A recent study by researchers at the University of Tsukuba suggests that eating a diet high in fiber may help lower the risk of dementia.
Dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate that is found in plant foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.
There are two types of fiber – soluble and insoluble – and both are important for our health.
Soluble fiber helps to slow down digestion and absorbs water, which can help with constipation and lowering bad cholesterol levels. It is found in plant cells and includes substances like pectins, gums, and mucilage.
Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, adds bulk to our feces and helps prevent constipation. It is found in the structural parts of plant cell walls and includes substances like cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin.
Previous research has suggested that a diet high in fiber may help prevent dementia, but the evidence has been limited.
In this study, researchers wanted to investigate whether a high-fiber diet was linked to a lower risk of dementia.
They analyzed data from 3,739 Japanese adults aged 40-64 who had completed dietary surveys between 1985-1999.
The researchers estimated the participants’ fiber intake using the 24-hour dietary recall method and followed up with them until 2020 to track dementia incidence.
The team found that a high-fiber diet, especially one high in soluble fiber, was linked to a lower risk of dementia. The effect was strongest for dementia cases without a history of stroke.
Fiber-containing foods like potatoes were also associated with a lower risk of dementia, but not vegetables or fruits.
The researchers believe that soluble fiber may regulate gut bacteria composition, which can affect neuroinflammation, a factor in dementia onset.
They also suggest that a high-fiber diet may reduce other risk factors for dementia, like body weight, blood pressure, lipids, and glucose levels.
This study adds to the growing body of evidence that a healthy diet can benefit brain health and may help prevent dementia.
It also highlights the importance of including fiber-rich foods in our diets, especially soluble fiber from sources like oats, barley, apples, and beans.
If you care about dementia, please read studies that your walking speed may tell your risk of dementia, and these high blood pressure drugs could prevent dementia.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce dementia risk, and Coconut oil could help improve cognitive function in Alzheimer’s disease.
The research was published in Nutritional Neuroscience and was conducted by Kazumasa Yamagishi et al.
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