Commercial Drive - East Vancouver Chiropractor; Dr. Dominic Chan DC - "Mediterranean Diet Can Keep You Smarter!"

So for a while now, the media has been touching on the benefits of a "Mediterranean Diet". So what does that entail exactly. Well, this type of diet is one that is rich in Olive Oil, vegetables, whole grains, fish and fruit. It has already been shown that the Mediterranean diet can help lower risks for depression, heart disease, cancer and premature death.

This study wanted to explore some of the reasons why.

The latest study was led by Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas, an associate professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, and involved 712 men and women averaging 80 years of age. All of the participants had no history of stroke and received MRIs to look for brain infarcts -- tissues that have died because of reduced or cut-off blood supply.

The participants in this study were separated into three different groups; those who did not follow the diet closely, those who followed it to a moderate degree and finally, those who adhered to the diet closely.

Scarmeas found that nearly 240 of the participants showed signs of damage to the brain based on follow up MRI's. These were considered areas of infarcts or areas where the blood supply had been compromised, and thus damaged.

What the study found was that the group that followed the diet moderately had a 21% decreased chance of showing signs of brain damage compared to the lowest adherence group. Better still, was the group that followed the Mediterranean diet closely. Their chance of demonstrating signs of damage was 36% less than the lowest adherence group.

Scarmeas, explains that the as we age, the incidence of mental decline increases. He also explains that these small infarcts that lead to small areas of brain damage is an explanation why. Although the areas affected are small, the thing to note here is the cumulative effect of suffering many of these infarcts over time.

This study suggests that following a Mediterranean diet can help decrease the incidences of this type of damage, thus providing a protective factor to cognitive function as we age.

Remember if you're by the Commercial Drive neighborhood of East Vancouver, visit your COMMERCIAL DRIVE - EAST VANCOUVER CHIROPRACTOR HERE!!!