Preventing Alzheimer’s disease with brain-healthy foods.
You may lower your risk of mental decline with this new hybrid of two balanced, heart-healthy diets – even without rigidly sticking to it – early research suggests.
The MIND diet takes two proven diets – DASH and Mediterranean – and zeroes in on the foods in each that specifically affect brain health.
The emphasis is on eating from 10 brain-healthy food groups: green leafy vegetables in particular, all other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine. Meanwhile, MIND adherents avoid foods from the five unhealthy groups: red meats, butter and stick margarine, cheeses, pastries and sweets, and fried or fast food.
he MIND diet, which stands for “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay,” was developed by Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center, through a study funded by the National Institute on Aging and published online February 2015. Morris’ team followed the food intake of 923 Chicago-area seniors. Over 4.5 years, 144 participants developed Alzheimer’s disease. The longer people had followed the MIND diet patterns, the less risk they appeared to have. Even people who made “modest” changes to their diets – who wouldn’t have fit the criteria for DASH or Mediterranean – had less risk of developing Alzheimer’s. The study found the MIND diet lowered Alzheimer’s risk by about 35 percent for people who followed it moderately well and up to 53 percent for those who adhered to it rigorously.
Not likely. “The DASH and Mediterranean diets have not been shown to have any risks for any disease or condition that I know of,” says MIND diet developer Morris. “It’s achieved all of the minimum prescriptions of those diets.” For example, she says, the MIND diet calls for at least one fish meal per week, as does the DASH diet. But you could eat fish more frequently, such as the six weekly servings in the Mediterranean diet.
Green leafy vegetables (like spinach and salad greens): Eat at least one serving per day.
Other vegetables: At least one other vegetable a day.
Whole grains: Three or more servings a day.
Nuts: Five one-ounce servings a week.
Beans: At least three servings a week.
Berries: Two or more servings a week.
Fish: Once a week.
Poultry (not fried): Two times a week.
Olive oil: Use it as your primary cooking oil.
Wine: One glass a day.
Red meat: Eat fewer than four servings a week.
Butter and margarine: Less than a tablespoon daily.
Cheese: Less than one serving a week.
Pastries and sweets: Less than five servings a week.
Fried or fast food: Less than one serving a week.