Scientists from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences found that eating the MIND diet is linked to a lower risk of common brain tumor glioma.
Glioma is a common type of tumor originating in the brain. Gliomas can affect all ages, but they are most often seen in adults. Gliomas are slightly more likely to occur in men than in women.
This group of tumors includes glioblastoma, which is an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord.
The five-year survival rate for glioblastoma patients is only 6.8%, and the average length of survival for glioblastoma patients is estimated to be only 8 months.
The Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, or MIND diet, targets the health of the aging brain.
All three diets highlight plant-based foods and limit the intake of animal and high-saturated fat foods. The MIND diet recommends specific “brain healthy” foods to include, and unhealthy food items to limit.
The MIND diet contains foods rich in certain vitamins, carotenoids, and flavonoids that are believed to protect the brain by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.
Although some components of the MIND diet are linked to lower risks of glioma, the potential link between adherence to the whole MIND diet and the risk of glioma was unclear.
In the current study, researchers aimed to examine the association between adherence to the MIND diet and the risk of glioma.
They tested 128 people newly diagnosed with glioma and 256 healthy people with no brain cancer.
The dietary intake of participants was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. The MIND diet score was computed based on participants’ nutritional intakes.
The team found that people with the most outstanding adherence to the MIND diet were less likely to have glioma compared with those with the lowest adherence.
They were at a 47% lower risk of glioma.
Based on the finding, the team suggests that adherence to the MIND diet might be associated with a lower risk of glioma Further studies needs to confirm these findings.
The research was published in Nutritional Neuroscience and conducted by Sanaz Soltani et al.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about how the Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and Vitamin B supplements could help reduce dementia risk.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that a high-fiber diet could help lower the dementia risk, and these antioxidants could help reduce dementia risk.
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