July 10, 2024
Eating a healthy diet when young may help to keep the mind sharp into old age, according to a new report. The study found that children who tended to eat a diet high in whole, unprocessed foods performed better in tests of memory and thinking skills decades later than their peers who ate a less healthy diet. But it was never too late to start. Middle-aged men and women who ate a healthy diet also tended to perform better on cognitive tests as seniors than their peers who ate a less healthy diet.
The research adds to growing evidence that a heart-healthy diet is also good for the brain and may help to curb age-related cognitive decline. People who eat a Mediterranean style diet, for example, rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and healthy fats like olive oil tend to live longer and are at lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who eat a diet high in red meat, butter and highly processed foods. Most of the scientific research on dietary habits and brain health has focused on people in midlife and beyond. This new study looked at eating habits over a lifespan, from age 4 to 70, and suggests the potential brain benefits of a healthy diet may start much earlier than previously recognized.
“These initial findings generally support current public health guidance that it is important to establish healthy dietary patterns early in life in order to support and maintain health throughout life,” said study author Kelly Cara, a recent graduate of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. “Our findings also provide new evidence suggesting that improvements to dietary patterns up to midlife may influence cognitive performance and help mitigate, or lessen, cognitive decline in later years.” The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.
For the study, the researchers looked at a nationally representative sample of 3,059 British men and women who were born in 1946. They were enrolled as children in the National Survey of Health and Development, a long-running study tracking the progress and health of the children over the course of their life. Over the next seven decades, participants provided detailed information about their typical eating habits at five different points in their lives. The researchers found that those who ate the healthiest diets as children also tended to eat healthier diets as adults. Study participants were also given tests to measure memory and thinking skills seven times over the course of the study.
To assess diet quality, the researchers used the 2020 Healthy Eating Index, which measures how closely someone’s diet aligns with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Such guidelines are designed to protect against heart disease and other chronic ailments and promote well-being and longevity.
Study participants who sustained the highest cognitive abilities over time relative to their peers tended to eat more recommended foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains and less sodium, added sugars and refined grains. By their mid-70s, only 7 percent of those who ate the poorest diets scored in the highest group in cognitive testing, compared to nearly half of those who ate the healthiest diets.
“Dietary patterns that are high in whole or less processed plant-food groups including leafy green vegetables, beans, whole fruits and whole grains may be most protective,” said Dr. Cara. “Adjusting one’s dietary intake at any age to incorporate more of these foods and to align more closely with current dietary recommendations is likely to improve our health in many ways, including our cognitive health.”
Reactions from our Researchers:
“It has been generally accepted that a healthy diet is a foundation of longitudinal cardiovascular and cognitive health, however, little has been known about formation of healthy eating habits in respect to type of food preferred and total caloric intake. The cited article provides evidence that eating habits, which are formed in childhood tend to persist through adulthood. Thus one can advocate for dietary education during childhood as a way of building healthier societies and preventing age-associated cognitive decline.”
Dr. Martin Sadowsky, MD, PhD
Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Professor
Co-director of The Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Resources Program at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine
By ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by Eric Schmidt, Ph.D. Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.
Source: Kelly C. Cara, MS; Paul F. Jacques, DSc; Tammy M. Scott; et al: “Associations Between Dietary Pattern and Global Cognitive Ability Trajectories Across the Life Course: Longitudinal Analysis of the 1946 British Birth Cohort.” Presentation at the American Society for Nutrition Excellence in Nutrition Research and Practice Nutrition 2024 conference, Chicago, July 1, 2024
