Vegans, Pescatarians, Vegetarians Have Better Memory Than Meat Eaters, Study Finds
In the memory test, pescatarians performed the best, followed by the vegetarians and the vegans. Omnivores ranked at the bottom. In a delayed recall test, vegetarians beat pescatarians, getting the highest score, whereas omnivores that had high levels of meat in their diet scored the lowest.
A study conducted by researchers from Birkbeck University has revealed that people who follow a pescatarian (fish only), vegetarian or vegan (plant-based only) diet can possess a boost in their memory compared to meat-eaters.
Unsplash
ALSO READ: Eating Meat Thrice A Week Raises Heart Disease, Diabetes & Pneumonia Risk
The study aimed to look at the effects of diet on memory and sleep quality. For this, they took a group of 62 adults from the age group of 40 and above, who were either vegan pescatarian, omnivores with low meat consumption or omnivores with high meat consumption.
To test their memory performance, they made use of the California Verbal Learning Test which is also regarded as one of the most widely used neuropsychological tests. The sleep quality on the other hand was assessed via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index basis a self-rated questionnaire.
The results showed that the diet one consumed had a considerable impact on memory, but not really on sleep quality.
In the memory test, pescatarians performed the best, followed by the vegetarians and the vegans. Omnivores ranked at the bottom. In a delayed recall test, vegetarians beat pescatarians, getting the highest score, whereas omnivores that had high levels of meat in their diet scored the lowest.
Unsplash
ALSO READ: Bill Gates Thinks We Must Stop Eating Beef To Save World From Climate Change
Moreover, women had considerably higher scores compared to men across diet groups, except for vegetarians. According to the researchers, this is probably because women are more likely to prefer a plant-based diet compared to men.
Researchers explained, ¡°This pilot study has found that there is a significant effect of gender favouring females over males in overall memory and a marginally significant effect of diet on short-term memory, with plant-based diets showing superior performance to animal-based diets.¡±
For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com
