A dietitian has dished out the ‘exact’ amount of vegetables you need to eat daily to help stave off “disabling dementia” as you age.
Kathleen Garcia-Benson, from Top Nutrition Coaching, has outlined the brain-boosting foods that can help fend off dementia, with the famed Mediterranean diet also taking centre stage, reports Gloucestershire Live.
She shed light on a study involving more than 40,000 participants that suggested that even a modest daily helping of vegetables could slash dementia risk by up to 12% in men and 13% in women.
Kathleen revealed: “In a prospective cohort study with over 60,000 participants, a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower risk of dementia, regardless of genetic predisposition to the disease.
“While it is not known if this impacts all types of dementia, it’s still a recommended approach to eating for overall health and wellbeing.”
Delving deeper, she added: “In another prospective cohort study with over 40,000 participants, vegetable intakes greater than 400 grams per day were associated with a 12% lower risk and a 13% lower risk of disabling dementia in men and women, respectively.”
Kathleen also highlighted that foods brimming with healthy fats, such as salmon, walnuts, flax-seeds, sardines, and olive oil, are “exceptionally supportive” of brain health due to their omega-3 fatty acids content.
She pointed out that incorporating “nutrient-dense” foods into your diet, such as blueberries, strawberries, dark leafy greens, oats, and broccoli, can bolster cognitive health.
These fruits and vegetables are not only packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for healthy cell renewal and anti-inflammatory benefits but are also rich in fibre to enhance digestion, which may influence brain function.
She emphasised: “These foods contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help the body with healthy cellular turnover and have anti-inflammatory properties. Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for brain function.”
The NHS has warned against diets high in saturated fats, salt, and sugar coupled with low fibre content, highlighting their link to increased risks of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Such conditions are associated with a higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.The health service recommends using the healthy weight calculator to monitor weight.
Furthermore, the NHS suggests that shedding just 5% to 10% of excess weight can help reduce the risk of dementia.