A diet rich in tea, coffee, fruits, and vegetables could reduce your chances of developing dementia by as much as a third.
Healthy plant compounds can be found in tea, coffee, fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes like chickpeas and lentils.
These medications can reduce the effects of age-related inflammation on the body, which could increase the likelihood of dementia.
The study assessed the anti-inflammatory diets of over 1,000 people and followed them for an average period of three years.
In an average week, those with the best anti-inflammatory diet consumed 20 servings of fruit and 19 portions of vegetables. There were also 11 cups or more of coffee or tea.
Three times as likely were those with the lowest anti-inflammatory diets to develop dementia than this group.
Dr Nikolaos Scarmeas, senior author of the study from Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece, said: ‘These findings suggest that people could protect their brains by eating more healthily.
An average of three years was required to assess the anti-inflammatory diet of 1,000 seniors. The average person who had the best anti-inflammatory diet consumed 20 servings of fruits, 19 portions of vegetables and 11 cups each of tea or coffee per week. The dementia risk for those on the lowest anti-inflammatory diet was three times higher than that of this group.
‘As people can change their diets, they might want to think about eating anti-inflammatory foods like fruit and vegetables and avoiding more inflammatory choices like very high-calorie foods.
‘But more research is needed before specific dietary advice can be given, as this was not a clinical trial providing clear proof.’
This study was published in Neurology. It looked at the diets and habits of 65-year-olds based on the questionnaires that they completed about their past months.
This included fruits and vegetables, milk products, meats, fish, desserts. Also, legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils) were all part of the list.
Six per cent of the 1,059 participants in the study developed dementia.
Researchers divided people into three categories based upon their responses to the questionnaires about food. This was done in order to determine who is more likely.
They comprised those who had the best anti-inflammatory diet, people on a moderate diet, and those who were least anti-inflammatory.
Three times as likely were those who had the most anti-inflammatory diets to get dementia. In an average week, they consumed just nine fruits and 10 vegetables.
The questionnaires were used to work out scores for people’s nutrient intake, which ranged from minus 8.87 for the most anti-inflammatory diet to 7.98 for the least.
Scores higher indicated poorer diet. Results showed dementia patients had scores 0.64 points lower than non-dementia sufferers.
The study authors took into account people’s age, as dementia is more likely in later years, their sex, as women are at a greater risk, and their education levels, as more highly educated people are less likely to get dementia.
Even after accounting for these, however, every one-point increase in the inflammatory score of someone’s diet was associated with a 21 per cent rise in their risk of dementia.
Previous studies found that people who eat a more inflamed diet are less likely to retain their memories and experience cognitive decline later in life.