Nick Blackmer is a librarian, fact-checker, and researcher with more than 20 years of experience in consumer-facing health and wellness content.Women who follow a heart-healthy diet in middle age may be less likely to show signs of cognitive decline decades later.
“Subjective complaints about daily cognitive performance are early predictors of more serious neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s,” senior study author . “With more than 30 years follow-up, we found that the stronger the adherence to a DASH diet in midlife, the less likely women are to report cognitive issues much later in life.”
To understand the study’s findings, it’s important to first grasp the concept of the DASH diet. This eating pattern was developed in the early 1990s by researchers at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as a means of lowering blood pressure. found that 20 years after its inception, numerous trials had confirmed that a DASH diet consistently and significantly lowers blood pressure in a variety of populations.
To make this determination, the researchers divided the group into quartiles. Women in the top quartile of DASH-like eating ultimately had the lowest number of subjective cognitive complaints. These complaints were defined as “self-reported impairments in daily cognitive performance characterized by a greater frequency of memory loss.”
As for why vascular problems impact cognition in such dramatic ways? It has partly to do with how blood vessels supply all-important oxygen to the brain. “Consistently maintaining a healthy blood pressure can support proper blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, which are crucial for preserving cognitive abilities,” said Rouse.
Health Health Latest News, Health Health Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: CBS21NEWS - 🏆 304. / 63 Read more »
Source: TODAYshow - 🏆 389. / 55 Read more »
Source: ABC7 - 🏆 67. / 68 Read more »