Dodge dementia with smart eating

Food choices matter and what you put in your mouth right now can play a role in your future brain health.  To keep your brain young and sharp, research has shown that making smart food choices each day can help slow cognitive decline.  One of the best dietary food plans that stands out is called the MIND diet.  This eating plan was developed by a team led by Martha Clare Morris, Sc. D., a nutrition researcher at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.  It includes the foods known to enhance memory and brain health, and limits foods thought to harm it. 

The MIND diet or Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets.  In Morris’s five-year study of a group of older people, those who stuck to the diet lowered their risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 35% to 53%.  The longer people stayed with this pattern of eating, the more their odds improved. 

What is the MIND diet and how do you follow it?

The MIND dietary pattern is a hybrid of the elemental parts of the Mediterranean and DASH diets. It specifically includes foods with important nutrients based on reviews from medical literature that have shown to be good for the aging brain.

The Mediterranean diet is culturally based in Mediterranean countries and emphasizes the cooking style of that region consisting primarily of vegetables, fish, whole grains, olive oil and red wine. It has been shown to be beneficial for heart health by lowering the risk of a heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol levels.

 The DASH diet is a way of eating that focuses more on lowering high blood pressure (hypertension). It encourages reduction of sodium while recommending increasing foods generous in the minerals potassium, calcium and magnesium to bring down blood pressure.

There are 15 dietary components of the MIND diet. Ten components are the “brain-healthy foods” and the other five components are listed under “unhealthy”.

The ten “brain-healthy” foods are:

• Green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, romaine, etc.): At least six servings a week.
• Other vegetables: At least one a day.
• Nuts: Five servings a week.
• Berries: Two or more servings a week.
• Beans: At least three servings a week.
• Whole grains: Three or more servings a day.
• Fish: At least once a week.
• Poultry (chicken or turkey): Two times a week.
• Olive Oil: To be used as your main oil.
• Wine: One glass a day (5 ounces).

The five “unhealthy” foods:

• Red meat: Less than four servings a week choosing lean cuts (round or sirloin and graded “choice” or “select” instead of “prime” which has more fat).
• Butter and margarine: Less than a tablespoon a day.
• 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.

Notice that berries are the only fruit mentioned in the MIND diet. Other fruits can be used, but berries are singled out due to their formidable power in keeping the brain healthy. Blueberries in particular contain a compound called anthocyanins, which is a member of the flavonoid family of polyphenol phytochemicals. Anthocyanins are found in many plant-based foods but particularly in blueberries and strawberries as they provide the bright red and blue colors of those fruit. Past studies have shown the neurological improvements blueberries provide are due to anthocyanins that seem to reduce oxidative stress, decrease inflammation, and increase signaling between neurons.

Strawberries have also been a player in helping reduce mental decline. The Nurses’ Health Study discovered that women consuming two or more half-cup servings of blueberries or strawberries each week had a slower decline in mental acuity, which was equal up to two-and-a-half years of delayed aging.

Take home message

To be perfectly clear, the MIND diet still needs more research before anyone can say it will decisively lessen a person’s chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease. But even so, by focusing on eating less processed and more whole foods, anyone can gain health strides in not only brain health but also heart health.

 For now, it seems the longer a person follows this eating pattern, the greater the chance of lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Combining the MIND diet with regular exercise, mental stimulation, managing stress, and maintaining an active social life makes the risk of Alzheimer’s disease decline even further.

Until there is a cure for this all-consuming disease, at least the MIND diet is a beacon of hope and that is a huge reason to make some adoptions of the diet fit into your everyday eating habits.