiation, plastics, smoke, and pesticides, among other things, may stimulate the body’s production of free radicals more than usual.
Molecules having unpaired electrons are known as free radicals. They deprive other cells of their electrons in their desperate quest for a match, resulting in cellular damage that can exacerbate Alzheimer’s and other dementias as well as chronic illnesses.
Furthermore, scientists think that eating a lot of processed and fatty meals can also raise levels of other inflammatory indicators like interleukin 6, C-reactive protein, and tumor necrosis factor α.
According to a November 2020 study, there is a 28% increased risk of stroke and a 46% increased risk of heart disease in those who consume more red and processed meats, such as bacon and sausage, as well as sugary, ultraprocessed foods. A February 2019 study found that a mere 10% increase in these foods was substantially linked to a 14% increased risk of death from all causes.
There’s hope, though. According to research, anti-inflammatory components like vitamins, carotenoids, and flavonoids found in fruits and vegetables can counteract free radicals and other inflammatory markers while also lowering stress levels in the body (Mayo Clinic).
Better brains with anti-inflammatory foods
In the UK Biobank, a long-term study involving participants from England, Scotland, and Wales, approximately 84,000 dementia-free persons over 60 with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and/or heart disease or stroke had their dietary habits examined.
The consumption of 206 foods and 32 drinks, which were categorized into levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory substances, was questioned five times each subject. Over the next fifteen years, medical records were reviewed to see if there was any correlation between dementia diagnoses and eating the most or the least inflammatory foods. Furthermore, almost nine thousand of the subjects had their brains scanned with magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.
According to scans, those with cardiometabolic disorders who consumed the most anti-inflammatory foods had lower white matter intensities, which are indicators of vascular injury in the brain, and greater gray matter volumes, which indicate less neurodegeneration, than those who consumed an inflammatory diet.
Overall, Katz stated, “the signal is clear above the background noise,” albeit more investigation is necessary.
Adopting a higher-quality diet appears to offer some protection to the brain, lowering and delaying both functional and structural symptoms of degeneration, even after one is battling a chronic, cardiometabolic illness.
