Researchers claim that a Mediterranean diet is not only positiveEffects on cardiovascular healthbut could also promote memory. The results of the new study show the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet in relation to aging. However, according to the study authors, these positive effects cannot occur equally in all people. Therefore, they recommend adapting such dietary changes to the individual characteristics of each person.
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The study followed a group of 487 volunteers for three years. Practically half of them were men and the other half were women with an average age of 65. At the start of the study, participants were overweight or obese. They also met at least three metabolic syndrome criteria, including high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, excess fat around the waist, low HDL cholesterol levels and high triglycerides. Metabolic syndrome is very common, affecting nearly one in four adults worldwide and carries a higher risk of heart disease, cerebrovascular accidents, type 2 diabetes and cognitive decline. The study authors standardized the units used to measure cognition in order to be able to compare different neuropsychological tests. For the patient group, the results show a direct connection between adherence to theMediterranean dietand cognitive improvement. Thus, memory also improved in terms of adhering to this type of diet.
The study results showed the benefits of the Mediterranean diet beyond weight loss. The researchers noted how verbal memory or attention may clearly benefit. However, people with a lower level of education and those with type 2 diabetes benefited the least from the Mediterranean diet. In particular, those who had the best auditory memory, higher planning and decision-making skills, shorter reaction times and less impulsivity at the start of the study achieved the study goal. For these reasons, the results obtained must be attributed to the authorsthis studyallow to identify the groups with the greatest difficulties. This will allow them to adapt the measures, making it easier for them to adopt the proposed guidelines for healthy living.
