August M
As the years add up, many people start worrying about keeping their minds sharp.
Daily routines often fall under the microscope as people search for an edge against cognitive decline. Changing what sits on the dinner plate might be the simplest defense of all, reports CNN.
Never too late
Switching to a healthy diet later in life still makes a massive difference. According to a fresh study, adopting a menu packed with whole grains and vegetables works wonders, even if you start in your late fifties.
Unhee Lim from the University of Hawaii Cancer Center explained the timeline to CNN.
“It’s never too late to start eating healthy to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,” Lim said.
Older adults who ditched unhealthy meals over a ten-year stretch enjoyed an 11 percent drop in their dementia risk.
Not all plants
Simply skipping meat is not enough to protect the brain. It turns out that eating highly processed vegetarian junk food actually does a lot more harm than good.
Things like french fries, fruit juices, and refined grains flood the body with sugar. Researchers found that people who loaded up on these poor-quality plant foods increased their dementia risk by roughly 25 percent.
Lead author Song-Yi Park highlighted the need for careful food choices.
“Our findings highlight that it is important not only to follow a plant-based diet, but also to ensure that the diet is of high quality,” Park said in a statement.
A closer look
The research published in the journal Neurology tracked nearly 93,000 adults. Scientists split their food choices into different tiers, grading everything from healthy natural nuts to heavy animal fats.
They discovered that eating the highest tier of natural plant foods offered the strongest mental shield.
Dr. David Katz, founder of the True Health Initiative, reviewed the data.
“The findings suggest that both plant-predominant eating and high diet quality help protect brain function as we age,” Katz said.
Beyond the brain
A plate full of vibrant vegetables also repairs the rest of the body. Previous data shows that eating clean plant foods slashes the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
It even helps the environment. Dr. Walter Willett from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health noted the wide-ranging benefits.
“For every major cause of death we looked at, there was a lower risk in people with better adherence to the planetary health diet,” Willett told CNN.
Sources: CNN, Neurology
