In a new study, researchers found that sticking to a healthy diet with more plants and less meat in midlife could be associated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment in old age.
The research was conducted by a team at the National University of Singapore.
People in Singapore currently lead the world in life expectancy, with life spans averaging 85 years.
This, along with an aging population, has increased the need to identify and take measures to prevent the development of common conditions such as cognitive impairment and dementia.
The researchers looked at the diet patterns of the nearly 17,000 middle-aged participants of the Singapore Chinese Health Study over a period of 20 years.
They scored the participants on how similar their diet patterns were to five high-quality diets:
The alternative Mediterranean diet; the Alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010; the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet; the plant-based diet index; and the healthful plant-based diet index.
Dietary patterns rich in plant-based foods—including whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and legumes—and low in red meat and sugar-sweetened beverages have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases.
The team found that participants with the most similarity to these dietary patterns had a significant reduction in risk of cognitive impairment—of 18% to 33%—compared with those with the least similarity.
The study suggests that maintaining a healthy dietary pattern is important for the prevention of onset and delay of cognitive impairment.
The team says such a pattern is not about the restriction of a single food item but the composition of an overall pattern that recommends cutting back on red meats, especially if they are processed, and including lots of plant-based foods—vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans, whole grains—and fish.
The Health Promotion Board in Singapore (HPB) recommends eating across all food groups for a balanced and varied diet.
A simple guide is to fill half our plate with fruit and vegetables, a quarter with whole grains such as brown rice and wholemeal bread, and the last quarter with protein foods such as bean products, seafood, and meat.
The lead author of the study is Koh Woon Puay, principal investigator of the Singapore Chinese Health Study.
The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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