The diet that combats the fragility of old age

The diet that combats the fragility of old age

What is the Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet is based on: Plant-based meals, with only small amounts of beef and chicken. More servings of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and legumes. Foods that naturally contain high amounts of fiber.

Why do we talk about fragility?

Frailty is considered a geriatric syndrome characterized by weakness, weight loss, and low activity that is associated with adverse health outcomes.

It manifests as an age-related biological vulnerability and decreased physiological reserves that limits the ability to maintain a stable and relatively constant internal environment (homeostasis).

Although the definition of frailty has something in common with that of aging, since both are based on the loss of homeostasis, in normal aging the failure is global, while in frailty it revolves around energy metabolism and changes neuromuscular.

The characteristic manifestations of frailty are:

Unintentional weight loss: in a year more than 5 kg or 5% of body weight.

Muscle weakness: above all, a drop in the ability to grasp and squeeze objects is observed.

Easy fatigue or low resistance to few efforts.

Slow walking.

Low capacity for physical activity.

The greatest benefits were observed in prevention, in those under 60 years of age. Photo Shutterstock.

Mediterranean diet to prevent frailty

Although the general benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet are well known, its role in preventing frailty was unclear.

Researchers of the Hebrew SeniorLifea subsidiary of the Harvard Medical Schooldesigned the study that included 2,384 adults aged 33 to 86 years without a diagnosis of frailty enrolled in the Framingham Offspring Study.

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the intake of antioxidants (vitamins C, E and total carotenoids) of the participants were estimated from a food frequency questionnaire combined with frailty assessments that were carried out during the 11 years of follow-up. .

Each unit of higher score in the Mediterranean-style dietary pattern (ie, greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet) reduced the odds of frailty by 3%, the published work indicates.

Source: Ambito

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