Recent research indicates that adopting a diet abundant in fresh vegetables and low in processed foods can significantly improve your brain's biological age.
The study, titled "The Effect of Weight Loss Following 18 Months of Lifestyle Intervention on Brain Age Assessed With Resting-State Functional Connectivity" published in eLife, suggests that consuming a Mediterranean diet can decelerate the effects of accelerated brain aging associated with obesity, even with a mere 1 percent reduction in body weight.
Green Mediterranean Diet Positively Affects Brain Aging
New research conducted at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev demonstrates that adopting a Green Mediterranean Diet has a positive impact on brain health, Neuroscience News reported. In a sub-study of the DIRECT-PLUS trial, it was observed that weight loss has the potential to slow down brain aging.
The DIRECT-PLUS trial, lasting 18 months and involving 300 participants, was a comprehensive and long-term clinical study. Prof. Galia Avidan from the Department of Psychology and Dr. Gidon Levakov, a former graduate student from the Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, conducted the sub-study. The findings of their research were recently published in the scientific journal eLife.
The research indicates that obesity is associated with accelerated brain aging. By assessing the "brain age" of individuals through detailed scans, researchers can quantify how old their brains appear regardless of their chronological age. This approach enables them to examine the influence of various factors, including lifestyle, on the aging process within a relatively short time frame.
The team focused on 102 individuals meeting the criteria for obesity. Brain scans were conducted at the beginning and end of the program, alongside additional tests and measurements to examine other biological processes affected by obesity, such as liver health.
The results demonstrated that a mere 1% reduction in body weight led to the participants having brains that appeared nearly 9 months younger than their expected brain age after 18 months. This attenuation of brain aging correlated with changes in other biological markers, including decreased liver fat and liver enzymes.
Previous research has shown that increased liver fat and the production of specific liver enzymes can negatively impact brain health, particularly in Alzheimer's disease.
Highlighting the Importance of a Healthy Lifestyle
Lead author and neuroscientist Gidon Levakov from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel said in a news release that the significance of a healthy lifestyle, including reduced consumption of processed foods, sweets, and beverages, for maintaining brain health.
While this advice may hold merit, it is essential to consider the limitations of the study. As per Science Alert, the participants were primarily men who completed online surveys about their dietary and lifestyle habits, which could introduce recall or reporting biases.
Furthermore, factors beyond food were taken into account, such as participants' activity levels at work, and they were provided with a free gym membership as part of the trial, indicating that exercise played a role as well.
Previous research has shed light on the cellular mechanisms through which the beneficial fats of the Mediterranean diet operate. However, it has also revealed disparities in the health benefits derived from the diet among different socioeconomic groups.
Individuals with higher incomes and education levels, who could afford to consume ample amounts of fish and whole grains, experienced greater improvements in cardiovascular health compared to those with lower incomes, even when their adherence to the diet was similar.
RELATED ARTICLE: People Who Follow Mediterranean Diet Have Up to 50% Lower Chances of Cognitive Decline
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