Welcome to this edition of the ISLAND Project newsletter.  I'm Kathleen Doherty, a Senior Research Fellow at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre and one of the lead investigators on the ISLAND Project.  Diet is one of the key factors in reducing your risk of developing dementia. Your Dementia Risk Profile survey in ISLAND Home will tell you the changes to make to reduce your risk.

In this edition, we explain why diet is important, give you an understanding of what a Mediterranean Diet is - recommended to reduce risk of dementia - and practical ways to incorporate this diet into your life.

I have worked in many areas of health research over my career, ranging from laboratory research including vaccine development and the immunology of HIV through to working with blood donors and their experience of blood donation.

Since joining the Wicking Centre I have been particularly interested in how we can improve knowledge and understanding of dementia in individuals, health care providers and communities through education. Importantly, we are very keen to understand how improved knowledge leads to changes in attitudes and behaviour.  We have a lot to learn from community members, and we have a real chance to develop whole communities through education and improved dementia literacy.

Through the ISLAND Project, we hope that by sharing with you what we know about reducing the risk of developing dementia, you will gain knowledge and practical tools to reduce your own risk.

Diet is certainly a topic we receive a lot of feedback on.  I hope you find the following articles on the Mediterranean Diet informative and useful.

Why is diet important in reducing the risk of developing dementia?

The World Health Organisation recommends a healthy balanced diet for all adults. We know that diet is important in the management of conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but a healthy diet has also been associated with better cognitive performance (such as thinking, remembering, judgement and problem solving).  Increasingly we are understanding more about the importance of diet in reducing the risk of dementia. 

The Mediterranean diet is one of the diets that has been most extensively studied and the World Health Organisation has noted that a Mediterranean-like diet may be recommended to adults to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and/or dementia. This type of diet has been studied both for its general health benefits and for its effect on cognitive performance.  

How you can be more Mediterranean in your diet

So, what is a Mediterranean-like diet? A Mediterranean diet is a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, wholegrains and legumes (those are things like beans, peas and lentils). Unsaturated fats such as olive oil are recommended, and it contains more fish and less red meat than other diets. Like most healthy diets, a Mediterranean-like diet recommends limiting processed foods which often contain high levels of saturated fat and sugar, but a glass of wine with dinner is allowed providing alcohol intake is within healthy guidelines.

Why is it particularly good for you? While many studies have been undertaken, no single element of the Mediterranean diet seems to be responsible for the positive effect on cognition and it seems that the different things you eat in this type of diet may work together to contribute to its benefits. One study published in 2019 investigated the MIND diet (based on the Mediterranean diet and a diet geared to lower blood pressure - 'Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay'), specifically includes foods relevant to brain health including green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, berries, nuts, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine.

We know that making healthy food choices can improve cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, which all contribute to cardiovascular health. We also know that managing these health issues and maintaining a healthy weight lowers dementia risk. It is possible that the benefits of changing your diet might result in increased physical activity which also reduces your risk of many health conditions including dementia.

 So- how can you be more Mediterranean in your diet?

1.       Eat lots of different vegetables: increase the number of serves you consume every day

2.       Switch to olive oil for cooking

3.       Replace one of your meat dishes with a fish dish or a vegetarian dish

4.       Consider berries or other fruit for dessert

5.       Add some more legumes such as beans and lentils to your meals

6.       Nuts and seeds make a great snack

Some studies have shown that even some small changes to your diet such as eating two serves of vegetables each day, together with two serves of berries and one serve of fish each week might reduce the risk of dementia.

Tasmania has fantastic produce so we should take advantage of our beautiful seasonal fruits and vegetables. What’s in season this winter?

Are you a carer of someone living with dementia?

Researchers at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre are seeking carers of people living with dementia to participate in a new research study, the Rested Project. 

The aim of the project is to investigate whether carer's stress can be reduced by providing dementia education and engagement in a course. Researchers are also interested in whether participation in dementia education can lead to improved quality of life for dementia carers and people with dementia for whom they care.

If you would like to find out more, contact the research team at rested.project@utas.edu.au or at this website.

Rested Project

Want to know more about our new study, ISLAND Campus?  Do you have questions about how to study a course or degree program, without paying tuition fees?  Or, do you need to know more about the process to apply and courses to study? 

We have compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions that may help to answer your questions.  

The University of Tasmania received funding from the Australian Government. Views and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of its authors, and may not be the same as those held by the Department of Health.

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