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Vegetarian Cousin Mediterranean Diet Extends Lives of Alzheimer's Patients

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September 12, 2007 - Although it's not necessarily a vegetarian diet per say, it definitely comes close. The Mediterranean diet - a follower of which is considered a pescetarian (one who does not eat meat or poultry, but does eat seafood and animal products), is one of the healthiest diets on the planet. Confirming this yet again are the results of a study published in the September 11 issue of the journal Neurology, linking the Mediterranean diet with slower progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Not just a suggestion or a mere possibility, the report states, "the magnitude of the effect was considerable", meaning that a Mediterranean diet, which is high in vegetables, fruits, legumes, unsaturated fats (namely due to olive oil), seafood and wine, plays a major role in slowing down the progression of Alzheimer's in patients formerly diagnosed with the disease. The study was headed by Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas of Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, who stated in a press release that more benefits of the Mediterranean diet keep surfacing.

This particular study involved over 190 Alzheimer's patients - all of whom were divided into three groups according to how closely their diet mirrored that of the Mediterranean diet. The study took place over 4.4 years, during which time 85% of the Alzheimer patients had died. The middle group of people with Alzheimer's were shown to live 1.33 years longer than the group whose diet was further from a Mediterranean diet, while the group whose diet mirrored the Mediterranean closest were shown to live approximately four years longer than the middle group, which translated into a 73% lower chance of death.

Scarmeas did say that more research is needed to determine whether a Mediterranean diet improves the quality of living amongst Alzheimer's patients, in addition to prolonging their lives while the disease is having its course. This is important, for it is a common fact that the condition of living amongst people with Alzheimer's disease is difficult to gauge. At the least, the results of the study show that a Mediterranean diet is life friendly - even when one has Alzheimer's.