Dementia: Dr Sara on benefits of being in nature
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Dementia and Alzheimer’s currently affect 950,000 people in the UK, with caseloads expected to grow exponentially in coming years. Thankfully, mounting evidence shows the condition can be prevented by amalgamating different brain-healthy habits. Dementia research to date has sought to uncover which dietary culprits to avoid. Some observational studies have suggested that combining certain foods can be damaging for the brain.
Most research to date has focussed on the impact of individual food groups in relation to dementia.
Findings have often highlighted that diets high in saturated fat can increase cognitive decline and the risk of developing dementia.
In one study conducted in France, however, researchers found that people whose diets consisted mostly of highly processed meats and starchy foods like potatoes, and snacks like cookies and cakes, were more likely to have dementia years later.
Cécilia Samieri, PhD, of the University of Bordeaux in France, said: “There is a complex inter-connectedness of foods in a person’s diet, and it is important to understand how these different connections or food networks, may affect the brain because diet could be a promising way to prevent dementia.
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“A number of studies have shown that eating a healthier diet, for example, a diet risk in green leafy vegetables, berries, nuts, whole grains and fish, may lower a person’s risk of dementia.”
For the study, researchers studied a sample of 209 people with dementia who were matched for age, sex and education to a control sample of 418 people.
Participants filled out a string of questions detailing how frequently they ate certain foods.
Findings showed that processed meats were the commonly eaten food among the dementia sample, which Samieri described as the “hub” of the food network of dementia patients.
Doctor Samieri explained that the frequency with which processed foods are combined with other unhealthy foods may be important for assessing dementia risk.
“For example, people with dementia were more likely to accompany meat with more diverse foods, including fruit and vegetables and seafood,” added doctor Samieri.
“People who developed dementia were more likely to combine highly processed meats such as sausages, cured meats and patés with starchy foods like potatoes, alcohol, and snacks like cookies and cakes.”
Conversely, researchers noted that the participants who did not have dementia had a greater diversity of food in their diet.
“We found that more diversity in diet, and greater inclusion of a variety of healthy foods, is related to less dementia,” explained doctor Samieri.
“In fact, we found differences in food networks that could be seen years before people with dementia were diagnosed.
“Our findings suggest that studying diet by looking at food networks may help untangle the complexity of diet and biology in health and disease.”
How to avoid dementia
Changes in the brain typically start years before an individual notices signs of cognitive decline. This, however, can be slowed or even avoided in some instances.
Conversely, foods rich in flavonoids and omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to have protective effects against dementing illness.
Flavonoids are a group of plant metabolites thought to provide health benefits through cell signalling pathways and antioxidant effects.
These molecules can be found in almost all fruits and vegetables, but as a rule of thumb, the richer the colour of the food, the higher its flavonoid content.
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