Mediterranean diet associated with reduction in women’s deaths from heart attack and stroke

Close on the heels of the publication of a study in the AMA journal Archives of Neurology linking the consumption of a Mediterranean diet to a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, an article published online on February 17, 2009 in the American Heart Association journal Circulation reports an association between greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet and a reduction in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke in women.

Teresa T. Fung of Simmons College in Boston along with colleagues at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital evaluated data from 74,886 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study for the current analysis. Dietary questionnaires administered six times during the follow-up period were scored for adherence to the Mediterranean diet, which is characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, legumes, fish, and monounsaturated fat, a low intake of saturated fat, red and processed meats, and moderate alcohol consumption (between 5 and 15 grams per day). Continue Reading

B12 may help prevent brain shrinkage

In a study published in the September 9, 2008, issue of the journal Neurology®, researchers from Oxford University and the University of Oslo report an association between decreased levels of vitamin B12 and a decline in brain volume. Reduced brain volume, or brain atrophy, has been associated with Alzheimer's disease, and is used as a marker of the disease’s progression.

The study included 107 participants in the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Aging (OPTIMA), who did not have cognitive impairment upon enrollment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain, cognitive assessments, and physical examinations were conducted at the beginning of the study and annually over a five year period. Blood plasma samples collected upon enrollment and yearly thereafter were analyzed for folate, B12, homocysteine, and the vitamin B12 markers holotranscobalamin, transcobalamin saturation and methylmalonic acid.

Comparison of MRI images obtained at the beginning of the study with those scanned after five years found a greater amount of brain volume loss among participants with low plasma levels of vitamin B12. Subjects whose plasma B12 levels were among the lowest one-third of participants at less than 308 picomoles per liter had a six times greater adjusted risk of increased brain volume loss than those whose vitamin B12 levels were in the top two-thirds. Similar patterns were observed for holotranscobalamin and transcobalamin saturation. Continue Reading