Mediterranean Style Diet '' Halves the risk of

 Parkinson's Disease

A Mediterranean diet low in red meat and dairy food and high in omega-3 fatty acids can help preserve memory and thinking abilities, say researchers.Scientists in the US studied the diets of 17,478 people with an average age of 64.Participants were given tests that measured mental ability over an average of four years.During the course of the study, 7% developed memory and thinking deficits.The study found people who more closely followed a Mediterranean diet had a 19% reduced risk of mental impairment.

A key element of the Mediterranean diet is omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish, flax seed, walnuts and pulses, which are known to benefit the brain and nervous system. The diet typically also contains high levels of fresh fruit and vegetables and low levels of saturated fat.

According to Japanese scientists, a daily Mediterranean-style diet could potentially halve the risk of Parkinson’s disease.The study, by the University of Tokyo, studied the eating habits of 249 newly-diagnosed Parkinson’s patients and compared them to 368 healthy volunteers.

Researchers then split the participants into three groups of ‘healthy’ diets (consisting of fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, pulses, mushrooms), ‘western’ (high number of red meat, processed foods and animal fats) and ‘light meals’ (roughly half way between the two).

The study discovered that those placed in the ‘healthy’ category had a 46% less chance of developing Parkinson’s than those who ate little or none of the foods in the ‘healthy’ food group. They also found that the remaining two diets had no protective effect against the disease.