Whenever the fictional character Popeye the Sailor Man managed to down a can of spinach, the results were almost instantaneous: he gained superhuman strength. Devouring any solid object similarly did the trick for one of the X-Men. As we age and begin to struggle with memory problems, many of us would love to reach for an edible mental fix. Sadly, such supernatural effects remain fantastical. Yet making the right food choices may well yield more modest gains.
A growing body of evidence suggests that adopting the Mediterranean diet, or one much like it, can help slow memory loss as people age. The diet’s hallmarks include lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains (as opposed to ultrarefined ones) and a moderate intake of fish, poultry and red wine. Dining mainly on single ingredients, such as pumpkin seeds or blueberries, however, will not do the trick.
What is more, this diet approach appears to reap brain benefits even when adopted later in life—sometimes aiding cognition in as little as two years. “You will not be Superman or Superwoman,” says Miguel A. Martínez González, chair […]
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This is a good article but for its animal consumption, read “the china study” if you have any doubts at all about eating meat, not just mammals, any kind of meat, this book will put it to bed, see also the documentary “forks over knives” and you will not be happy with this kind of diet propaganda, intelligent people all over this planet are catching on, i think its time you did also. mark shaw, gabriola island BC.
My wife’s endocrinologist uses the Mediterranian diet and prescribed it to her because she is diabetic and has a heart condition with a leaking mitral valve, which is too dangerous to repair. We adopted it without the fish/chicken to our preferred pure vegetarian tastes and it has kept her healthy and alive longer than most people who survived a massive heart attack in 2005 in which she acquired cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart). Her heart surgeon said we are very good at providing the right food/exercise program for her condition, or for anyone who wants to stay healthy.