Whole Plant Foods Linked To Lower Dementia Risk
Another study has found what should not be shocking by now: a diet built around whole plant foods is associated with better health outcomes. This time, the outcome is Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
A study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, followed 92,849 people for an average of 11 years. Participants were 59 years old on average at the start of the study, and included African American, Japanese American, Latino, Native Hawaiian and white participants. During the study period, 21,478 people developed Alzheimer’s disease or another related dementia.
Researchers looked at three different plant-based dietary patterns.
Not veganism.
Not vegetarianism.
Plant-based dietary patterns.
Veganism is an ethical principle. A justice movement. A rejection of animal exploitation. A person can reject animal use and still eat a healthy diet and a terrible diet, and everywhere in between. The study separated plant-based diets by quality.
They described a healthful plant-based diet included foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, nuts, legumes, tea and coffee, and an unhealthful plant-based diet included added sugars, fruit juices, refined grains and potatoes, especially when eaten as part of fast foods or processed meals.
The results were clear enough to be worth paying attention to, while still needing the usual caution. This was observational. It found associations. The most striking part was the diet change over time. Among 45,065 people who reported their diet again after 10 years, those who moved most towards an unhealthful diet had a 25% higher risk of dementia. Those who moved most away from an unhealthful diet had an 11% lower risk.
So no, “plant-based” is not health magic. A plate of refined, sugary, low-quality food does not become health-promoting because it is free from animal products. But the tired idea that humans need meat, milk, eggs or fish for brain health keeps taking hit after hit.
Whole grains. Beans. Lentils. Vegetables. Fruit. Nuts. Seeds. Tea. Coffee. Ordinary foods.
No animal required.