The largest work done in Spain on healthy food, Predimed, with data of 7,500 people, observed two years ago that when the Mediterranean diet (already protective) was reinforced with extra virgin olive oil or nuts, the risk of Suffer cerebral accidents up to 30%. Focusing on another aspect, cognitive function among the elderly (67 years of age), has resulted in the same nutritional regimen enriched with oil or nuts also prevents or delays the loss of mental faculties associated with aging in Population.
At the end of the study, researchers cautioned that people who took the Mediterranean diet supplemented with supplements had a better cognitive ability than the control group, which had suffered greater losses in brain function. Those who ate nuts preserved memory better.
The researcher stresses that the results are applicable to the healthy population, as a preventive strategy, but never as a treatment to stop the effects of a dementia process when it has begun to manifest its symptoms. “The analyzed diet slows the cognitive deterioration associated with age, but at the moment we can not say that it is prevented, for example, the alzheimer, although the pathological condition previous alzhemer.” The essay shows how a change of habits, in this case nutritional, is an effective resource to prevent cognitive degeneration, although it takes place in advanced ages.
Despite the efforts made, the unique strategies that have proven effective in curbing the decline of age-related mental faculties are not pharmacological -if there are medications when dementia has manifested- but are related to healthy living habits.