Can diet calm early memory problems? Anti-inflammatory Mediterranean eating shows promise

By Priyanjana Pramanik, MSc.Reviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.Nov 24 2025

A powerful anti-inflammatory twist on the Mediterranean diet shows striking protection against early memory problems in older women, revealing why what you eat may shape how your brain ages.

Study: Evidence of an anti-inflammatory diet as a key protector for subjective memory complaints in women. Image Credit: monticello / Shutterstock

In a recent study published in the journal BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, researchers examined how adherence to three Mediterranean-style diets and the DII relate to subjective memory complaints (SMC) and subtle cognitive decline (SCD) in women over 50.

They found that the anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet (AnMED) offered the strongest protection against SMC, with higher intake of greens, vegetables, and legumes lowering risk, while dairy, refined grains, sugars, and pastries increased risk. Women with more anti-inflammatory diets also showed better outcomes for SMC, depression, and diabetes.

Rising Dementia Burden Drives Interest in Preventive Nutrition

The rapid aging of the global population has led to a rising burden of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD). While mild age-related cognitive changes are expected, a more pronounced decline is a signal of underlying pathological processes.

SMC is linked to biological markers of AD, including amyloid-beta buildup, white matter changes, and brain atrophy, and is especially common in women, who also show a higher likelihood of progressing to SCD.

Current pharmacological treatments for AD provide limited symptomatic relief but cannot halt neurodegeneration, prompting scientists to focus on preventive strategies in midlife, particularly nutrition.

Mediterranean, MIND, and Anti-Inflammatory Diet Models

Research suggests that whole dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet (MED) and the MIND (Mediterranean, DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet may be protective against AD.

The newer AnMED further refines these approaches by removing pro-inflammatory foods. This study therefore evaluates whether adherence to MED, MIND, or AnMED diets, as well as DII scores, relate to SMC or SCD.

Study Design Using Community Pharmacies and Health Centers in Spain

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study over five months within community pharmacies and healthcare centers in Spain. Eligible participants were women aged 50 or older. Individuals with dementia, intellectual disabilities, or serious sensory or physical impairments that prevented interview participation were excluded.

Trained interviewers conducted one-hour in-person assessments, collecting anthropometrics, medical history, and psychosocial factors such as depression and pain. SCD was evaluated using the Memory Impairment Screen, the Short Portable Mental Questionnaire, and the Semantic Verbal Fluency Test.

Dietary Assessment and Calculation of Inflammatory Scores

Dietary intake over the previous month was recorded using a food frequency questionnaire, from which nutrient composition and bioactive compounds were determined. These data were used to calculate each participant’s DII and to score adherence to three diet models: MED, MIND diet, and AnMED. Scores of 9 or more out of 14 indicated high adherence.

Additionally, three idealized weekly meal plans, one for each diet, based on maximum adherence, were created to evaluate their theoretical inflammatory potential. Statistical analyses included Chi-square tests, Fisher’s exact tests, Odds Ratios, and Cramer’s V.

Low Adherence to Anti-Inflammatory Diet Despite Stronger Cognitive Protection

Among the 419 women recruited, 348 met the inclusion criteria with a mean age of 70.5 years and an average BMI of 27. High adherence was most common for the MIND diet (89.9 percent), followed by the MED diet (68.4 percent), while only 4.3 percent showed high adherence to the more restrictive AnMED diet.

Neither the MED nor the MIND diet showed significant associations with SMC, including no measurable association with SCD, depression, chronic pain, hypertension, or diabetes.

In contrast, the AnMED diet demonstrated a strong protective association; nonadherence was associated with a 10-fold higher likelihood of reporting SMC. Logistic regression confirmed that each additional adherence point to the AnMED diet reduced SMC odds by 17 percent, independent of MED and MIND adherence.

Foods Associated With Lower and Higher Memory Complaint Risk

Food-category analysis indicated that higher intake of legumes, leafy and nonleafy vegetables, and nuts was associated with lower SMC. Refined grains, dairy products, and sugary foods were linked to increased SMC risk.

DII analyses similarly showed that individuals with lower DII scores had significantly lower rates of depression, SMC, and diabetes. Modeled meal plans demonstrated that the AnMED diet provided the strongest anti-inflammatory profile and the highest flavonoid intake.

Strongest Evidence Supports AnMED for Subjective Memory Protection

The study’s central finding is that older women who follow a strongly anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet, especially one emphasizing vegetables, legumes, nuts, and flavonoids, experience notably fewer subjective memory complaints.

Unlike MED and MIND diets, AnMED adherence showed an independent, robust association with reduced SMC, supporting the idea that greater dietary restriction of pro-inflammatory foods may be required to influence early cognitive symptoms.

Strengths include detailed dietary assessments, comparison across three established diet models, and integration of DII scores. However, limitations include the cross-sectional design, reliance on self-reported dietary intake and memory complaints, and the very small number of women with high AnMED adherence.

The study also confirmed that none of the dietary patterns demonstrated a significant association with SCD, reinforcing that the findings relate specifically to subjective rather than objective cognitive outcomes.

Overall, the study highlights the AnMED diet as a potentially effective strategy for reducing early cognitive concerns and supporting brain health through anti-inflammatory dietary patterns, warranting further longitudinal research.