Traditional Japanese diet may help prevent dementia

health

by amy eisinger

Forget about the Mediterranean diet and eat sushi.

A new study has revealed that eating traditional Japanese food may help prevent dementia and cognitive decline, especially in women.

The typical Japanese diet is characterized by rice, fish, shellfish, and citrus fruits, but the traditional diet is a little more unique, wrote study author Shu Zhang, a researcher at the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology. Traditional meals also incorporate foods such as seaweed, miso, green tea, pickles, and mushrooms.

Previous research has already shown that some of these foods, such as green tea and fish, have a variety of health benefits, so combining them increases their potential positive effects. is not surprising.

“Following a traditional Japanese diet may be beneficial for brain health, and is even better for brain health than a typical Western diet,” Chan wrote in The Conversation. In this study, a typical Western diet was high in refined carbohydrates, fatty foods, soft drinks, and alcohol.

In the study, published in the Nutrition Journal in March, researchers looked at a sample of 1,636 Japanese people between the ages of 40 and 89. The researchers found that 589 people followed a traditional Japanese diet, while another group (697 people) ate a Western diet. , and another small group (350 people) followed a diet that was primarily plant-based (grains, vegetables, fruits).

The researchers collected a variety of lifestyle factors and then performed regular MRI scans on the participants over the next two years to measure brain atrophy, a possible indicator of cognitive decline and dementia.

What they discovered was surprising. Women who follow a traditional Japanese diet have less brain atrophy compared to women who follow a Western diet. Notably, this diet only affected women. There doesn’t seem to be any difference in men’s brains whether they eat a Western-style diet or a Japanese-style diet.

Researchers speculate that there may be a variety of reasons for this difference, including biological and lifestyle factors. It was found that men were more likely to comment on negative habits, such as smoking, that can interfere with a healthy diet. Men were also more likely to deviate from a strictly traditional diet, increasing their intake of noodles (refined carbohydrates) and alcohol.

Japan, which includes one of the world’s five “blue zones,” has a healthier, longer-living population and lower rates of chronic disease than many other parts of the world, according to the Daily Mail. It is known for.

Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones Solution, points out that in Okinawa, for example, only 6.7% have dementia, compared to more than 11% in the United States. There is.

The traditional Japanese diet is thought to be good for the aging brain because it’s rich in polyphenols, phytochemicals and unsaturated fatty acids that help reduce inflammation in the body, reports the Daily Mail. Ta.

“All of these ingredients are known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which basically means they help keep the brain and its neurons working at peak function,” Chan said. writing.