Why the Mediterranean diet protects the brain from signs of Alzheimer’s disease: study

The Mediterranean diet continues to prove why it’s been named the No. 1 best diet overall by the U.S. News & World Report for seven years in a row.

A new study published in the journal JAMA Neurology found that sticking to the Mediterranean diet can keep a person’s mind sharp into old age — even if the brain shows signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

People who followed the diet scored higher on cognitive functionality tests, despite markers for dementia in the brain after death, researchers from Rush University in Chicago found.

The Med diet is derived from the traditional diets of 21 countries that border the Mediterranean Sea — where fresh greens, fruits, fish, nuts and olives abound. It involves eating plant-based foods, grains and lean poultry along with healthy doses of extra-virgin olive oil.

While it doesn’t focus on a specific nutrient or food group, the Med diet instead stresses the importance of focusing on quality and filling your plate with a wide range of foods, such as fruits, vegetables, seafood, olive oil and whole grains.

Using data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a study with autopsy data from 1997 to 2022 with up to 24 years of follow-up, researchers analyzed 586 subjects who died at an average age of 91.