- The DASH diet is known to reduce blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular disease.
- A new study found that following the eating plan in mid-life could prevent memory loss later.
- The DASH diet is low in salt and focuses on whole foods.
Following the DASH diet in midlife could help prevent memory loss and keep your brain sharper for longer as you age, according to a new study.
The DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is known to reduce blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular disease, but the new findings suggest these effects among others could also ward off mild mental impairments, which can be a precursor to dementia, the study said.
The eating plan is similar to the Mediterranean diet and centers around lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes while red meat, sodium, added sugar, and saturated fats are limited.
The study, published on October 20 in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, looked at whether the DASH diet could prevent cognitive decline in women. It found that women whose diets most closely mirrored DASH when they were aged between 40 to 60 were less likely to report cognitive problems such as memory loss 30 years later.
Women who ate the DASH diet were 17% less likely to report memory loss
The study involved 5,116 women, who researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine followed over a 30-year period. Between 1985 and 1991, the women, who were 46 years old on average at the start of the study, were asked to fill out a questionnaire about how often they ate certain foods. They continued to fill out lifestyle questionnaires every three to five years.
Between 2018 and 2020, when their average age was 79, the participants filled out a questionnaire assessing their cognitive state. They were asked to report whether they experienced any mild cognitive impairments, such as difficulty remembering recent events, navigating familiar streets, or following a group conversation, the study said.
Half of the participants said they had at least one cognitive difficulty, however, those who followed the DASH diet the closest were 17% less likely to report two or more difficulties when compared with those who followed it the least.
“I agree with the results of this study,” Dr. Shae Datta, co-director of NYU Langone’s Concussion Center and director of cognitive neurology at NYU Langone Hospital in Long Island who was not involved in the study, told Medical News Today. “Any time you increase plant-based foods in your diet, you increase antioxidants, which help to slow down aging.”
The mental sharpness of those who followed the diet might also be explained by their limited red meat and sugar consumption, the study said, which may have sheltered them from the potentially harmful effects of high-fat and high-sugar foods.
Equally, the diet might improve the gut microbiome, leading to less inflammation, which research has linked to fewer self-reported cognitive difficulties, the study said.
People who are more neurotic could have been more likely to report memory problems in the study
The authors noted that there were some limitations to the study, including that the cognitive impairments were self-reported. Certain personality traits, particularly higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness, and depression may make someone more likely to report impairments, they said, which the study did not account for.
They said that more research across multiple racial and ethnic groups is needed to establish whether their findings could apply to the majority of people.
