Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A new study is giving more reasons to eat a Mediterranean-style diet, while providing evidence that fruits, vegetables, whole grains and extra virgin olive oil may help reduce dementia risk and even Alzheimer's disease.
The study, published Monday in Nature Medicine, found those with the highest genetic risk for Alzheimer's benefited most from consuming a Mediterranean diet.
"These findings suggest that dietary strategies, specifically the Mediterranean diet, could help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and stave off dementia by broadly influencing key metabolic pathways," said researcher Yuxi Liu, PhD of Mass General Brigham, which ran the study along with researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of MIT.
Alzheimer's disease is largely genetic, with heritability estimated to be as high as 80%. One gene, apolipoprotein E -- or APOE -- has been found to be the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease. People who carry one copy of the APOE4 variant have a four-times higher risk of developing Alzheimer's. Those with two copies of APOE4 have a 12-times higher risk.
"This recommendation applies broadly, but it may be even more important for individuals at a higher genetic risk, such as those carrying two copies of the APOE4 genetic variant," according to Liu.
