Why It’s Important To Cut Back On Cheese For Brain Health

ranchgirl

https://brainhealthkitchen.subst ... ready%20been%20data,associated%20with%20greater%20cognitive%20decline.

Why It’s Important To Cut Back On Cheese For Brain Health？
10 Tips based on the Mediterranean and MIND diet guidelines
ANNIE FENN, MD
MAR 14, 2023

ranchgirl

If you love eating cheese, the MIND diet guidelines can be tough to swallow. In the original MIND diet study, published in 2015, cheese intake is limited to one 1-ounce serving per week. That’s the amount of cheese in one 1-inch cube or 2 smaller, bite-sized pieces.

Whenever I mention this guideline during talks, it always elicits a collective groan. Then the questions start pouring in—most are an attempt to negotiate a way to be able to eat more cheese. Questions like: Isn’t cheese a fermented food? And: If I cut back on cheese, how will I get my calcium? And, always this: Don’t people in the Mediterranean eat cheese every day?

I get it. I love cheese, too! So let’s dig into the reasons for this guideline and then you can decide how to fold this into your dietary choices.

如果您喜欢吃奶酪，那么 MIND 饮食指南可能会让人难以接受。 在 2015 年发表的最初的 MIND 饮食研究中，奶酪的摄入量被限制为每周 1 盎司。 这是一个 1 英寸立方体或 2 个较小的一口大小的奶酪块中的奶酪量。

每当我在谈话中提到这个指导方针时，总会引起集体的叹息。 然后问题开始涌来——大多数都是试图通过谈判找到一种能够吃更多奶酪的方法。 诸如此类的问题：奶酪不是发酵食品吗？ 还有：如果我减少奶酪的摄入，我将如何获取钙？ 而且，总是这样：地中海地区的人们不是每天都吃奶酪吗？

我得到它。 我也喜欢奶酪！ 因此，让我们深入研究一下制定该指南的原因，然后您就可以决定如何将其纳入您的饮食选择中。

ranchgirl

Driving down saturated fat in the MIND diet
First, it helps to understand why researcher Dr. Martha Clare Morris and her colleagues chose such a tiny cheese portion for a brain-healthy diet. Each food group and serving size in the MIND diet is a reflection of scientific studies that came before. There had already been data showing that eating foods high in saturated fats (such as cheese, butter, and red meat) was associated with greater cognitive decline. Conversely, diets full of monounsaturated (such as extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados), and polyunsaturated fats (fish and seafood) were shown to be protective against dementia.

Having a high ratio of unsaturated fats (mono- and polyunsaturated fats) to saturated ones was also found to be better for the brain. In the Chicago Health and Aging Project study, those who consumed the most unsaturated fats, in relation to saturated ones, had a statistically significant 70% reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s over 3.9 years.

MIND 饮食中减少饱和脂肪
首先，它有助于理解为什么研究人员玛莎克莱尔莫里斯博士和她的同事选择如此小的奶酪部分作为大脑健康的饮食。 MIND 饮食中的每个食物组和份量都反映了之前的科学研究。 已有数据表明，吃饱和脂肪含量高的食物（如奶酪、黄油和红肉）与认知能力下降程度更大有关。 相反，富含单不饱和脂肪（如特级初榨橄榄油、坚果、种子、鳄梨）和多不饱和脂肪（鱼和海鲜）的饮食被证明可以预防痴呆症。

不饱和脂肪（单不饱和脂肪和多不饱和脂肪）与饱和脂肪的比例较高也被发现对大脑更好。 在芝加哥健康与老龄化项目的研究中，与饱和脂肪相比，摄入最多不饱和脂肪的人在 3.9 年内患阿尔茨海默病的风险显着降低了 70%。

ranchgirl

Elevated LDL increases the risk of Alzheimer’s
Subsequent studies found a correlation between harmful low density lipoprotein (LDL) in blood cholesterol testing and Alzheimer’s risk. Elevated LDL is an important risk factor for Alzheimer’s and other dementias. For many, LDL is sensitive to saturated fat in the diet. In other words, the more sat fat, the higher the LDL. Hence, this was another motivation for MIND diet researchers to create guidelines that reflect a diet that’s no more than 8% saturated fat—low by American standards. This is why the MIND diet  limits not only cheese, but butter (less than one tablespoon a day), red meat (no more than three 3-ounce servings per week), fast and fried foods (no more than once a week), and pastries and sweets (up to five servings a week).

