Mental wellbeing: Adopting a Mediterranean diet and leading an active lifestyle could offer protection
Keeping Your Brain Sharp: The MedWalk Study
Got a hankering for pasta and a pair of kicks? There's a team of researchers who think that pairing a Mediterranean diet with regular strolls could help you steer clear of cognitive decline and dementia. That's right, we're talking about the MedWalk intervention. So, let's dive in and see what they're up to!
This study, involving scientists from Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, aims to find out if following the MedWalk routine might help lower the risk of cognitive decline and various types of dementia, including Alzheimer's. And despite a pause due to COVID-19, these dedicated scientists aren't letting a little pandemic slow them down.
Originally, the study had a 2-year timeline, but the COVID-19 pandemic made that quagmire. Now, they're sticking to a single-year follow-up and ramping up the number of participants. Intriguing, right?
So, what exactly is this MedWalk thingy? It's simple - it's a combo of adopting a Mediterranean diet and regular walks, backed up by some nifty psychosocial behavioral change techniques. Participants get an intensive 6-month kickstart, with additional support over the next 6 months to help them stay on course.
With a focus on participants aged 60 to 90 from South Australia and Victoria, the researchers are monitoring a variety of factors, from visual memory and learning to mood, quality of life, and health costs. They're also diving deep into biomarkers associated with cognitive decline, like glucose regulation, inflammation, nutrients, and oxidative stress.
And what about the Mediterranean diet? You know, all that olive oil, greens, fish, and fruit? Turns out, Conner Middelmann, a certified nutritionist specializing in the Mediterranean diet, says that numerous studies suggest that following this diet is linked with fewer cases of dementia. A few studies even showed an association between this diet and lower rates of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia.
However, Middelmann makes it clear that genetics, lifestyle, and overall health play significant roles in dementia risk. So, while a Mediterranean diet is beneficial for brain health, it's just one piece of the puzzle.
Walking, too, seems to have a role to play. According to a study, increasing your daily steps can help lower your risk of dementia. And get this - taking 10,000 steps a day could slash your risk by half! Other scientific research suggests that walking may boost brain blood flow, improve cognitive function, reduce stress, and even offer social and nature-related benefits.
So, are you ready to lace up your walking shoes and load up on the olive oil? The MedWalk study's data-collection period is set to wind up by the end of 2023, so we'll have to wait and see what the results indicate. But in the meantime, why not give it a shot and see if it helps keep your brain in tip-top shape? After all, if it gets us one step closer to reduced risk of dementia, it's worth a shot, right?!
- The MedWalk study, combining a Mediterranean diet with regular walks, aims to help lower the risk of cognitive decline and various types of dementia, including Alzheimer's.
- The MedWalk intervention involves adopting a Mediterranean diet, regular walks, and psychosocial behavioral change techniques, with an intensive 6-month kickstart and additional support for a total of 12 months.
- The study is focusing on participants aged 60 to 90 from South Australia and Victoria, monitoring factors like visual memory, learning, mood, quality of life, health costs, and biomarkers associated with cognitive decline.
- A Mediterranean diet, consisting of olive oil, greens, fish, and fruit, has been linked in numerous studies to fewer cases of dementia, even a lower rate of Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia.
- Walking regularly can help lower the risk of dementia, with some studies suggesting that taking 10,000 steps a day could slash the risk by half.
- The MedWalk study's data-collection period is expected to wrap up by the end of 2023, and it's worth considering adopting this lifestyle change to potentially reduce the risk of dementia, as this simple intervention could help keep the brain in optimal health.
