Eating a Mediterranean-style diet appears to reduce damage to small blood vessels of the brain, says a new study.

The researchers tracked the brain health of almost a thousand people who completed a questionnaire that scored how closely followed a Mediterranean-type regime. This diet emphasizes plant foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts and use olive oil instead of fat as butter, according to the American Heart Association. The diet encourages the consumption of red meat more than a few times a month, or never, and advises eating moderate amounts of fish and birds. Red wine in moderation is optional.


The researchers found that about 27 percent of participants scored relatively low (scoring from 0 to 3 in a 10-point scale) in terms of adherence to this type of diet, while 26 percent scored relatively high, 6 to 9 points.

Individuals enrolled in the study also underwent MRI to measure the amount of “white matter hyperintensity,” which is a marker of damage to small blood vessels of the brain.

Brain scans revealed a lower burden of white matter hyperintensities among people with higher scores on the Mediterranean diet, even after taking into account other factors such as smoking, hypertension and blood cholesterol levels.

“The current study suggests a possible protective association between higher consumption of a [Mediterranean diet] and small vessel damage,” wrote the researchers, led by Hannah Gardener, the Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami.

The new research appears in the February issue of Archives of Neurology.

One expert said the study supports the idea that a healthy diet helps the brain.

“The study supports the Mediterranean diet recommended to help reduce cerebrovascular disease as measured by changes in small vessels observed in MRI,” said Dr. Keith Siller, an assistant professor in the departments of neurology and psychiatry, and medical director Comprehensive Care Center Stroke Center at NYU Langone Medical in New York City.

He noted that “the benefits of the diet are different from those previously alleged side effects of lowering blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose, although there was a possible connection with the emphasis on monounsaturated fats in the Mediterranean diet in the olive oil as compared to saturated fat intake of other types of diets. ”

In fact, analysis of the authors suggests that the only component of the Mediterranean diet was independently associated with the marker of damage to the cerebral vessels was the proportion of monounsaturated fat versus saturated.

But they concluded that it was more likely that the overall diet rather than any specific nutrient, affects the brain in some way.

Another expert agreed that lifestyle, including diet, is key to brain health.

“This just adds to the growing body of evidence about the power of changes in lifestyle, especially the Mediterranean diet, in the modification and prevention of diseases,” said Dr. Robert Graham, an internist at Lenox Hospital Hill in the city of New York.

Previous research has suggested that eating a Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease, stroke and disorders of thought and memory.