The MIND diet is the most successful diet studied for its ability to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Follow it closely and the risk can be reduced by 53% after 4.5 years. This doesn’t stem from one food guideline, such as reducing cheese, but rather the dietary pattern as a whole that is rich in the foods proven to be neuroprotective (berries, leafy greens, vegetables, whole grains, fish and seafood, nuts and seeds, extra-virgin olive oil) while limiting food shown to be brain-harming.

低密度脂蛋白升高会增加患阿尔茨海默病的风险
随后的研究发现血液胆固醇检测中有害的低密度脂蛋白（LDL）与阿尔茨海默病风险之间存在相关性。 低密度脂蛋白升高是阿尔茨海默病和其他痴呆症的重要危险因素。 对于许多人来说，低密度脂蛋白对饮食中的饱和脂肪很敏感。 换句话说，饱和脂肪越多，低密度脂蛋白就越高。 因此，这是 MIND 饮食研究人员制定指导方针的另一个动机，该指导方针反映了饱和脂肪含量不超过 8% 的饮食——按照美国标准来说是低的。 这就是为什么 MIND 饮食不仅限制奶酪，还限制黄油（每天少于一汤匙）、红肉（每周不超过三份 3 盎司）、快餐和油炸食品（每周不超过一次）、 糕点和糖果（每周最多五份）。

MIND 饮食是研究中最成功的饮食，因为它能够降低患阿尔茨海默病的风险。 密切关注，4.5年后风险可降低53%。 这并不是源于单一的食物指南，例如减少奶酪的摄入量，而是源于富含被证明具有神经保护作用的食物的整体饮食模式（浆果、绿叶蔬菜、蔬菜、全谷物、鱼类和海鲜、坚果和 种子、特级初榨橄榄油），同时限制被证明对大脑有害的食物。

ranchgirl

The Mediterranean Diet’s stance on cheese
The MIND diet is based on the Mediterranean dietary pattern, but the guidelines differ when it comes to cheese. The Mediterranean diet is slightly more liberal with dairy products, recommending no more than one serving daily of yogurt (1 cup) or cheese (1½ ounces). It also recommends consuming natural cheeses that are lower in fat, such as Parmesan, pecorino, and feta.

Another notable difference: the MIND singles out berries and leafy greens as their own food groups, ensuring they get consumed in adequate doses to provide neuroprotection. In the Mediterranean diet, berries are included in all fruit, and leafy greens are lumped with all vegetables.

地中海饮食对奶酪的立场
MIND 饮食以地中海饮食模式为基础，但在奶酪方面的指南有所不同。 地中海饮食对乳制品的摄入量稍微宽松一些，建议每天摄入不超过一份酸奶（1 杯）或奶酪（1.5 盎司）。 它还建议食用脂肪含量较低的天然奶酪，例如帕尔马干酪、佩克里诺干酪和羊乳酪。

另一个显着的区别是：MIND 将浆果和绿叶蔬菜单独作为自己的食物组，确保它们被摄入足够的剂量以提供神经保护。 在地中海饮食中，浆果包含在所有水果中，绿叶蔬菜包含在所有蔬菜中。

ranchgirl

Putting the MIND guidelines into practice in your diet
Now you know why the MIND diet strictly limits cheese—as an attempt to drive down the overall saturated fat content of the diet. It makes sense, too, since the typical American diet is loaded with cheese (and butter and red meat). In fact, American households have tripled their cheese consumption since the 1970’s as it has become common to snack on cheese, smother food with cheese, and use cheese to make foods creamy. Most people could benefit from cutting back. But it’s also helpful to remember that the guidelines are just that: guidelines. It’s up to you to create a personalized brain-healthy diet that both makes sense (the concept of “fit” I discussed here) and is sustainable for your long term brain health.

