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- Previous research on how protective the Mediterranean diet is for cognitive health has been inconclusive, in part because many studies rely on self-reports of diet..
- By tracking metabolites in the blood, scientists can gain a more accurate understanding of the foods a person eats; because it is not based on self-reporting, which is often inaccurate in diet studies.
- Now, a new prospective study based on analysis of participants’ metabolome has found more conclusive evidence that consuming a Mediterranean diet supports slowing cognitive decline in older people.
The solid link between the Mediterranean diet and cognitive health remains unclear. This is likely because many studies rely on participants’ self-report of dietary intake; this is known to be an unreliable way of collecting data.
A new study takes a different approach to measuring diet and selecting cases and controls. The study was conducted in two regions of France; one was the exploratory group and the other was used to validate the findings. The researchers used a nested case-control study design in each city to reduce bias between cases and controls.
In both cases, individuals with cognitive decline after 12 years of follow-up and the control group without cognitive decline at follow-up were selected from the same regional group (“nest”).
The authors overcame inaccuracies in diet recall by using biomarkers in blood samples taken at baseline to measure how many different components of the Mediterranean diet reached the participants’ bloodstream.
Using blood serum biomarkers instead of participants’ memories, the new study found that people who followed a Mediterranean diet were less likely to experience age-related cognitive decline.
The study authors developed a scoring system that measured individuals’ adherence to the Mediterranean diet. They call their system MDMS, which stands for “Mediterranean Diet Metabolomic Score.”
Researchers derived an MDMS score by analyzing participants’ blood serum for the presence of metabolites resulting from the cellular processing of certain foods.
Data
None of the individuals had dementia at the beginning of the 3C study, where cognitive tests were administered in 1999-2000. Participants were tested repeatedly every two to three years over a 12-year period to detect any development of dementia.
At the beginning of the 3C study, researchers took blood samples from participants to measure 72 metabolites of interest.
In the new study, individuals from the Bordeaux region, whose MDMS test results showed the greatest adherence to the Mediterranean diet, were 10% less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than people with lower test scores. They were 9% less likely to do so in the Dijon region.
The study was published in the journal
Nutranourish functional medicine physician Dr. “Metabolites, which are products of various cellular processes, can provide insight into the physiological state of the individual,” said Menka Gupta.
“[The] The breakdown and metabolism of consumed foods and nutrients produces a variety of metabolites. By measuring biomarkers of food intake, researchers can indirectly infer metabolites that occur in the body. “This helps us identify the promise of certain foods for investigating cognitive decline,” explained Dr. Gupta.
Metabolomics (studying a person’s metabolites) provides a higher degree of precision regarding the foods a study participant consumes.
“Monitoring food consumption in Mediterranean diet studies typically relies on food frequency questionnaires, which can lack accuracy due to subjective memory recall and reporting,” said Michelle Routhenstein, a preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com who was also not involved in the study.
“This study is one of the first to evaluate cognitive health and the benefits of the Mediterranean diet through metabolomic signatures.”
—Michelle Routhenstein
Internal medicine doctor Dr. According to Austin Perlmutter and New York Times The metabolites monitored in this study by a best-selling author are representatives of key components of the Mediterranean diet. These include “polyphenolics and omega-3 fatty acids, including DHA and EPA, all of which have been linked to better cognitive health.”
“A diet rich in polyphenols, particularly including quercetin and kaempferol, is associated with slower cognitive decline, while consuming more omega-3 fatty acids is supported as a preventive strategy for Alzheimer’s.”
“One of the plant-based food biomarkers examined was enterolactone, which is formed as a metabolite of lignan consumption, specifically flaxseeds and sesame seeds,” Routhenstein said. Lignans have been shown to be neuroprotective and enhance cognitive memory.”
Routhenstein also noted that the analysis also included monounsaturated fatty acids, “the heart-healthy fat found in the Mediterranean diet.”
“Research shows that oleic acid may have a beneficial effect on cognitive decline by enhancing memory functioning,” he said.
Emphasizing that the most important threat to long-term cognition is Alzheimer’s disease, Dr. “The link between diet and cognitive decline has been examined in many studies and is of increasing importance as the global population ages,” Perlmutter said.
“Thereupon with expectation
Citing a study published earlier this year that reported an association between diet and Alzheimer’s disease, Perlmutter said: “Researchers determined that individuals who reported adhering to the MIND, or Mediterranean, dietary pattern had brain markers associated with Alzheimer’s disease, less physical activity and smoking.” reported their drinking habits levels.”
The MIND diet is a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets.
Dr. The Mediterranean diet is also linked to better memory and less brain atrophy in older people, Perlmutter noted.
Dr. Gupta made an additional point