Usually, when I can't remember... "This" helps if you eat it

Studies have shown that eating a Mediterranean diet helps prevent dementia and improve memory.

The research team of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases conducted a study on 343 people at risk for dementia and 169 ordinary people with normal cognitive abilities. The research team asked them how much they ate 148 foods over the past month, and based on the results, they evaluated how closely they followed the Mediterranean diet and scored. In addition, five types of cognitive ability tests and brain scan tests were also conducted to evaluate the progression of dementia.

Studies have shown that people who do not follow the Mediterranean diet well have more protein accumulation in their brains than those who do not. This means that dementia has progressed more. In addition, cognitive function tests showed that people who did not follow the Mediterranean diet well advanced brain aging by one year more than those who followed it well. In the memory test, those who did not follow the Mediterranean diet also scored low.


The Mediterranean diet refers to eating a lot of single unsaturated fatty acids, mainly vegetables, beans, fruits, fish, whole grains, and olive oil, and less saturated fatty acids such as meat, dairy products, and processed foods. It is borrowed from a diet mainly eaten in the Mediterranean Sea and is famous for its health benefits. In particular, there are many reports that the Mediterranean diet is effective in diabetes, high blood pressure, and dieting.


Dr. Tommaso Ballarini, who led the study, said, "More research is needed to reveal the mechanism of protecting the brain from cognitive decline. However, according to the results of this study, it is clear that protecting the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of dementia."
The results of this study were recently published in the international journal Neurology.