(Foreword: This is the continuation of our reply to BB of Sasa about his desire to prevent memory loss and dementia.)
DEAR BB of Sasa,
Now, let’s stretch to other issues in this arena.
So, what about the diet? Is there anything here that could help prevent memory loss and dementia?
Let’s talk about the Mind Diet, or short for Mediterranean-Dash Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. This is a combination of two diets, the Mediterranean and Dash. They have well-known health benefits. This is a diet that is designed to prevent or slow brain decline. Early studies have shown that these diets lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 53 percent in those who follow it religiously and by 35 percent in those who didn’t follow it as how they are supposed to be.
There have been a lot of claims about diets for brain health. In a study done by the Temple University researchers, they found out that when extra-virgin olive oil is given to the mice, they help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. They found out that those who are fed with a diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil could learn and remember better than those who were not fed with the diet.
There are three diets that have been emerging to help the brain. These are the Mediterranean, the Dash (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), and the Mind diet (Mediterranean-Dash Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay). These diets emphasize eating whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and low-fat dairy, and keeping salt in check. However, even the researchers found out that these diets can help the brain, they still cannot single out any specific diet enough for them to recommend them as of this time. This only means that diets to help brain problems and to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia need more to be studied. There are still a lot of things to be done. I hope we will see more of these developments in the future, so that with a diet that would finally be recommended, we could have memories that could live forever in us and in the depths of our brains.
Oh, we are again running out of space, so, let me then, continue this in my next issue. Until then again!
Dr. Fritz
(Dr. Fritz Legarde Espedilla is an aesthetic dermatologist and surgeon and a clinical sexologist. She is also trained in hypnotherapy and Medical Acupuncture. She has been in the broadcast media for more than a decade and has written a book based on her 15 year stint with her radio program, “Healthy is Sexy Secrets ni Dr. Fritz.” She is also a faculty in a College of Pharmacy. For your questions, you may send them to Dear Dr. Fritz, c/o Sunstar-Davao Publishing Inc., Ebro-Pelayo Building, Jacinto St., Davao City, (former Department of Foreign Affairs office), across Ateneo de Davao University and beside Holy Child School of Davao, or you e-mail them to dokfritz@yahoo.com. If you don’t wish your letter to be published, we regret that we cannot answer them. Thank you for your understanding.)