I wrote a whole chapter in the Brain Health Kitchen book about how to build your own brain-healthy food pyramid. For example, if you are a person with excellent LDL numbers, who rarely consumes red meat or butter, your cheese consumption could veer closer towards Mediterranean guidelines.

What if, on the other hand, you have difficulty getting your LDL down to target levels? Or, your diet is already full of other saturated fat foods? Cutting back on cheese according to MIND diet recommendations could be a way to achieve brain health gains. Think of it as low-hanging fruit that will pivot your diet in a more brain-friendly direction.

The other problem with cheese: it’s very satiating. It’s easy to fill up on cheese and crackers before dinner, leaving less room for all the other brain-protective foods, like vegetables, whole grains, beans, leafy greens, and nuts.

Why the MIND diet trial changed the cheese guidelines
The MIND diet trial is the next phase of the 2015 MIND diet study, with results nearing completion. For this placebo-controlled trial, MIND researchers modified the guidelines slightly. Besides dropping red wine as a brain-healthy food group, the cheese serving was increased from one to two ounces. According to Dr. Morris, this had more to do with making people happy than any scientific guideline. She wanted people to enjoy the dietary guidelines and make them a sustainable part of eating. I love Dr. Morris for that. She herself was an avid cheese lover. (Read my full interview with Dr. Morris here.)

Your Brain Health Homework: Do you need to cut back on cheese?

将 MIND 指南付诸实践于您的饮食中
现在您知道为什么 MIND 饮食严格限制奶酪——以此来降低饮食中的总体饱和脂肪含量。 这也是有道理的，因为典型的美国饮食富含奶酪（以及黄油和红肉）。 事实上，自 20 世纪 70 年代以来，美国家庭的奶酪消费量增加了两倍，因为吃奶酪、用奶酪窒息食物以及用奶酪使食物变得奶油状已经变得很普遍。 大多数人都可以从减少开支中受益。 但记住指导方针就是指导方针也是有帮助的。 您有责任创造一种个性化的大脑健康饮食，既有意义（我在这里讨论的“适合”的概念），又对您的长期大脑健康可持续。

我在《大脑健康厨房》一书中写了一整章关于如何建立自己的大脑健康食物金字塔。 例如，如果您的低密度脂蛋白含量极低，很少食用红肉或黄油，那么您的奶酪摄入量可能会更接近地中海指南。

另一方面，如果您很难将 LDL 降至目标水平怎么办？ 或者，您的饮食中已经充满了其他饱和脂肪食物？ 根据 MIND 饮食建议减少奶酪的摄入量可能是实现大脑健康的一种方法。 将其视为唾手可得的果实，可以将您的饮食转向对大脑更加友好的方向。

奶酪的另一个问题是：它非常有饱腹感。 晚餐前很容易吃奶酪和饼干，从而为其他保护大脑的食物（如蔬菜、全谷物、豆类、绿叶蔬菜和坚果）留下更少的空间。

为什么 MIND 饮食试验改变了奶酪指南
MIND 饮食试验是 2015 年 MIND 饮食研究的下一阶段，结果已接近完成。 对于这项安慰剂对照试验，MIND 研究人员稍微修改了指南。 除了不再将红酒作为有益大脑健康的食物组之外，奶酪的用量也从一盎司增加到两盎司。 莫里斯博士认为，这比任何科学指导方针更重要的是让人们感到快乐。 她希望人们享受饮食指南，并使其成为可持续饮食的一部分。 为此我爱莫里斯博士。 她本人就是一位狂热的奶酪爱好者。 （在这里阅读我对莫里斯博士的完整采访。）

你的大脑健康作业：你需要减少奶酪的摄入量吗？