Macro partitioning
Higher intake of total fat, saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with lower prevalence of covert brain infarcts and white matter hyperintensities, and higher cognitive scores (DSST).
Don't fear fat. This study found that people who ate more fat, including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats, had less brain injury on MRI and better cognitive scores. Try incorporating more healthy fats into your diet, such as those found in nuts, seeds, and olive oil.
Higher total fat intake was associated with lower covert brain infarcts (T3 vs. T1, OR 0⋅75; 0⋅60–0⋅94), and composite vascular brain injury (T3 vs. T1, OR 0⋅77; 0⋅65–0⋅91)... Higher monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids intakes were significantly associated with a higher DSST z-score.
Why this rating
Large multi-national cross-sectional study (n=9886) with rigorous adjustment for confounders, but observational design limits causal inference.
Source
Association of dietary macronutrients with MRI-detected vascular brain injury and cognition in 9886 middle-aged participants from four countries: for the Canadian Alliance of Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM) and the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) Study Investigators
Victoria Miller et al. · EClinicalMedicine · 2025
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