They say the best offense is defense, and a study from the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association agrees that in this case, that defense is wine.
The study, which was conducted at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and funded by The National Institute of Aging, focused on 960 dementia-free participants with an average age of 81.4 years. The study tracked the elderly participants for 4.7 years, examining cognitive change over this time. The cognitive was divided into five categories: episodic memory, working memory, semantic memory, visuospatial ability, and perceptual speed. What was the study comparing and contrasting amongst the participants? Their diet.
The study predicted that participants who drank a glass of wine every day were more likely to experience a delay in the decline of their cognitive brain function. Since cognitive decline plays a significant roll in the onset of Alzheimer’s, this study shows that drinking that glass of wine helps prevent the terrible disease.
We’ll back up.
Drinking a glass of wine daily is part of the MIND diet, which is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. The MIND diet includes a daily consumption of at least three servings of whole grains, two vegetables (one of them green and leafy), and a glass of wine. Nuts should be eaten most days of the week, while beans should be eaten every other day, berries and poultry at least two times a week, and fish at least once. Other foods like full-fat cheese, greasy food and sweet treats should be avoided.
But remember, you get that glass of wine.
Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist who played a key roll in fleshing out the MIND diet states, “Everyone experiences decline with aging; and Alzheimer’s disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., which accounts for 60 to 80% of dementia cases…Prevention of cognitive decline, the defining feature of dementia, is now more important than ever.”
While we know there’s no easy and definitive cure for Alzheimer’s, the fact that daily wine could be a bright spot gives us hope.
H/t EurekAlert!