Woman eating a salad (© Prostock-studio – stock.adobe.com)
MINNEAPOLIS – The secret to maintaining a sharp mind might be hiding in your kitchen. A new study suggests that following a specific diet could lower your risk of developing memory problems later in life. The diet in question? It’s called the MIND diet, and it might just be your brain’s new best friend.
The MIND diet isn’t just another fad. It’s a carefully crafted combination of two well-known eating plans: the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet. MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, and it lives up to its name by focusing on foods believed to benefit brain health.
So, what’s on the menu? Picture a plate filled with leafy greens like spinach and kale, colorful vegetables, whole grains, and a serving of fish or poultry. Now, add a handful of nuts, a sprinkle of berries, and a drizzle of olive oil. This is the essence of the MIND diet, according to researchers publishing their work in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The diet prioritizes brain-boosting foods while limiting less beneficial ones. It recommends cutting back on red meat, fast food, fried food, pastries, and sweets. For those who also enjoy an alcoholic beverage, there’s good news – a glass of wine a day is on the approved list.
Dr. Russell P. Sawyer from the University of Cincinnati and his team set out to investigate whether the MIND diet could truly make a difference in cognitive health. Their study was impressive in both scale and duration, following 14,145 people for an average of 10 years. The participants, with an average age of 64, were a diverse group – 70% White and 30% Black.
“We were especially interested to see whether diet affects the risk of cognitive impairment in both Black and white study participants,” Dr. Sawyer explains in a media release.
Participants filled out questionnaires about their eating habits over the past year. The researchers then scored each person’s diet based on how closely it matched the MIND diet recommendations. They divided participants into three groups: low, middle, and high adherence to the diet.
After a decade of follow-up, the results were compelling. Among the 4,456 people in the low adherence group, 12% developed cognitive impairment. In the middle group of 5,602 people, the rate dropped slightly to 11%. However, it was the high adherence group of 4,086 people that showed the most promise, with only 10% developing cognitive issues.
After accounting for other factors like age, high blood pressure, and diabetes, the researchers found that people who followed the MIND diet most closely had a 4% lower risk of cognitive impairment compared to those who followed it least.
Interestingly, the benefits weren’t equally distributed. Women who closely followed the diet saw a 6% decreased risk of cognitive impairment, while men didn’t seem to benefit as much. The study also found that people adhering to the MIND diet experienced a slower decline in thinking skills, with this effect being more pronounced in Black participants.
“These findings warrant further study, especially to examine these varying impacts among men and women and Black and white people, but it’s exciting to consider that people could make some simple changes to their diet and potentially reduce or delay their risk of cognitive issues,” Dr. Sawyer notes.
A Recipe for Brain Health?
While the study shows a clear association between the MIND diet and a lower risk of cognitive decline, it’s important to note that it doesn’t prove the diet prevents cognitive impairment. As with any scientific study, there are limitations. The research focused on older Black and White individuals, so the results may not apply to all groups.
Nevertheless, the findings offer food for thought. With the number of people affected by dementia on the rise, simple dietary changes could be a practical way to support brain health as we age.
Paper Summary
Methodology
This study explored the effects of adhering to a MIND diet on cognitive health by analyzing data from the REGARDS study. The participants included 14,145 people with an average age of 64 and 56.7% being women. Dietary data were collected through the Food Frequency Questionnaire, which asked participants about their food habits over the past year. Based on these responses, researchers calculated a MIND diet score for each participant. The higher the score, the better the participant’s adherence to the MIND diet, which emphasizes healthy foods like vegetables, berries, fish, and olive oil while limiting red meat and sweets.
To measure cognitive changes, participants took memory and thinking tests, which were repeated several times over the study’s follow-up period (approximately 10 years). Statistical methods, such as logistic regression, were used to determine whether there was a link between MIND diet adherence and cognitive impairment, adjusting for factors like age, sex, race, and lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking, obesity).
Key Results
The study found that people who followed the MIND diet more closely had a lower risk of developing cognitive impairment. Women, in particular, showed a greater protective benefit from adhering to the MIND diet compared to men. For women, following the MIND diet reduced their risk of cognitive decline significantly. However, for men, no such significant effect was observed. Another interesting result was that the MIND diet had a stronger protective effect on Black participants compared to White participants. Overall, the study suggests that eating a diet rich in healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while avoiding unhealthy choices can help maintain brain health as people age.
Study Limitations
First, the study participants reported their dietary habits through a questionnaire, which might not be 100% accurate due to memory recall issues. Also, the study mainly included Black and White participants, so the findings may not apply to other racial or ethnic groups.
Another limitation was that the study focused on older adults, and younger people were not included, which limits understanding of how diet might affect cognition earlier in life. Additionally, while the study showed associations between diet and brain health, it cannot definitively prove that following a MIND diet directly causes improved cognitive outcomes, as other unmeasured factors may also play a role.
Discussion & Takeaways
The main takeaway from this study is that sticking to a MIND-style diet can help protect against cognitive decline, especially for women and Black participants. This dietary pattern emphasizes brain-healthy foods like leafy greens, berries, and fish and suggests reducing red meat, butter, and sweets. While the benefits of the diet were most noticeable in women, men did not see the same protective effects.
However, both Black and White participants experienced cognitive benefits, though they were more pronounced for Black participants. This highlights the potential for personalized dietary recommendations based on demographic factors. Importantly, the study encourages adopting healthier eating patterns early to support cognitive health as we age.
Funding & Disclosures
This study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) under cooperative agreement U01 NS041588. The authors disclosed no conflicts of interest related to this research.
