Israeli researchers have found that age-related brain atrophy can be slowed by a green Mediterranean diet, high in polyphenols, a type of micronutrient found naturally in plants, and low in red and processed meat.
The results of the study were published Tuesday in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The trial was led by Prof. Iris Shai and Dr. Alon Kaplan from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, along with several international teams of brain experts.
The study involved 284 participants between the ages of 31 and 82, all employees of the Dimona Nuclear Research Center, randomly divided into three groups who would follow a diet based on established guidelines: a healthy diet, a Mediterranean diet, and a green Mediterranean diet.
Both groups following a Mediterranean-style diet were also given nuts to eat, while those following the green Mediterranean diet were also given three to four cups of green tea a day and a smoothie made from Mankai, a plant aquatic. Shai has acted as an advisor to an Israeli company that markets the product.
All participants underwent a complete brain MRI before and after the study. They also received free gym memberships and exercised daily.
Prof. Iris Shai (Dani Machlis / BGU)
The researchers found a significant decrease in age-related brain damage among those who adhered to both forms of the Mediterranean diet, with a greater slowdown in damage observed among the green diet group.
The most significant improvement was seen in participants older than 50, an age group particularly prone to rapid mental atrophy.
Participants who followed those two diets also showed an improvement in insulin sensitivity, another example of a slowdown in damage to brain activity.
“The beneficial association between the green Mediterranean diet and age-related neurodegeneration could be explained in part by the abundance of polyphenols in plant-based food sources that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory metabolites,” Shai said in a statement, explaining that the Micronutrients can reduce inflammation in the brain and increase brain connectivity.
“Our findings could suggest a simple, safe and promising way to delay age-related neurodegeneration by adhering to a Mediterranean green diet,” Kaplan said in the statement.
Shai led similar investigations, who developed a diet that significantly reduces liver fat by modifying the traditional Mediterranean diet to include specialty vegetables.
You’re serious. We appreciate that!
We are very happy that you read X Israel Times Articles in the last month.
That’s why we come to work every day – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage on Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request.. Unlike other media, we have not installed a pay wall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The community of Israel’s times.
For as little as $ 6 a month, you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel. AD FREE, as well as access exclusive content available only to members of the Times of Israel community.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘272776440645465’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
var comment_counter = 0;
window.fbAsyncInit = function() {
FB.init({
appId : ‘123142304440875’,
xfbml : true,
version : ‘v5.0’
});
FB.AppEvents.logPageView();
FB.Event.subscribe(‘comment.create’, function (response) {
comment_counter++;
if(comment_counter == 2){
jQuery.ajax({
type: “POST”,
url: “/wp-content/themes/rgb/functions/facebook.php”,
data: { p: “2681950”, c: response.commentID, a: “add” }
});
comment_counter = 0;
}
});
FB.Event.subscribe(‘comment.remove’, function (response) {
jQuery.ajax({
type: “POST”,
url: “/wp-content/themes/rgb/functions/facebook.php”,
data: { p: “2681950”, c: response.commentID, a: “rem” }
});
});
};
(function(d, s, id){
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
