Healthy lifestyle changes may reduce dementia risk in older adults

As a dietitian, I am a firm believer that food is medicine and our risk of disease is greatly reduced when we have the proper nutrition.  Though we understand the diets impact on diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke, new research suggests a healthy lifestyle may also impact our cognitive function.

According to research from large-scale, long term studies there is evidence that lifestyle and certain dietary elements may aid in maintaining cognitive ability and reducing dementia risk in older adults.  This new research was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, and discussed a positive relationship between tea, antioxidants and vitamin D with cognitive function.

The following are results from the individual studies:

Tea consumption may slow cognitive decline

Participants in a cardiovascular study were followed for up to 14 years for naturally-occurring cognitive decline using the Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) administered at baseline and annually up to 8 times. The researchers found that people who consumed tea at a variety of levels had significantly less cognitive decline (17-37 percent) than non-tea drinkers. More specifically, study participants who drank tea 5-10 times/year, 1-3 times/month, 1-4 times/week, and 5+ times/week had average annual rates of decline 17 percent, 32 percent, 37 percent, and 26 percent lower, respectively, than non-tea drinkers.

Animal Study shows antioxidant-rich diet with walnuts improves memory and learning

Researchers examined the effect of a diet containing 6 percent or 9 percent walnuts (equivalent to 1 oz. and 1.5 oz. daily intake of walnuts in people) on the cognitive, emotional and motor functions in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s. The mice were fed custom-mix diets from the age of four months for nine to 15 months. Control mice were fed diet without walnuts. The experimental and control mice were examined for spatial memory and learning ability, position discrimination learning ability, motor coordination, and anxiety-related behavior.
The researchers found that mice on the diet without walnuts at both testing periods showed memory deficits, anxiety-related behavior, and severe impairment in spatial learning ability, position discrimination learning ability and motor coordination. The mice on 6 percent walnuts diet and 9 percent walnuts diet showed significant improvement in learning, memory, emotional regulation and motor coordination compared to transgenic mice that did not eat walnuts.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased risk of cognitive impairment

Researchers examined information from 3,325 adults aged 65 years and older from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), a study that was carefully designed to accurately represent the U.S. non-institutionalized population. Vitamin D levels were measured from blood samples and compared with performance on a measure of general cognitive function that incorporated tests of memory, orientation in time and space, and ability to maintain attention.   Researchers found that the odds of cognitive impairment were about 42 percent higher in those people who were deficient in vitamin D, and 394 percent higher in people who were severely deficient.

“Research has pointed us towards a number of factors that may impact our risk of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline, the strongest being reducing cardiovascular risk factors,” said William Thies, PhD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at the Alzheimer’s Association.  These are some of the first reports of this type in Alzheimer’s, and that is encouraging, but it is not yet definitive evidence.”

Though more research is needed, these studies give promising evidence that a healthy diet and lifestyle help not just our bodies, but also our minds!

–Nicole Gould RD, LD