Natural HealingKill two birds with one diet: Mediterranean diets counter both Alzheimer's and heart disease.

This article in Thursday's WSJ, reports on a study from the Columbia University Medical Center in New York which was published in the Annals of Neurology. The study indicates that a Mediterranean-style diet that appears to cut the risk of heart disease also helps protect against Alzheimer's disease.
According to the article, people who followed the diet were up to 40% less likely than those who largely avoided it to develop Alzheimer's during the course of the research, scientists reported.
A Mediterranean style diet consists of lots of vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals and fish, while limiting intake of meat and dairy products, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol and emphasizing monounsaturated fats, such as in olive oil, over saturated fats
The article suggested that the idea that a heart-healthy diet could also help fight Alzheimer's fits in with growing evidence that the things we associate with being bad for our heart may also be bad for our brain. This list would include: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and uncontrolled diabetes, according to an Alzheimer's specialist.
While this article discusses diet only and not exercises, the news is consistent with other studies that I have seen both as to diet and exercise. In other words, the exercise programs and diets that tend to reduce cardiovascular disease also are believed to reduce the risk of dementia.

For more information on Mediterranean diets Visit Getfitsource Blog

online.wsj.com