The main objective of this study was to investigate the relation of diet quality with structural brain tissue volumes and focal vascular lesions in dementia-free individuals.
In total, 4,447 participants were included in the study, which lasted since 2005 until 2015. Participants dietary habits were followed during these 10 years and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed to obtain information on brain tissue volumes, white matter lesion volume, lacunes, and cerebral microbleeds.
Results observed that high intake of nuts, among other foods, and low intake of sugar-containing beverages were associated with larger brain volumes. These results suggest that the effect of nutrition on neurodegeneration may act via brain structure.
Croll, P. H., Voortman, T., Ikram, M. A., Franco, O. H., Schoufour, J. D., Bos, D., & Vernooij, M. W. (2018). Better diet quality relates to larger brain tissue volumes: The Rotterdam Study. Neurology, 10-1212.