Looking for a great way to stay healthy, keep your brain sharp and even slow your rate of ageing? Of course, you are, we all are and according to a new study the solution could be found in the food we eat!
Following a Mediterranean diet helps to keep your body fit and healthy. This is a claim that has long been made, but new evidence suggests that such a diet can also not only also improve your brain health, but actually slow brain ageing!
A study, published in theNeurologyjournal found that, when measured over a 3-year period, those who stuck to the diet lost less ‘brain volume’ than those who didn’t.
Brain volume is lost when the brain begins to shrink as part of the natural ageing process. Brain cells are slowly lost as part of this, and brain health and memory can be affected.
The Mediterranean diet has been called the ‘worlds healthiest diet’ involves increasing your consumption of vegetables, fish and nuts, reducing your intake of red meat, sweets and white bread and use of olive oil. The diet’s nutritional benefits are derived from the high amount of plant-based proteins and promotion of healthier ‘monosaturated’ fats over saturated fats.
If the anti-ageing benefits are not enough to tempt you to ‘go Mediterranean’, other lasting health benefits the diet has been shown to bring include: Reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes, weight-loss and even protection against some forms of cancer. Why not give it a try? Changing your diet really could change your whole life!