Mediterranean diet includes fresh produce, olive oil, nuts and seafood
Olena Mykhaylova RF / Alamy Stock Photo
People with multiple sclerosis who follow a Mediterranean diet are less likely to have cognitive problems. The findings suggest that a diet featuring fresh produce, seafood, nuts, olive oil, minimal red meat and sugar may prevent or treat disease-related cognitive symptoms. increase.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. More than half of people with this condition experience impairments related to memory, attention span and processing speed.
Ilana Katz Sand of the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York, and her colleagues recruited 563 multiple sclerosis patients under the age of 65. Each participant completed a questionnaire that determined how well they adhered to the Mediterranean diet on a scale of 0 to 14. They also underwent three cognitive assessments. A score below the 5th percentile on at least two assessments was indicative of cognitive impairment.
After adjusting for age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, sleep, exercise, and other health-related factors, the researchers found that adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment. Of the 133 participants who scored 0 to 4 on the Mediterranean diet questionnaire, nearly 34% had cognitive impairment. However, only 13% of her 103 people who scored above 9 on the Mediterranean diet had cognitive impairment.
The findings, which will be presented at the April meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Boston, suggest that the Mediterranean diet has a protective effect on cognition in people with multiple sclerosis, says Katz Sand. says.
Although more research is needed to understand the mechanism, Katz-Sanddo believes it may be related to the gut microbiome. “It’s also a big determinant of what those bacteria produce,” she says. has been shown to exacerbate the symptoms of
The findings also don’t shed light on how dietary changes affect multiple sclerosis. [get] Better. But this is moving us in that direction, ”he says Katz Sand.
Sign up for our free Health Check newsletter for all the health and fitness news you need to know every Saturday
topic:
