Wait, what was this supposed to be about?

Oh that's right. Mediterranean-style diets.

Tell me: Do things like this ever happen to you?

• You have clarity of purpose. You know what you need. You walk into another room to get it. Then, distraction hits, and you forget entirely what prompted you.

• Or else, you search the house for your car keys or your glasses, or your wallet. A good 10 minutes later, you realize they’ve been with you the whole time.

• You sit down to write a newsletter about an intriguing study having to do with memory — if only you could remember what it was.

Yes, these are highly personal anecdotes. But like all the best stories, I hope they’re simply the unique expression of universal truths.

Perhaps second only to the fear of death itself, the one thing I’ve heard smart people admit that they fear most is the idea of losing their memory.

And that’s why I’ve latched on with gusto to a recent study out of Harvard University, among other institutions, that suggests a simple, straightforward way to improve cognitive health.

Mediterranean-style diets

Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers from Mass General Brigham, the Broad Institute of MIT, and yes, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, say that making a simple dietary change can “influence key metabolic pathways that protect memory and cognitive function.”

The strategy: Make a conscious change to switch to a Mediterranean-style diet.

Think sun-drenched Greek islands and Tuscan villages — places like Crete, Santorini, the Amalfi Coast, and Sardinia, where this isn’t a “diet plan” at all, but simply how people have eaten for generations. Where a taverna lunch means grilled fish with olive oil, fresh tomatoes, crusty bread, and maybe a glass of local wine. Where centenarians are common, and dementia remarkably rare.

More on the nose, according to a summary:

“People following a more Mediterranean-style diet had a lower risk of developing dementia and showed slower cognitive decline.”

They’re not the first to tout the benefits of this diet; heck, I’ve written about other studies here before.

But this team analyzed data from two studies, including a total of 5,705 men and women from two longitudinal studies: the Nurses’ Health Study, followed by the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

And, by studying three factors: “long-term dietary patterns,” “participant’s inherited risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” and the incidence of “new cases of dementia,” they were able to make some striking conclusions.

‘Help reduce the risk’

According to the study’s first author, Yuxi Liu, PhD, a research fellow in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, and a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Chan School and Broad:

“These findings suggest that dietary strategies, specifically the Mediterranean diet, could help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and stave off dementia by broadly influencing key metabolic pathways.”

Before I forget (ironic, right?) we should ensure that we’ve established what a Mediterranean-style diet actually entails:

Olive oil as the primary fat source, as opposed to higher saturated fats sometimes seen in Western diets. Whole grains — lots of them — plus vegetables and fruits, probably four servings per day. Lean proteins like fish, chicken, turkey, and eggs. Very limited red meat intake. And lots of fiber from a variety of plant sources.

My favorite kind of study

Honestly, this makes it fall into the category of “frankly quite pleasurable things I might do anyway, even without the study.”

Which therefore makes it my favorite kind of study.

Short version? Do something I’d normally do almost without prompting, and get an unexpected benefit? I’m on board with that.

Barely even need a reminder.

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7 other things worth knowing

• Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges in a case his lawyer described as a vindictive prosecution directed by President Donald Trump. Trump has also targeted New York state Attorney General Letitia James, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and, as of Wednesday, the Democratic governor of Illinois and Democratic mayor of Chicago. (Reuters)

• The most destructive inferno in Los Angeles history, which charred a devastating path through Pacific Palisades and Malibu in early January and killed 12 people, was intentionally set by an an Uber driver, prosecutors alleged Wednesday. Authorities announced the arrest of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29. If convicted he faces between five and 20 years in federal prison. (LA Times)

• The Unofficial Jobs Numbers Are In and It’s Rough Out There: In a federal data blackout, Wall Street numbers and surveys are filling the void. (WSJ)

• A Florida state lawmaker has fielded a bill that would order institutions of higher education in the state to rename roads after the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The bill has real teeth since it stipulates that state funds should be withheld from schools that fail to comply. (Fox News)

• Denmark plans to ban social media for children under 15, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday: “We have said yes to mobile phones in our children’s lives in the best sense. So they can call home and communicate with their friends ... But the reality is that we have let a monster loose..” (CNN)

• The NCAA moved a step closer Wednesday to allowing athletes and athletic department staff to bet on professional sports. If approved by all three divisions, it would go into effect Nov. 1. The proposal doesn’t change the NCAA rule which forbids athletes from betting on college sports. (AP)

• A veteran food critic who took extreme measures to preserve his anonymity is finally ripping off the mask as he steps down from his role. Tom Sietsema sported everything from fat suits to fake teeth in a bid to keep his identity top secret. Since 2000, penned more than 1,200 full restaurant reviews and dined at roughly 10 establishments per week. After 25 years he has handed in his notice. (Daily Mail)

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Thanks for reading. Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash. I wrote about some of this before at Inc.com. See you in the comments.