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Eat your fruits and veggies to lower risk of dementia

Following the Canada Food Guide helps lower the risk of heart disease and the mini strokes in the brain that cause vascular dementia.

Brian Campkin, who needed bypass surgery at age 46, now keeps a copy of the Canada Food Guide on his fridge, along with family photos, to inspire his healthier diet and exercise regimen.

Supplied photo


Marco Di Buono, a 37-year-old with a Ph.D. in nutrition science, starts every day with a concoction proven to reduce the risk of vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s.

Vascular dementia accounts for about one out of five instances of dementia. It’s caused by strokes in the brain, most often by a series of small, often “silent” strokes.

While brewing his morning coffee, Di Buono throws frozen strawberries or mixed berries into a blender, adds a banana or two, pours in some fruit juice and presses “liquefy.” The closest thing to a magic bullet that can significantly reduce the risk of vascular dementia comes in the form of a berry (or an apple, banana, grape, potato, tomato or pea), suggests Di Buono, director of research at Heart & Stroke Ontario.

“Adequate fruit and vegetable intake decreases the risk of stroke and heart disease by about 30 per cent,” he says. In other words, an apple a day helps keep the dementia away.

But Canadians, he cautions, “do a poor job of eating enough fruits and vegetables. Half of us don’t even eat the minimum amount recommended by the Canada Food Guide.” The guide calls for:

  8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day for men 50 years and under.

  7 to 8 servings per day for women 50 and under.

  7 servings per day for men and women age 51 and over.

Brian Campkin, 50, knows exactly what the guide recommends. A copy of it has been stuck to the front of his fridge for the past four years — ever since he ran into heart trouble at the age of 46.

He was warming up for one of his regular tennis matches when he started feeling winded. “I was trying to get to the top of the tennis ladder for the first time,” he recalls. “But I had to shut myself down part-way through the match because I couldn’t breathe properly.”

Tests revealed that three of four major arteries were 100-per-cent clogged. Campkin, an information technology salesman, underwent bypass surgery. Then he made some changes in his life.

“I was a corporate conqueror Monday to Friday, and a weekend warrior,” he says. At a cardiac rehab program, “I learned that wasn’t sufficient. I needed to exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, five days a week.”

These days, Campkin plays tennis twice a week and, depending on the season, walks or rides his bike for 30 to 45 minutes three times a week. He’s determined to stay healthy so he can walk his three daughters, ages 23, 20 and 17, down the aisle at their weddings.

“I’m doing everything in my power to keep myself away from another surgery, or any blockage that could lead to some form of dementia,” he insists.

That includes boosting his intake of fruits and vegetables. Campkin says he had a fairly healthy diet before his heart surgery but admits, “I didn’t eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I’d walk past the fruit bowl in the kitchen and think, ‘Oh, that’s for the girls.’ And I had a hard time with green vegetables.”

Now, he starts the day with four different fruits, drinking a glass of orange juice and topping a healthy cereal with strawberries, blueberries and a banana. And he’ll often have a salad for lunch or dinner.

But fruits and vegetables are just one part of the vascular-dementia prevention menu. The omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon and other fatty fishes also lower the risk of stroke, advises Fran Berkoff, a dietitian who consulted with heart and stroke patients at Mount Sinai Hospital before opening her own practice.

Whole grains are also important, she says. “The soluble fibre helps lower cholesterol levels and, like fruits and vegetables, whole grains provide antioxidants.”

Berkoff has two more words of dietary advice: Reduce salt. She suggests replacing processed foods with whole, fresh, natural foods as much as possible to lower sodium intake and help control blood pressure. She also strongly recommends the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. “There’s strong evidence about the DASH diet in terms of controlling blood pressure,” she notes.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major risk factor for stroke. “There’s no question that regulating blood pressure, whether through exercise or medication, reduces the risk of stroke,” advises Carol Greenwood, a University of Toronto professor of nutritional science.

10 foods to reduce the risk of vascular dementia:

1. Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, as are mackerel, herring and sardines.

2. Blueberries provide powerful antioxidants, vitamins and polyphenols, but all fruits contribute to cardiovascular health.

3. Broccoli is a member of the cruciferous family of vegetables that help guard against cardiovascular disease. Overall, increased consumption of vegetables has been shown to promote cardiovascular and brain health.

4. Almonds contain mono and polyunsaturated fats that help lower cholesterol levels, as do hazelnuts.

5. Lentils and other legumes provide folate, which helps regulate homocysteine levels, and soluble fibre, which helps lower cholesterol.

6. Pure cocoa, with high flavonoid content and more antioxidants per serving than tea or red wine, has a beneficial effect on blood pressure, insulin resistance, and vascular and platelet function.

7. Flaxseed, rich in soluble fibre, omega-3 fatty acids and phytochemicals called lignans, helps keep blood flowing and helps reduce cholesterol.

8. Whole grains. Consuming an average of 2.5 servings of whole grains each day is associated with a 21-per-cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke, compared to consuming only 0.2 servings.

9. Coffee and tea. Recent research has shown that one to three cups of coffee daily may protect against stroke. Powerful antioxidants in tea can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

10. Yogurt and other low-fat dairy products are part of the DASH diet, proven to reduce hypertension.