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 THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

 A Mediterranean diet may be helpful in preventing Alzheimer's disease.  Researchers from New York followed 2,148 subjects older than 65 years for an average of 4 years.1 A dietary pattern with higher intake of salad dressing, nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, mustard vegetables, fruits, dark and green leaf vegetables, and lower intake of high fat diary products, red meat, organ meat and butter was associated with a much lower risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. 

Another prospective study looked at loss of intellectual functioning over 5 years in 1,410 adults from France.2   Adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a slower decline in intellectual function, although it did not prevent Alzheimer's disease.  The authors discuss why their results are a bit different from the New York study.  A strong possibility is that a Mediterranean diet may be helpful in the years before the dementia of Altzheimer's manifests itself.  Once Altzheimer's develops, it's too late to reverse matters.

A review of 7 studies noted that although they converge towards showing a beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet on congnitive function, the results are not consistent.3  There is yet insufficient evidence, therefore, to promote the Mediterranean diet as the opitimal diet for preventing cognitive decline.

References: 1. Gu Y et al. Food combination and Alzheimer disease risk. A protective diet. Archives of Neurology 2010;699-706

2. Feart C et al. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet, cognitive decline, and risk of dementia. Journal of the American Medical Association 2009;302:638-648

3. Feart C et al. Potential benefits of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on cognitive health. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2013;72:140-152.