Japanese Food May Prevent Dementia in Women: New Study

Editorial, CNBC Indonesia

Lifestyle

Wednesday, 10/04/2024 20:45 IWST

Photo: Photo: Issei Kato/Reuters/Newscom

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Japanese lifestyle is known for making its citizens live long. Recent research shows that Japanese food can also prevent dementia, but it has only been proven effective for women.

The Japanese population has long been renowned for being healthy and old. In fact, the Okinawa region in Japan is known as the “Blue Zone”, an area where the life expectancy of the population is much longer than any other region in the world.

The phenomenon of longevity in Japan is often associated with their eating habits.

Research by Giovanni Sala from the University of Liverpool and Shu Zhang from the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology illustrates the benefits of Japanese food on human brain development.

Sala and Shu Zhang conducted research with a sample of 1,636 Japanese residents aged 40 to 89 years.

The majority of Japanese people consume rice, fish, shellfish and fruit as daily food. However, the focus of Sala and Su Zhang’s research is a unique Japanese menu, namely miso, seaweed, pickles, green tea, soybeans, sprouts and mushrooms. Japanese people also consume very little red meat and coffee.

Japanese citizens who participated as research subjects were asked to record all their food and drinks for three days. They were also asked to photograph the dish in front of them before eating using a disposable camera.

Using the data collected, Sala and Su Zhang calculated the average calories consumed by each person.

Based on the data, as many as 589 research participants consumed typical Japanese food and drinks. On the other hand, 697 research subjects consumed a typical western menu full of processed carbohydrates, fat, soda and alcohol. As many as 350 people ate more fiber than average, most of which was vegetables and fruit.

Then, the two researchers collected information about the lifestyle and health risks of each study participant, including the threat of dementia based on genetics. Smoking habits, physical activity and current health conditions are also taken into account.

The final data used for comparison was an analysis of the decrease in brain mass (brain atrophy) and brain shrinkage (decrease in the number of neurons) over two years, using MRI.

As a result, women who have a habit of eating Japanese food experience “brain shrinkage” more slowly than women who eat western food every day.

This significant difference was only found in women. In male research subjects, no significant differences were found in brain development.

According to Sala and Su Zhang, the differences found in men and women may be due to differences in the impact of certain nutrients. Nutrients such as magnesium and estrogen which are found in fish, shellfish and mushrooms have stronger protection for women’s brains.

Apart from that, Japanese men also have a riskier lifestyle, especially the habit of smoking, consuming noodles and drinking alcohol more often than women.

Sala and Su Zhang added that the benefits of the Japanese people’s eating style are also supported by foods that are full of vitamins, polyphenols and unsaturated fatty acids. All of these nutrients are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that help the brain and the neurons in it work better.

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