Recent studies report that diet can mediate the vasculoplastic reserve of the hippocampus. For example, consuming high levels of cocoa flavanols increased capillary density and enhanced dentate gyrus-associated cognitive function in cognitively normal healthy subjects. This suggests an interaction between vasculoplasticity and neuronal plasticity during normal aging and dementia, but how this relationship is affected by lifestyle and vascular risk factors is currently unclear and should be investigated in future studies.

Growing evidence supports the benefits of a Mediterranean diet in protecting against dementia and prolonging one’s cognitive reserve during aging. Age-related cognitive decline was attenuated in individuals consuming a Mediterranean diet, as found in a recent study of the Mediterranean-Dietary Approach to Systolic Hypertension (DASH)

Diet intervention for neurodegenerative delay. In comparing Mediterranean and Western diets, the primary difference is the source and proportion of dietary fats, with olive oil specifically being the main fat consumed in the Mediterranean…