Anti-inflammatory diet cuts dementia risk by nearly a third, study finds

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Substituting an anti-inflammatory diet of whole grains, fruits and vegetables instead of a pro-inflammatory diet focused on ultra-processed foods like red and processed meats, sugary cereals, soda, french fries and ice cream could lower the risk of dementia by 31%, a new study has found.

The benefits also apply to people with a history of cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke, said Abigail Dove, lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Neurology. JAMA Network Open.

“Following an anti-inflammatory diet was associated with a reduced risk of dementia, even in patients with cardiometabolic disease who were already at high risk of dementia,” Dove, a doctoral student at the Center for Aging Research at Karolinska Institutet in Solna, Sweden, said in an email.

In fact, people with type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease who consumed the most anti-inflammatory foods “had a two-year delay in developing dementia than people with cardiometabolic disease who consumed a pro-inflammatory diet,” she added.

Brain scans of people who followed the anti-inflammatory diet also showed significantly reduced levels of brain biomarkers of neurodegeneration and vascular damage, Dove said.

While the study is observational and cannot demonstrate causation, the findings mirror existing research showing links between dietary inflammation and brain health, Dr. David Katz, an expert in preventive and lifestyle medicine who was not involved in the study, said in an email.

“A higher quality, less inflammatory diet likely directly impacts multiple pathways related to brain and neurocognitive health over time,” said Katz, the nonprofit's founder. True Health Initiativeis a global alliance of experts committed to evidence-based lifestyle medicine.

The biological effects of food on inflammatory pathways are not yet fully understood. Researcher The Western diet is dominated by a reliance on sugar and ultra-processed foods, and high levels of saturated fats in red and processed meats. pollution, Harmful substances such as cigarette smoke, radiation, plastics, and pesticides can increase the activity of free radicals in the body.

Free radicals are molecules with unpaired electrons that steal electrons from other cells in search of a replacement, causing cell damage and potentially contributing to Alzheimer's and other dementias and chronic diseases.

Additionally, the researchers believe that highly processed, fatty foods may cause elevated levels of other inflammatory biomarkers, such as: C-reactive protein, Interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha.

a Survey conducted in November 2020 People who eat a lot of red and processed meats, like bacon and sausages, and sugary, ultra-processed foods have been found to have a 28% higher risk of stroke and a 46% higher risk of heart disease. A February 2019 study found that just a 10% increase in intake of these foods was significantly associated with a 14% higher risk of death from any cause.

There are ways to fight back: Research suggests that anti-inflammatory compounds such as vitamins, carotenoids and flavonoids found in foods like fruits and vegetables may neutralize free radicals and other markers of inflammation, reducing stress on the body. According to the Mayo Clinic.

The new study analysed the dietary patterns of more than 84,000 adults aged 60 and over without dementia, who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and/or heart disease or stroke, who took part in UK Biobank, a longitudinal study including participants from England, Scotland and Wales.

Each participant was asked five times about their intake of 206 foods and 32 beverages, each with different levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Their medical records were then examined over a 15-year period to see if there was a link between the lowest and highest intakes of inflammatory foods and a dementia diagnosis. In addition, about 9,000 participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans.

The scans showed that cardiometabolic disease patients who ate the most anti-inflammatory foods had greater grey matter volume (indicating less neurodegeneration) and lower white matter intensity, a sign of vascular damage in the brain, compared to patients who ate the pro-inflammatory foods.

More research is needed, but overall “the signal is well above the background noise,” Katz said.

“Even after battling chronic cardiometabolic disease, adopting a higher quality diet appears to provide some protection to the brain, reducing and delaying signs of functional and anatomical deterioration.”