[메디컬투데이=이승재 기자] Research has shown that the ‘green Mediterranean diet’, which is rich in polyphenols, slows brain aging by improving blood sugar and blood pressure levels.
A study investigating the physiological mechanism by which the Mediterranean diet and green Mediterranean diet slow brain aging was published in ‘The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.’
As we age, our brains also age. This brain aging is manifested by a decrease in hippocampal volume and expansion of the lateral ventricles.
In some people, brain age may differ from chronological age, which is especially noticeable in older people who are clear-headed and have good memories.
According to the results of the ‘DIRECT PLUS’ study released in 2022, the Mediterranean diet plays a role in slowing brain aging. In particular, the ‘green Mediterranean diet’, which is rich in polyphenols such as mankai and green tea, further slows down brain aging and keeps the brain young.
In the DIRECT PLUS study, researchers conducted a new analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of study participants to investigate how changes in health caused by diet affect brain aging.
They estimated the degree of decrease in hippocampal volume through a figure called ‘hippocampus occupancy’ in MRI images, and used this as the degree of brain aging.
According to the researchers, the greater the deviation in hippocampus occupancy, the younger the brain age can be interpreted as compared to the actual age. Among study participants, those with greater hippocampal occupancy variation had 20.4% lower body weight, 20.7% smaller waist circumference, and 18.9%/18.6% lower systolic/diastolic blood pressure, respectively. They also had 9.9% lower insulin levels and 16.4% lower glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), which measures three-month blood sugar levels.
The researchers explained that these improvements in key cardiovascular and metabolic indicators resulting from consumption of the Mediterranean diet or green Mediterranean diet lead to increased hippocampal occupancy variation and overall brain health. They added that polyphenols in particular have positive effects on blood sugar management and brain aging beyond weight loss.
Based on these results, the researchers concluded that the Mediterranean diet and green Mediterranean diet slow down brain aging by improving blood sugar and blood pressure levels.
Medical Today Reporter Seungjae Lee (ecthomas@mdtoday.co.kr)
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