Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Dementia and Diabetes Risk

Two large studies published this month provide fresh evidence that a Mediterraneanstyle diet can protect both brain health and metabolic health, with benefits shaped by genetics and enhanced when paired with calorie control, exercise, and structured support. One analysis of decades of U.S. cohort data linked Mediterranean diet adherence and blood metabolite profiles with lower dementia risk, particularly among people carrying highrisk Alzheimer's genes. A separate randomized clinical trial in Spain found that adding calorie reduction, moderate physical activity, and professional weightloss support to a Mediterranean diet cut the sixyear risk of type 2 diabetes by about 31 percent.

In the dementia study, investigators from Mass General Brigham, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Broad Institute analyzed genetic data, plasma metabolomics and diet from 4,215 women in the Nurses Health Study followed from 1989 to 2023 and 1,490 men in the Health Professionals FollowUp Study followed from 1993 to 2023. Researchers quantified hundreds of plasma metabolites using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and calculated Alzheimer disease polygenic risk scores and APOE4...