• A US study suggests an association between the Mediterranean diet and brain health.
• The benefits of healthy eating would include improved white matter integrity (organisation and communication within the brain) and fewer structural lesions in the brain, markers of small vessel cerebral disease.
• This is a research abstract that has not yet undergone peer review; its findings are considered preliminary until publication in a scientific journal.

It is not only beneficial for cardiovascular health: the Mediterranean diet is also good for the brain. This is suggested by the preliminary results of a US study presented at the international conference of the American Heart Association in Los Angeles on 5 February.

According to the researchers' observations, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, rich in fruit, vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds and legumes, was associated with a better condition of the brain.

The association between the Mediterranean diet and brain health in the study

The neurocognitive ageing study involved 2,800 Hispanic and Latin American individuals between the ages of 18 and 74, both men and women, and the research was based on specialised brain MRI techniques.

Adherence to the dietary pattern was measured with a score between 0 and 9 for each participant, with higher scores indicating greater adherence. After accounting for other factors that could influence brain health, the analysis found that for each one-point increase in the Mediterranean diet score there was an improvement in white matter integrity (organisation and communication within the brain) and there was less structural damage in the brain, markers of small vessel cerebral disease.

Benefits independent of cardiovascular health

"The study suggests that healthy diets, and the Mediterranean diet in particular, improve white matter integrity by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress and by maintaining the function of the brain's blood vessels and stable blood sugar levels, all of which are important factors for optimal brain health," said Gabriela Trifan, associate professor of neurology at the University of Illinois Chicago and lead author of the research.

The researchers noted that the positive impact of the Mediterranean diet on brain health is not entirely mediated by cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar, nor by behavioural risk factors such as smoking and physical activity, all of which are known to influence brain health.

The study presented is a research abstract that has not yet undergone peer review, and the findings are considered preliminary until publication as a full paper in a scientific journal.