Research

Mixed

Higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (MeDi) in middle-aged adults is associated with slower longitudinal progression of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers, specifically reduced rates of cerebral glucose hypometabolism and beta-amyloid deposition, compared to lower adherence.

Adopting a Mediterranean-style diet in middle age may help slow the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, such as reduced glucose metabolism and amyloid buildup. Focus on increasing fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, and fish, while reducing dairy, meat, and saturated fats. This dietary pattern may provide up to 3.5 years of protection against these specific brain biomarkers.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Longitudinally, the MeDi−-group showed CMRglc declines and PiB increases in these regions, which were greater than those in the MeDi+ group (pinteraction < 0.001).
Valentina Berti et al. · Neurology · 2018

Why this rating

Observational longitudinal study with a relatively small sample size (n=70) and self-reported dietary data, though using objective imaging biomarkers.

Source

Mediterranean diet and 3-year Alzheimer brain biomarker changes in middle-aged adults

Valentina Berti et al. · Neurology · 2018

DOI 10.1212/wnl.0000000000005527

cohort · n=70Cited 243×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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