When you think about nutrition, also choose with brain well-being in mind. Because food preferences certainly affect brain conditions, to the point of influencing the health of the nervous system itself. This is according to research that appeared in Nature, coordinated by Jianfeng Feng of the University of Warwick, which scientifically confirms a reality that is in fact. A healthy, balanced diet is linked to greater brain health, cognitive function and mental well-being.
Variation is important
The study began by crossing several evaluations. We obviously started from the food choices of a large sample of 181,990 participants from the UK Biobank. This information was then cross-referenced, in this “Big Data” analysis, with several physical assessments, including cognitive function, metabolic blood biomarkers, brain imaging and genetic predisposition.
Each participant’s food preferences were collected via an online questionnaire, which the team classified into 10 groups (such as alcohol, fruit and meat). The analysis of the data shows that those who tended to choose a balanced diet, varying the foods, more often had better psycho-neurological well-being, superior cognitive functions and even a greater quantity of gray matter in the brain. Obviously compared to those who always ate the same things.
Why it is important to change habits
Based on what emerged, changing your diet if you tend to overindulge in certain foods is also very important. In fact, research shows how dietary changes are useful in particular for those who are used to being “greedy”, therefore consuming very palatable but not exactly optimal foods, also due to objective imbalances in nutrients, from a nutritional point of view.
What advice comes? If you tend to overdo it, slowly reducing your sugar and fat intake over time, people may find themselves naturally gravitating towards healthier food choices. Finally, scientists believe that genetic factors may also contribute to the association between diet and brain health. But let’s not take them as alibis: it is the interaction between predisposition and choices in terms of lifestyle that preserves brain well-being. And we need to start from an early age because being accustomed to healthy food choices from an early age helps us grow better and lay the foundations for future brain health.
How to prevent mental decay at the table and beyond
The mental decline of the elderly can partly be prevented by specific behaviors and activities: in the development of cognitive disorders, in addition to non-modifiable biological and genetic factors, there are possibilities for preventive intervention which also affect a good 30 percent in reducing the risk of dementia. These protective factors are cognitive reserve, training to keep the mind busy and solve problems and acquire new knowledge, physical activity and motor activity in general. Prevention, which is starting to bear fruit, is based on the approach to risk factors such as hypertension, obesity, metabolic factors such as increased glucose and cholesterol, and on saying goodbye to harmful habits such as smoking and excessive salt consumption, on the early recognition and subsequent treatment of atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia. Nutrition can help reduce the risk of cerebrovascular diseases but also of degenerative and inflammatory diseases. It is important to avoid introducing excessive quantities of food and to eat at the traditional times of early morning, mid-day and in the evening. The Mediterranean diet with meals rich in vegetables and fruit, white meat and fish, moderate alcohol intake also has the property of reducing the inflammation that often accompanies nervous system diseases. Finally, many diseases of the peripheral nerves, such as polyneuropathies, depend on internal and treatable causes such as diabetes or endocrine diseases such as thyroid disorders or toxic factors such as alcohol. Finally, diabetes must be treated well, if necessary, and an adequate intake of vitamins is required to limit the risks of neurological complications such as disorders of strength and sensitivity in the limbs.
