Diet that reduces the risk of dementia
Fishmongers help weigh a 130kg Nile Perch from Lake Victoria at Top Market in Nakuru on February 22.
What you need to know:
- Dementia is a neurological disease characterised by deterioration in memory, thinking, behaviour, and the ability to make decisions and perform everyday activities.
- Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not a normal part of aging. Early onset dementia is rare but can occur.
Following a Mediterranean diet can significantly reduce the risk of dementia by almost a quarter, even among individuals with genes that put them at greater risk, a new study has shown.
This is particularly good news for Kenya’s ageing population, which is expected to double over the next three decades, with a projected increase of 316 per cent in the number of people living with dementia by 2050, according to STRiDE, a four-year project to build capacity in dementia research in seven developing countries.
Dementia is a neurological disease characterised by deterioration in memory, thinking, behaviour, and the ability to make decisions and perform everyday activities. Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not a normal part of aging. Early onset dementia is rare but can occur.
The study published in BMC Medicine journal found that individuals whose food choices most resembled a Mediterranean diet were significantly less likely to develop dementia than those whose food choices least resembled the diet.
A Mediterranean diet is rich in healthy plant-based foods such as vegetables, nuts, and legumes, as well as whole grains, fruits, olive oil, and fish. The study also found that people with the closest adherence to a Mediterranean diet consumed less red or processed meat, sweets, pastries, and sugar-sweetened beverages.
What makes this study unique is that it includes genetic information in the form of an Alzheimer’s risk score. The score was constructed using around 250,000 individual genetic variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia.
The study showed that even among those with genes that put them at greater risk, following a Mediterranean diet can reduce the likelihood of developing dementia.
Dr Sylvia Mbugua, a consultant neurologist, emphasises that diet is one of the lifestyle factors that exert a significant influence on the risk of developing dementia.
Other lifestyle factors that can reduce the risk of dementia include getting adequate sleep, controlling blood pressure, and maintaining healthy cholesterol and blood glucose levels.
