Dementia affects between 4 and 9% of people over 65 in Spain, and this percentage can reach 31-54% in those over 90, according to the report ‘Social Impact of Disease of Alzheimer’s and other Dementias’ prepared by the Brain Foundation. We know that healthy lifestyle habits can help prevent or delay the development of neurodegenerative diseases, and a new study suggests that increasing the amount of magnesium in the daily diet improves brain health as we age.
The research was carried out by scientists at the Australian National University (ANU) Neuroimaging and Brain Lab, who analyzed data from 6,001 cognitively healthy people in the UK, aged between 40 and 73, and found that eating Eating more magnesium-rich foods may also help reduce the risk of dementias such as Alzheimer’s.
Participants answered an online questionnaire five times over a 16-month period, and their answers were used to calculate their daily magnesium intake, based on 200 different foods with different serving sizes. The researchers focused on magnesium-rich foods, such as leafy green vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, to make an average estimate of the amount of magnesium in these people’s diets.
The results have been published in the European Journal of Nutrition and have shown that the brain age of those who consumed more than 550 milligrams of magnesium daily was approximately one year younger at age 55, compared to those with a normal intake of magnesium. magnesium, about 350 milligrams a day.
“This research highlights the potential benefits of a magnesium-rich diet and the role it plays in promoting good brain health.”
“Our study shows that a 41% increase in magnesium intake could lead to less age-related brain shrinkage, which is associated with better cognitive function and reduced risk or delayed onset of dementia in old age,” said lead author and PhD researcher Khawlah Alateeq, from the ANU National Center for Epidemiology and Population Health. “This research highlights the potential benefits of a magnesium-rich diet and the role it plays in promoting good brain health,” he adds.
Prevent cognitive decline with a good diet
Dementias are a serious global health problem, since it is estimated that the number of people who will be diagnosed with dementia will increase from 57.4 million in 2019 to 152.8 million in 2050, which will have a profound impact on social services. and health and the world economy.
“Because there is no cure for dementia and the development of drug treatments has been unsuccessful over the last 30 years, it has been suggested that more attention should be paid to prevention,” said Dr. Erin Walsh, a researcher at the ANU and co-author of the study. “Our research could guide the development of public health interventions aimed at promoting healthy brain aging through dietary strategies.”
Researchers have claimed that including more magnesium in our regular diet from an early age can protect us against neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline when we reach our 40s. “The study shows that increased dietary magnesium intake may contribute to neuroprotection in the aging process, and the preventive effects may begin at age 40, or even earlier,” says Alateeq.
The researchers explained that they also found that “the neuroprotective effects of increased dietary magnesium appear to benefit women more than men, and postmenopausal women more than premenopausal women, although this may be due to the anti-inflammatory effect.” of magnesium”. In any case, they recommend that people pay more attention to their magnesium intake, regardless of how old they are.
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