In April this year, new dietary guidelines for adults were published – which, in short, are about eating lots of vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains and fish. And at the beginning of next year, new dietary guidelines for the elderly – from the age of 65 – will be published for consultation, says Josefin Edwall Löfvenborg, nutritionist and risk and benefit assessor at the Swedish National Food Administration.
The advice for the elderly was last updated in 2019.
Cognitive health
As a basis, the authority has compiled a report based on results from over 50 systematic review articles that examined the connection between diet – especially dietary patterns and food groups – and the development of dementia.
What we can see in this report is that research shows that diet is important for our cognitive health and the risk of developing dementia, says Josefin Edwall Löfvenborg.
Reduced risk
The results are in line with dietary advice for adults and the so-called Mediterranean diet appears to have benefits. A dietary pattern that contains lots of fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, oils and fish, but small amounts of red meat, cured meats and sugar-sweetened beverages may be linked to a reduced risk of dementia.
But is it too late to start thinking about diet at the age of 65?
Our report, where we have focused specifically on studies with adults from the age of 60 and up, cannot identify any age where diet has no significance. We have not been able to identify any age where it would be too late to switch to a healthier diet, says Josefin Edwall Löfvenborg, adding that even small changes towards healthier eating habits are positive.
Sofie Fogde/TT
Facts: Dementia in numbers
TT
It is estimated that 130,000–150,000 Swedes live with dementia.
Among those aged 65 and over, an estimated seven percent have dementia. For people over 80, nearly one in five (18 percent) is estimated to have dementia.
The number of people with dementia is expected to increase by almost 80 percent by 2050 as the proportion of older people in the population increases.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and is estimated to account for more than half of all dementia cases in Sweden. The second most common is vascular dementia, which accounts for about a quarter of dementia cases.
Source: Swedish National Food Agency
