The Mediterranean diet is thought to be neurologically protective, so researchers wanted to learn more about the diet’s relationship with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In this study, researchers analyzed 64 articles about the Mediterranean diet, microbiome health, and Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease. They found that following a Mediterranean diet is linked with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease (with the link for Alzheimer’s being particularly strong). However, it is unclear if the Mediterranean diet promotes gut microbiome health and brain health via two separate mechanisms or if one factor causes another.
Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2022 Mar 15;434:120166. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2022.120166. (Solch RJ et al.)

Atherosclerosis, the build up of fatty plaque in arteries, can be a risk factor for heart disease down the road. In a randomized controlled trial of more than 900 people with heart disease, those assigned to a Mediterranean diet improved their atherosclerosis (as measured by reduced thickness of both carotid arteries) over 5 years and maintained their baseline artery thickness at 7 years. Those assigned to a low-fat diet did not have any significant improvements in atherosclerosis.
Stroke. 2021 Aug 10;STROKEAHA120033214. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.033214. (Jimenez-Torres J et al.)

The Mediterranean diet is well-known for its brain benefits, so scientists wonder how Mediterranean-inspired eating might relate to multiple sclerosis (MS), a brain and spinal cord autoimmune disease. Researchers analyzed the eating habits and brain structures of 180 adults who have had a diagnosis of MS for less than 5 years to see how closely they adhered to a version of the Mediterranean diet called the MIND diet. The MIND diet is a hybrid Mediterranean-DASH diet that emphasizes foods associated with brain health, including whole grains, green leafy vegetables, berries, nuts, olive oil, and fish. In this study, people most closely following the MIND diet had significantly greater thalamic volumes. (The wasting away of the thalamus is a marker of MS disease progression and neurodegeneration, so greater thalamic volume is a good sign that MS might be advancing slower.) Additionally, when looking at specific foods and nutrients, those eating the most full-fat dairy had fewer brain lesions (as measured by lower volumes of T2 lesions) and those eating the most omega-3’s from fish had better microstructural integrity of their normal appearing white matter.
Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. 2021 May 19;53:103031. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103031. (Katz Sand IB et al.)

Childhood obesity is a rising public health concern and a strong predictor of obesity later in life. Previous studies have discovered that mothers’ diets during pregnancy can potentially impact children’s weight and their risks of developing obesity. This study evaluated how mothers’ dietary patterns during pregnancy affect their children’s BMI (body mass index). A total of 1,459 women participated in the study and completed a questionnaire about the food they ate during pregnancy. Their children were followed up for 15 years to measure their weight and height change. The findings showed that children whose mothers had closely followed the Mediterranean diet during pregnancy are more likely to grow faster and have lower BMI than their peers during childhood. However, the researchers cautioned that differences in breastfeeding might partly explain the BMI differences across the groups. Thus, more studies are needed.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2021 Mar 15;nqaa398. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa398. (Monthé-Drèze C et al.)

Dementia is an age-related disease causing memory loss and confusion, and over 50 million people suffer from dementia globally. Because there is currently no effective treatment for it, prevention is pivotal. To investigate whether the Mediterranean Diet has a protective effect on dementia, the researchers studied 16,160 middle-aged adults and followed them for over 20 years. Among all the participants, 459 were diagnosed with dementia. When comparing the dietary patterns between those with and without dementia, the researchers found that those most closely following the  Mediterranean diet,  were 20% less likely to develop dementia. However, the results were not statistically significant when looking at Alzheimer’s dementia.
Nutrients. 2021 Feb 22;13(2):700. doi: 10.3390/nu13020700. (Andreu-Reinon ME et al.)