title: A diet based on multiple functional concepts improves cognitive performance in healthy subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Disorders such as the metabolic syndrome (MetS), impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes, are associated with increased risk of cognitive decline. Also several of the individual key features that define the MetS, e.g. hypertension, impaired glucose regulation, dyslipidemia, obesity, and inflammation, are related to an increased risk of cognitive decline. Consequently, a diet that prevents metabolic disorders might be expected to prevent cognitive decline. The purpose of the present study was to, in overweight but otherwise healthy subjects, investigate effects on cognitive functions of a dietary regime combining multiple functional concepts potentially beneficial to risk markers associated with MetS. The purpose was in addition to evaluate cognitive performance in relation to results on cardiometabolic risk variables (BMI, blood pressure, glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, lipoprotein A-1 and B, hs-CRP, HbA1c, interleukin-6, TNF-α, and PAI-1).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourty-four healthy women and men (50-73 years, BMI 25-33, fasting glycemia ≤ 6.1 mmol/L) participated in a randomized, controlled crossover intervention, comparing a multifunctional diet (active diet (AD)) including foods with a potential anti-inflammatory action, with a control diet (CD) devoid of the "active" components. Both diets were composed in close agreement with the Nordic dietary recommendations. Each diet was consumed during 4 wk, separated by a 4 wk washout period. Cognitive tests were performed at fasting and in the postprandial period after a standardized breakfast, after each diet period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In comparison with the CD, the AD improved performance in the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning test (recognition test, p < 0.05, ANOVA, n = 42) and significantly improved performance in test of selective attention, which also included aspects of working memory (p < 0.05, n = 40). Performance in cognitive tests was inversely associated with plasma concentrations of cardiometabolic risk markers (fasting cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure) and cardiovascular risk scores (Framingham and Reynols), and positivly associated with apolipoprotein A1 (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that diet characteristics may modulate cognitive performance. A relationship seems to exist between cardiometabolic risk markers and cognitive performance in apparently healthy subjects. The results provide additional motives for diet based prevention of metabolic disturbances related to the MetS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, Lund, SE-221 00, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: Antidiabetic Food Centre, Lund University, Lund, SE-221 00, Sweden.
authors.forename: Juscelino
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tovar
authors.affiliation: Antidiabetic Food Centre, Lund University, Lund, SE-221 00, Sweden.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Radeborg
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, Lund, SE-221 00, Sweden ; Antidiabetic Food Centre, Lund University, Lund, SE-221 00, Sweden.
authors.forename: Inger
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Björck
keywords: Ageing; Cognitive decline; Cognitive performance; Crossover design; Diet and cognitive functions; Dietary prevention; Metabolic disease; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic syndrome; Randomized controlled trial