It turns out that women who eat 'Japanese food' have less brain decline than those who eat a Western diet, but why only women?
While a Western diet increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease,
Associations of dietary patterns and longitudinal brain-volume change in Japanese community-dwelling adults: results from the national institute for longevity sciences-longitudinal study of aging | Nutrition Journal
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12937-024-00935-3
Traditional Japanese diet associated with less brain shrinkage in women compared to western diet, says research
https://theconversation.com/traditional-japanese-diet-associated-with-less-brain-shrinkage-in-women-compared-to-western-diet-says-research-226347
According to psychologist Giovanni Sala , who studies cognitive function at the University of Liverpool in the UK, and Zhang Shu of the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology in Japan, traditional Japanese cuisine, washoku, is particularly unique for its rich use of ingredients such as soybeans, miso, seaweed, and mushrooms, and its almost complete absence of red meat.
Inspired by the idea that a traditional Mediterranean diet could prevent brain shrinkage, Sala and his team conducted a study of 1,636 Japanese people aged 40 to 89 to see if a similar pattern could be applied to Japanese diets and brain capacity.
Participants were given disposable cameras and asked to take photos of their food before and after meals and to record all the food and drink they consumed for three days.
They found that 589 of the 1,636 Japanese participants followed a traditional Japanese diet, while 697 ate a typical Western diet characterised by refined carbohydrates, high-fat foods, alcohol and soft drinks, while the remaining 350 ate a diet higher than average in plant foods and dairy products, which the researchers dubbed the 'vegetable, fruit and dairy diet'.
The research team also collected data on lifestyle and health factors, including genetic predisposition to dementia, smoking status, physical activity, and history of stroke or diabetes, to rule out any influence of factors other than diet on the results.
The researchers then compared the results of MRI brain scans taken over the two-year study period with the participants' diets, and found that women who ate a Japanese diet had less brain atrophy than women who ate a Western diet. The relationship between diet and brain size was not clear in those who consumed a 'vegetable, fruit, and dairy diet,' but this is thought to be due to the small sample size.
What Sala and his team find 'interesting' is that the Japanese diet only prevented brain shrinkage in women: Men consuming a traditional Japanese diet experienced the same reduction in brain size as those consuming other diets.
There are two possible reasons for the gender differences in the analysis results. The first is due to biological differences. For example, certain nutrients, such as phytoestrogens (e.g., isoflavones from legumes) and magnesium, may have a greater protective effect on the female brain than on the male brain.
Second, there are differences in dietary habits between men and women. The study found that negative factors that offset the benefits of a healthy diet, such as smoking, are much more common in men than in women. Male participants also deviated from traditional diets more often, and even men in the Japanese food group tended to consume more noodles and alcoholic beverages than women.
A Western diet high in refined carbohydrates and alcohol consumption have both been linked to brain shrinkage.
It turns out that drinking half a can of beer a day can shrink your brain, and the more you drink, the worse it gets - GIGAZINE
According to Sala and his team, Japanese food is rich in vitamins, polyphenols, phytochemicals , and unsaturated fatty acids, which may have a positive effect on the brain. All of these nutrients have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which are said to help maintain optimal brain tissue and neuronal function.
'Further research is needed to dig deeper into the gender differences in the relationship between diet and brain health,' Sala and his colleagues said. 'Incorporating elements of traditional Japanese cuisine, such as seafood, soy, miso, seaweed, and shiitake mushrooms, into your diet may help improve not only cognitive function but also overall health.'
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