Foods That Prevent Memory Loss
By Paula Spencer Scott, Caring.com senior editor
"You are what you eat" goes an old saying. How about "You remember what you eat"? More proof that diet can influence cognitive health and dementia was announced this week from a long-term study involving more than 3,000 people ages 65 and older who had no sign of dementia at its start.
Over the 11-year course of the study, the subjects who showed the least mental decline were those whose normal diets most closely resembled the low-fat, high-fiber DASH diet – Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. DASH is a diet commonly used to combat high blood pressure, which is one of the risk factors for dementia.
Utah State University researchers say that this same group had also scored the highest on memory, attention span, and problem solving skills at the beginning of the study.
So what's in the DASH diet?
Whole grains (at least three whole-grain foods per day)
Low-fat or fat-free dairy products
Nuts, seeds, and dry beans
Vegetables and fruit At least eight servings a day. (Only 11 percent of Americans consume even the USDA minimum of five fruits and vegetables, says a 2007 report.)
Fish and poultry; minimal lean red meat
Limited fats and sweets
Minimal sodium (about 1 teaspoon, or 2,400 mg/day) (A variation known as DASH/sodium calls for just 1,500 mg/day)
Sounds like basic diet stuff you've heard before, I know. But studies like this new Utah one affirm why nutritionists and doctors are so keen on it: It really is good for us, whether we have high blood pressure or not. And unlike some so-called "diets," the basic tenets of DASH are more commonsensical than onerous. The National Institutes of Health offers lots of specifics on how to implement a DASH diet lifestyle.
Researchers haven't ferreted out exactly what dietary components are most helpful, or in what combination or amount, but I wouldn't wait for this "magic bullet" discovery. There's too much evidence piling up that an overall heart-healthy lifestyle is protective against dementia, so these rough guidelines are as good a place to start as any.
Most of the "diet" is common sense.
Interestingly, the study subjects didn't go on the DASH diet; their own diets were simply analyzed and it turned out that the people whose way of eating most resembled DASH -- which is an eating approach that seems to sum up what most doctors are saying is simply healthful basic nutrition -- did the best. So while I'm not an MD, it's hard to imagine this way of eating (a better description than the word "diet") being "bad" for most people. (Your own doctor could address any tweaks specifically tailored to your medical situation, but they'd likely be tweaks, not major departures.)
Hugs Mill Valley Dad
I find this to be very interesting. Not only because with out really knowing it, I have eating foods pertaining to the DASH diet, but because of the effects it has on our bodies. Although it's not sodium-reduced, would staying on this diet be bad for me even though I have hypo-tension?
The DASH Diet is wonderful. But it is not sodium-reduced. The original DASH Study confirmed an 11.4 mmHg SBP fall on the DASH Diet with sodium held constant (among hypertensives). A second, DASH-Sodium, study found hypertensives on the DASH Diet with 60% salt reduction achieved an 11.5 mmHg SBP fall. The "DASH effect" is what is observed; the "sodium effect" is statistical noise. That is what Heidi Wengreen found as well. Sodium was tested independently and contributed nothing to the benefit of the DASH Diet with regard to mental function in the elderly. Dick Hanneman President Salt Institute