Somewhere in the long human effort to outlast our own decline, a quiet question has been asked of blood rather than of memory: can what we eat shape the pace at which our minds grow old? Over eighteen months, about 300 people in the DIRECT PLUS trial lived by one of three dietary patterns, and the answer researchers found circulating in their veins pointed toward a green-Mediterranean table, where green tea and a small aquatic plant called Mankai joined the familiar bounty of vegetables, olive oil, fish and whole grains. The work, published in Clinical Nutrition by teams at Ben-Gurion Universi
Green-Mediterranean Diet With Green Tea and Mankai Linked to Slower Brain Ageing in Trial
Biological changes can be seen long before symptoms appear.
Mark
So what actually changed in these people?
Mimi
Blood proteins. Certain ones are linked to faster brain ageing, and their levels dropped in the group on the green-Mediterranean diet.
Mark
What made that diet different?
Mimi
Two additions to the Mediterranean pattern: green tea and a daily Mankai shake. Mankai is duckweed, a small aquatic plant.
Mark
Why look at blood rather than memory?
Mimi
Anat Meir said protein signatures can show biological changes long before symptoms appear. That's the appeal.
Luke
But a protein marker isn't a diagnosis. The reporting doesn't say anyone had fewer cases of cognitive decline.
Mimi
Right. The finding is about markers linked to brain ageing, not outcomes like Alzheimer's.
Luke
And the anti-inflammatory explanation is the team's belief, not something demonstrated here.
Mark
So it's a hypothesis about why.
Mimi
Yes. Also, the diet bundles several things, so we can't tell whether tea, Mankai, or the combination did the work.
Luke
Fair, and the researchers themselves say more research is needed.
El Pulso
- A trial of about 300 people quietly tested whether daily food choices could slow the brain's biological ageing.
- Blood measurements revealed proteins linked to faster brain ageing, and their levels dropped among those on the green-Mediterranean diet.
- Researchers credit the anti-inflammatory effects of green tea and Mankai, a daily duckweed shake, for the shift.
- Scientists are moving toward earlier detection of brain ageing through protein signatures, though they insist more study is needed before firm claims.
- The findings point toward everyday dietary habits as a possible early lever for brain health, long before symptoms appear.
Somewhere in the long human effort to outlast our own decline, a quiet question has been asked of blood rather than of memory: can what we eat shape the pace at which our minds grow old? Over eighteen months, about 300 people in the DIRECT PLUS trial lived by one of three dietary patterns, and the answer researchers found circulating in their veins pointed toward a green-Mediterranean table, where green tea and a small aquatic plant called Mankai joined the familiar bounty of vegetables, olive oil, fish and whole grains. The work, published in Clinical Nutrition by teams at Ben-Gurion University, Harvard and Leipzig, suggests that the brain's ageing may be read in proteins long before any symptom arrives, and that ordinary meals may be part of the story.
For eighteen months, participants in the DIRECT PLUS trial followed one of three eating patterns, and at the end, researchers looked past the scale and the memory test to what was circulating in their blood. Among those eating a green-Mediterranean diet, levels of certain proteins tied to faster brain ageing had fallen.
The study, published August 23 in Clinical Nutrition, was a joint effort by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the University of Leipzig. Involving around 300 people, it is described as one of the longest-running studies on diet and brain health. Participants were assigned a standard healthy diet, a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet, or the green-Mediterranean version.
That third pattern builds on the Mediterranean diet, centered on vegetables, olive oil, nuts, whole grains, fish and chicken in place of red meat. It adds green tea and Mankai, a small aquatic plant also known as duckweed, taken as a daily shake. Experts suspect these additions carry compounds that protect the brain.
The proteins matter because conditions such as Alzheimer's and mild cognitive impairment are often associated with a brain age gap, where the brain appears older than the person's years. Anat Meir, a Harvard postdoctoral researcher who co-led the study, said mapping these protein signatures could reveal biological change long before symptoms emerge. Senior author Iris Shai stressed the value of everyday habits. The researchers caution that further work is needed, but their findings hint that simple choices, like drinking green tea or eating more plant-based protein, could help keep the brain younger for longer.
Participants in the DIRECT PLUS trial spent 18 months eating one of three diets, and at the end researchers looked at something that does not show up on a scale or a memory test: proteins circulating in their blood. In the group eating a green-Mediterranean diet, levels of certain proteins tied to faster brain ageing had dropped.
The findings were published on August 23 in the journal Clinical Nutrition. They come from a joint effort by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the University of Leipzig. The researchers describe the work as some of the strongest biological evidence so far that diet can directly shape how the brain ages.
The trial followed around 300 people, and DIRECT PLUS is described as one of the longest-running studies on diet and brain health. Participants were assigned to one of three eating patterns. One was a standard healthy diet. Another was a traditional calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet, with fewer simple carbohydrates and more vegetables, poultry and fish. The third was the green-Mediterranean diet.
That third version builds on the Mediterranean pattern, already regarded as one of the world's healthiest, which centers on vegetables, olive oil, nuts, whole grains, fish, and chicken in place of red meat. The green variant adds two daily items: green tea and Mankai, a small aquatic plant also known as duckweed, which participants took as a daily shake. Experts say these additions may carry compounds that protect the brain and slow ageing.
When the team analysed participants' blood, they found that higher levels of particular proteins were associated with faster brain ageing. Those levels fell among people following the green-Mediterranean diet. The researchers believe the anti-inflammatory properties of green tea and Mankai may explain the effect.
The interest lies in what these proteins might signal. Conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment are often linked to what experts call a brain age gap, in which the brain looks older than the person's years. Anat Meir, a Harvard postdoctoral researcher who co-led the study, said that studying circulating proteins in blood lets scientists see how lifestyle and diet influence the brain's ageing processes. By mapping these protein signatures, she said, biological changes can be seen long before symptoms appear.
Iris Shai, the study's senior author and an adjunct professor of nutrition at Harvard, stressed the importance of everyday habits. The researchers caution that more work is needed. Still, the study suggests that simple changes, such as drinking green tea, eating more plant-based protein and choosing healthier fats, could help keep the brain younger for longer. Further research will determine how firmly that can be claimed.
Citas Notables
Studying circulating proteins in blood lets us observe how lifestyle and diet influence the brain's ageing processes, and see biological changes long before symptoms appear.— Anat Meir, Harvard postdoctoral researcher and study co-lead (paraphrased)
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