The Fingers Study

I haven't blogged for a year, due to some major life changes including a move.  But I'm back because I really enjoy exploring what's happening in the dynamic area of nutrition and writing helps me organize it.  Recently, I heard Dr Steven DeKosky, a neurologist, with a focus in Alzheimer's, give a presentation where he mentioned the FINGERS study.  Before seeing this study, he said, though he would have assumed that a healthy life style could help delay dementia, though it probably wouldn't delay it once it was diagnosed.  But he finds the evidence from this study which showed a delay in progression worth considering.  The life style plan was multidimensional.  As a dietitian, I was particularly interested in the nutritional protocol.  The published study went into goals for individual nutrients and followed the Finnish Nutritional Recommendations (above is the Finnish Food Pyramid).
  The plan was individualized within a framework that included approximately 15% of calories from protein, 30% from fat (<10% saturated fat), 50% carbohydrates (<10% sugar, 25-35 grams of fiber), and <5% from alcohol.  To meet the goals the diet was plant-forward with lots of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and fatty fish.
     The Fingers study included 5 life style areas: healthy foods, physical exercise, mental stimulation, social activity and cardiac risk monitoring.  More information can be found by googling “Fingers Brain Health Institute.”