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The field of nutrition appears to be in a state of constant flux. This is also true for the dietary approach to preventing dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.
On the one hand proponents such as Dr David Perlmutter, the author of a book entitled Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar - Your Brain’s Silent Killers advocate banning wheat, gluten, carbohydrates and sugar from the diet to keep your brain pristine well into old age (Stetka & Perlmutter, 2014).
On the other hand, a team of eleven leading doctors from the G8 countries wrote a letter to the British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Minister of Health Jeremy Hunt, urging them to emphasis the importance of diet and lifestyle factors and the Mediterranean Diet in particular, in reducing the risk of dementia in global populations, shortly before the start of the summit on new approaches to research and treatment of dementia (Collins, 2013). The Mediterranean Diet contains wheat and gluten, carbohydrates, legumes and starchy vegetables.
So which theory should we believe and which diet should we follow to ensure that our brain cells remain feisty until the day we “shuffle off this mortal coil” as Shakespeare put it so elegantly?
The answer to this conundrum is that we honestly don’t know yet which diet is going to benefit people in general and also keep their brain cells from deteriorating.
As was repeatedly emphasised by experts in the field and the attending politicians at the G8 Dementia Summit held in London on the 11th of December 2013, “We recognise that dementia is not a normal part of ageing. It is a condition that impairs the cognitive brain functions of memory, language, perception and thought and which interferes significantly with the ability to maintain the activities of daily living.” (G8 UK, 2013)
In view of the fact that there are already more than 35 million people worldwide suffering from dementia, a figure that is expected to double in the following two decades, and that the costs of care associated with this condition are already estimated to exceed US$604 billion, dementia is a serious threat which requires a solution sooner, rather than later (G8 UK, 2013).
Diet solutions
While the G8 Dementia Summit have issued an undertaking to commit themselves to engage in research and to find “a cure or a disease-modifying therapy for dementia by 2025" (G8 UK, 2013), people struggling with the problems of dementia in 2014, will turn to any suggested cure that promises relief. It is, thus understandable that various diets should also be promising patients a solution for dementia.
The Mediterranean Diet is rich in complex carbohydrates, vegetables, fruit, including wine (in moderation), monounsaturated fats and oils (including olives, avocado, and olive oil), yoghurt and cheeses, pulses, fish, and seafood (good sources of omega-3 fatty acids), and contains very little red meat. The Mediterranean Diet can, therefore, be regarded as more balanced and probably much easier to stick to than the Zero-carb. High-protein, High-fat diets proposed by so many authors of diet books that are currently all the rage.
Dilemma
It has been said that we will soon “be held to ransom” by the demographics of our ageing populations. We live longer, but more and more people who grow older suffer from dementia and increase the burden on our healthcare systems. We need to do something positive about the situation right now and not wait till 2025.
Just from an economic point of view, the Mediterranean Diet is less expensive to put into practice than the No-carb Diets. It is also much more varied and it has sustained countless populations living around the Mediterranean Sea for millennia. A recent review of studies comparing diets, showed that 9 out of 12 studies linked the Mediterranean Diet to improved cognitive function, reduced deterioration of the brain and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Prior studies have showed that the Mediterranean Diet also helps to lower the risk of heart disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus (Alzheimer’s Research, 2013; The Times, 2013).
While many South Africans probably regard High-protein, High-fat diets as bliss and part of their heritage, making modest changes to your food intake will not only improve your physical healthy, but may just keep your brain sprightly for years to come. What worked for people like Homer and Pythagoras, and all the other brilliant luminaries living around the Middle Sea, will probably also help to keep our brains going.
On the one hand proponents such as Dr David Perlmutter, the author of a book entitled Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar - Your Brain’s Silent Killers advocate banning wheat, gluten, carbohydrates and sugar from the diet to keep your brain pristine well into old age (Stetka & Perlmutter, 2014).
On the other hand, a team of eleven leading doctors from the G8 countries wrote a letter to the British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Minister of Health Jeremy Hunt, urging them to emphasis the importance of diet and lifestyle factors and the Mediterranean Diet in particular, in reducing the risk of dementia in global populations, shortly before the start of the summit on new approaches to research and treatment of dementia (Collins, 2013). The Mediterranean Diet contains wheat and gluten, carbohydrates, legumes and starchy vegetables.
So which theory should we believe and which diet should we follow to ensure that our brain cells remain feisty until the day we “shuffle off this mortal coil” as Shakespeare put it so elegantly?
The answer to this conundrum is that we honestly don’t know yet which diet is going to benefit people in general and also keep their brain cells from deteriorating.
As was repeatedly emphasised by experts in the field and the attending politicians at the G8 Dementia Summit held in London on the 11th of December 2013, “We recognise that dementia is not a normal part of ageing. It is a condition that impairs the cognitive brain functions of memory, language, perception and thought and which interferes significantly with the ability to maintain the activities of daily living.” (G8 UK, 2013)
In view of the fact that there are already more than 35 million people worldwide suffering from dementia, a figure that is expected to double in the following two decades, and that the costs of care associated with this condition are already estimated to exceed US$604 billion, dementia is a serious threat which requires a solution sooner, rather than later (G8 UK, 2013).
Diet solutions
While the G8 Dementia Summit have issued an undertaking to commit themselves to engage in research and to find “a cure or a disease-modifying therapy for dementia by 2025" (G8 UK, 2013), people struggling with the problems of dementia in 2014, will turn to any suggested cure that promises relief. It is, thus understandable that various diets should also be promising patients a solution for dementia.
The Mediterranean Diet is rich in complex carbohydrates, vegetables, fruit, including wine (in moderation), monounsaturated fats and oils (including olives, avocado, and olive oil), yoghurt and cheeses, pulses, fish, and seafood (good sources of omega-3 fatty acids), and contains very little red meat. The Mediterranean Diet can, therefore, be regarded as more balanced and probably much easier to stick to than the Zero-carb. High-protein, High-fat diets proposed by so many authors of diet books that are currently all the rage.
Dilemma
It has been said that we will soon “be held to ransom” by the demographics of our ageing populations. We live longer, but more and more people who grow older suffer from dementia and increase the burden on our healthcare systems. We need to do something positive about the situation right now and not wait till 2025.
Just from an economic point of view, the Mediterranean Diet is less expensive to put into practice than the No-carb Diets. It is also much more varied and it has sustained countless populations living around the Mediterranean Sea for millennia. A recent review of studies comparing diets, showed that 9 out of 12 studies linked the Mediterranean Diet to improved cognitive function, reduced deterioration of the brain and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Prior studies have showed that the Mediterranean Diet also helps to lower the risk of heart disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus (Alzheimer’s Research, 2013; The Times, 2013).
While many South Africans probably regard High-protein, High-fat diets as bliss and part of their heritage, making modest changes to your food intake will not only improve your physical healthy, but may just keep your brain sprightly for years to come. What worked for people like Homer and Pythagoras, and all the other brilliant luminaries living around the Middle Sea, will probably also help to keep our brains going.
