Billy Joel sang about being in a “New York State of Mind”; followers of his ought to sing about being in a “Mediterranean State of Mind.”  Why?  Because that kind of mindset could wind up saving millions of people from Alzheimer’s disease.

The health benefits of following the Mediterranean diet, a diet rooted in fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and fish – are well documented, millions having lowered their blood pressure, lowered their weight, and lowered their risk of heart disease as a result.

A new study adds to this “lowered list,” for results indicate that the Mediterranean diet can lower the risk of Alzheimer’s, a disease that’s rapidly gaining on heart disease in the number of people affected (25 million affected by heart disease, leading cause of death in the U.S.; 5 million affected by Alzheimer’s, sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.).

Researchers discovered this after following approximately 1,900 men and women in their latter years of life for 16 years (starting right around the time the Mediterranean diet was introduced by Dr. Walter Willett of Harvard University’s School of Public Health).

Between 1992 and 2006, researchers followed their exercise and eating habits, paying particular attention to those who were able to follow the Mediterranean meal plan closest.

Those who followed the Mediterranean diet religiously were awarded for their faithfulness.  Because according to the Columbia University researchers, the Mediterranean diet diners reduced their risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 40 percent.  What’s more, if they exercised regularly while following the Mediterranean diet, they reduced their risk an additional 33 percent!

The study piggy backs on past studies that have linked the Mediterranean diet to cognitive health, but this one goes further, pinpointing Alzheimer’s in disease prevention.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Zaven Khachaturian, former director for the National Institute of Health’s Office of Alzheimer’s Disease Research, said that while this study is promising, more needs to be done before anything definitive can be drawn from it.  Khachaturian is referring to the fact that this study was observational only; stringent empirical analysis was not involved.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

A Mediterranean diet is the ideal meal plan for an all-natural lifestyle.  It’s rooted in consuming natural carbohydrate sources (100 percent whole grain pasta, breads and cereals) fresh fruits and vegetables (even the starchy ones, like corn and potatoes), healthy fats (like those found in nuts and olive oil), and limited animal protein consumption (fish being the exception).

And just as an all-natural diet spurns anything that’s processed or artificial, so too does the Mediterranean diet.  In other words, forget about the snack cakes for dessert or the mid-afternoon bag of chips for a snack.  Typical desserts for Mediterranean adherents include fruits like watermelon and pineapple, and snacks like whole almonds or a thin spread of natural peanut butter on a whole wheat slice of toasted bread.

Sources
cdc.gov
cdc.gov
online.wsj.com
webmd.com
presstv.ir