Green tea, mushrooms, miso… why does the Japanese diet contribute to women's longevity ?

Le régime traditionnel japonais a des effets bénéfiques sur le cerveau des femmes qui prennent de l'âge ! paylessimages/Getty Images

Green tea, seaweed and fish… This is the menu to prevent the brain from atrophying with age and leading to dementia or cognitive decline. One study points to the Japanese diet as the key, except it only works for women.

It's no secret: Japan, particularly Okinawa located in the far south not far from Taiwan, is home to the most famous centenarians in the world. The paradise Japanese archipelago concentrates a large number of seniors who have passed the century of life. Apart from their state of mind and their active mode, as pointed out by the airline Japan Airlines, we also know that their diet contributes to their longevity. Vegetables and all kinds of plants, but also rice, fish and even seaweed… This is the menu of these famous centenarians, but in reality they are not the only Japanese to follow this diet.

Eating habits

Japanese women have adopted it too! And that's a good thing because these eating habits prevent their brains from atrophying as they get older. When we age, cognitive decline or even dementia are indeed consequences of brain atrophy. We are talking about Japanese women, and not men whose brain does not benefit from the same protective effects, reports a study published in the Nutrition Journal.

A total of 1,636 guinea pigs aged 40 to 89 took part in this research, supported by the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology in Japan and also by the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. United. The participants' diet was monitored for two years, making it possible to determine three main types of menus, including the Western diet, another based mainly on vegetables, fruits and dairy products, and finally the traditional Japanese diet. The secret of good cognitive health, ladies, would thus be linked to the consumption of green tea, mushrooms or even miso, the famous fermented soy paste on the basis of recipes enhanced by umami (the fifth flavor).