A healthy diet for your heart and your brain

Abstract

Considering the increased rate of incidence and the lack of curative treatments on the horizon, dementia has become a priority for public health. Since the etiology of Alzheimer’s and vascular degenerative diseases are far to be completely understood, dementia may not be curable yet.

On the other hand, unipolar depression affects more than 151 million people worldwide and it is projected to be the leading cause of disability-adjusted life years lost in 2030. Consequently, depressive disorders pose heavy health and economic burdens and thus their prevention is a global public health priority.

Oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular comorbidities play a key role in the progression of the pathogenic changes that are ultimately responsible for the appearance of dementia. Likewise, metabolic processes such as reduced insulin sensitivity or elevations in plasma homocysteine levels and, perhaps more importantly, increased production of proinflammatory cytokines and endothelial dysfunction, seem to be also the major factors responsible for the link between depression and cardio-metabolic disorders.

The antioxidative and antiinflammatory properties of the Mediterranean Diet as well the benefit in vascular profile of this dietary pattern supports the approach of recommending this dietary pattern as a feasible nonpharmacological strategy to combat the increased rate of dementia worldwide. Some evidences have also pointed out its beneficial role against depression.