Eating leafy greens may reduce the proteins involved in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
A researcher at Rush University in the US found that people who regularly eat green leafy vegetables, fruit, whole grains, olive oil, beans, nuts and fish have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s than people who don’t. Six or more servings of green leafy vegetables a week were linked to fewer amyloid plaques in the brain.
The researcher studied the MIND diet (sometimes called the brain diet) and the Mediterranean diet. The two include roughly the same foods, with one exception: the MIND diet always includes green leafy vegetables such as spinach and different kinds of lettuce.
The study’s author believes this feature of the MIND diet, a wide variety of greens on the menu, is what helps prevent Alzheimer’s. Along with leafy vegetables, the MIND diet, like the Mediterranean one, includes fruit, fish and a little wine.
Earlier, scientists at the University of South Florida found a compound in basil that can also slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
