New research highlights that specific nutrients in the Mediterranean diet play a key role in promoting brain health and slowing cognitive decline, providing a basis for future nutritional interventions.
The nutritional profile of participants with slower brain aging was similar to that of those on the Mediterranean diet.
Scientists have studied the brain extensively in order to promote healthier aging, and although there is considerable knowledge about the risk factors that contribute to accelerated brain aging, there is less understanding about how to prevent cognitive decline.
There is evidence that nutrition is important Natural agingResearch from the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign further suggests that certain nutrients may play a pivotal role in healthy aging of the brain.
A team of scientists led by Alon Barbey, director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, along with University of Nebraska doctoral student Jishen Wu and University of Illinois and University of California, Irvine research scientist Christopher Zwilling, conducted a multimodal study combining cutting-edge innovations in neuroscience and nutrition science to identify the specific nutritional profiles of participants who exhibited superior cognitive performance.
Study design and results
This cross-sectional study enrolled 100 cognitively healthy participants aged 65-75 years. Participants completed questionnaires regarding demographic information, anthropometric measurements, and physical activity. plasma Brain samples were taken after the fasting period to analyze nutritional biomarkers. Participants also underwent cognitive assessments and MRI scans. Results revealed that participants’ brains exhibited two types of accelerated and slower-than-expected brain aging. Participants with slower brain aging had a unique nutritional profile.
Lead researcher Alon Barbey, professor of psychology and director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and doctoral student Jishen Wu. Photo by Craig Chandler/University Communications and Marketing/University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Blood biomarkers of beneficial nutrients were a combination of fatty acids (vaccenic acid, gondoic acid, alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, eicosadienoic acid, and lignoceric acid), antioxidants, carotenoids such as cis-lutein, trans-lutein, and zeaxanthin, two forms of vitamin E, and choline. This profile correlated with the nutrients found in the Mediterranean diet, which previous studies have linked with healthy brain aging.
“We looked at specific nutritional biomarkers, such as fatty acids. acid “This study is consistent with extensive research in this field demonstrating the positive health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, which is known in nutrition science to have potential health benefits, as it emphasizes foods rich in these beneficial nutrients,” said Barbey, the Mildred Frances Thompson Professor of Psychology. “In this study, we identified a specific nutrient biomarker pattern that has promising and favorable associations with indicators of cognitive performance and brain health.”
Christopher Zwilling is a research scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Photo courtesy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Barbey noted that previous studies on nutrition and brain aging have relied primarily on food frequency questionnaires that relied on subjects’ own memory. This study is one of the first and largest to combine brain imaging, blood biomarkers and validated cognitive assessments.
“What’s unique about our study is the comprehensive approach we took, integrating data on nutrition, cognition and brain imaging,” said Barbey. “This allows us to build a more robust understanding of the relationships between these factors. We went beyond simply measuring cognitive ability with traditional neuropsychological tests. Instead, we simultaneously looked at brain structure, function and metabolism, and demonstrated a direct link between these brain characteristics and cognitive ability. Furthermore, the patterns we observed in nutritional biomarkers suggest that these brain characteristics are directly related to diet and nutrition.”
Future research and its implications
The researchers plan to continue investigating how this nutritional profile relates to healthy brain aging, and Barbey said that in the future, the findings could help develop treatments and interventions to promote brain health.
“An important next step will be to conduct randomized controlled trials in which we isolate the specific nutrients with favorable associations with cognitive function and brain health and administer them in the form of dietary supplements,” said Barbey. “This will allow us to clearly evaluate whether increasing levels of these specific nutrient profiles credibly improves cognitive test performance and measures of brain structure, function and metabolism.”
Barbey is also co-editor of the Journal of Nutrition special collection, “Nutrition and the Brain – Exploring the Path to Optimal Brain Health Through Nutrition,” which is currently calling for submissions for the collection, with articles set to begin publishing next year.
“There is great scientific and medical interest in understanding the critical impact that nutrition has on brain health,” Barbey says. “Recognizing this, National Institutes of Health “We recently launched a 10-year strategic plan to significantly accelerate nutrition research. Our research is directly aligned with this important effort and aims to provide valuable insights into how dietary patterns affect brain health and cognitive function.”
Reference: “Exploring nutritional biomarkers of healthy brain aging: a multimodal brain imaging study” by Christopher E. Zwilling, Jishen Wu, and Alon K. Barbey, May 21, 2024, npjAging.
Publication date: 10.1038/s41514-024-00150-8
The study was funded by Abbott Nutrition.
