• Home
  • Mail
  • Tumblr
  • News
  • Sports
  • Finance
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Answers
  • Groups
  • Mobile
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content
    • Mail
    Lifestyle Home
    Follow Us
    • Style
    • Beauty
    • Wellness
    • Pop Culture
    • Shopping
    • News
    • Horoscope
    • Video
    • NowWith

    Meet The ‘MIND’ Diet (It Slashes Alzheimer's Risk By 35%)

    Yahoo HealthMarch 18, 2015
    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    The MIND diet promotes consumption of berries — particularly blueberries and strawberries. (Photo: Flickr/storebukkebruse)

    There’s a rising interest in how nutrition fuels cognition and memory function long-term — and now, researchers are on to a winning dietary formula. The bonus? Noshing your way to brain benefits doesn’t involve following a strict regimen.

    According to a new study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, the so-called “MIND diet” could slash Alzheimer’s risk by 35 percent, even if a person only moderately adheres to the eating plan. 

    Developed by nutritional epidemiologists at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, the regimen’s full name is the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet. 

    The MIND diet consists of: 

    • At least three servings of whole grains a day
    • A salad and one other vegetable a day
    • A glass of wine a day
    • A serving of nuts a day
    • Beans every other day
    • Poultry and berries at least twice a week
    • Fish at least once a week
    • Limit unhealthy-brain foods, especially butter (less than one tablespoon a day), cheese, and fast or fried food

    To study its effects, the scientists took data on the food intake of 923 Chicago-dwellers between ages 58 and 98 over the course of a decade. 

    They used questionnaires to determine just how closely participants’ eating habits mimicked one of three diet plans: the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet, or the MIND diet. The researchers also measured the incidence of Alzheimer’s over a 4.5-year follow-up period, as part of an ongoing research project at Rush to examine facets of cognitive health.

    All of the diets seemed to be effective in reducing Alzheimer’s risk. Those who followed DASH saw a 39 percent drop in risk, those who followed the Mediterranean diet saw a 54 percent drop, and those who adhered to the MIND plan saw a 53 percent decrease in cognitive decline.

    The biggest finding, though? Those who only moderately stuck to the Mediterranean and DASH diets did not see their Alzheimer’s risk decrease. Those who moderately followed MIND, on the other hand, still saw risk drop by 35 percent.

    Related: Early Signs Of Alzheimer’s Disease Found In Patients As Young As 20 

    “I think that will motivate people [to try it],” says Rush nutritional epidemiologist Martha Clare Morris, PhD, in a statement.

    As the name suggests, the MIND diet is a hybrid between the Mediterranean and DASH diets, which are both backed by the National Institute of Health as plans that offer real, research-based benefits to those utilizing them — everything from reducing risk of heart disease and stroke to lowering blood pressure.

    There are 15 dietary components to the MIND diet, including 10 that are considered “healthy brain” food groups, and five that are considered “unhealthy-brain” food groups. The point is to eat more from the healthy groups, and less from the unhealthy groups — with stricter adherence to this rule leading to greater benefit. The healthy groups are green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine. The unhealthy groups are red meats, butter and margarine, cheese, pastries and sweets, and fast food or fried food. 

    Related: 5 Ways to Lower Your Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

    Notably, whereas the Mediterranean and DASH diets both emphasize fruit consumption in general, MIND encourages berry intake in particular, especially cognitive-boosting blueberries and strawberries. 

    In the study, the longer men and women followed the MIND diet, the greater their protection against cognitive decline. “As is the case with many health-related habits, including physical exercise, you’ll be healthier if you’ve been doing the right thing for a long time,” says Morris.

    Past studies have also shown the DASH and Mediterranean diet plans to be tied to a lower risk of dementia, which, as the current study indicates, seems to be true. The results of the MIND diet study also offer strong preliminary evidence that a combination of facets of the two regimens hold cognitive benefits — and luckily, it’s also easier to follow than the Mediterranean or DASH plans.

    Five million people in the United States currently suffer from Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to jump to 16 million by 2050 — which is even more reason to adopt these dietary practices now.

    Although more studies are needed to confirm the brain-boosting benefits of the MIND diet, science has already shown us the health benefits of the brain-boosting foods, even beyond cognition. “It is hard to come up with a potential downside to adopting these dietary habits,” Morris says.

    Up Next: The Diet That’s Better For Your Heart Than Exercise

    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    What to Read Next

    • Woman tells Spanish-speaking Mexican restaurant employees: 'Get the f*** out of my country'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Burberry 'Deeply Sorry' For Sending Model Wearing Noose Down Runway

      HuffPost
    • Bret Michaels on the challenges of life with diabetes: 'It motivates me to work harder rather than give up’

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Elderly Man Buys Used VHS Player on eBay, Goes Viral for Tear-Jerking “Thank You” Note

      Best Life
    • Meghan Markle and Serena Williams Just Reunited for Dinner in NYC

      Harper's Bazaar
    • Hiker stuck in quicksand for 10 hours before being rescued: 'It was just a freak accident'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • The Biggest Supermoon of the Year is Happening Tonight – Here’s How to Watch

      Fatherly
    • Man allegedly pulls gun on couple wearing MAGA hats at Sam's Club: 'This is a good day for you to die'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • 7-year-old boy allegedly called 'little Hitler' for raising money to go toward Trump's border wall

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Kylie Jenner Reveals Lip Fillers Aren’t the Only Face Treatment She’s Had Done

      NewBeauty
    • Tax accountant allegedly couldn't file same-sex couple's taxes because 'it's against my Christian beliefs'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson Both Respond to Report He Cheated With Kylie Jenner's Friend

      Elle
    • This Is the Real Reason Jeans Have Those Tiny Pockets

      Reader's Digest
    • 5 Reasons You’re Having Enough Sex, According to Science

      Fatherly
    • Another U.S. high school student in hot water after being caught distributing 'N-word passes'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Khloe Kardashian And Tristan Thompson Have Reportedly Broken Up Because He Cheated With Jordyn Woods

      Women's Health

    Donald Trump Is ‘Very Intelligent,’ According to Donald Trump

    Bart: Many are hoping that he spends his final years in agony and pain. It would be hilarious.

    Join the Conversation
    1 / 5

    238

    • Man arrested for punching, pouring coffee on Sikh 7-Eleven clerk — because he thought the man was Muslim

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Katy Perry's Engagement Ring From Orlando Bloom Looks Just Like the One He Gave Miranda Kerr

      Brides
    • Why Millennials Aren't Using Top Sheets on Beds

      House Beautiful
    • Tristan Thompson Tweets, Deletes Reaction to Cheating Rumors

      InStyle
    • How Meghan Markle Styled Skinny Jeans for Her NYC Baby Shower

      Who What Wear
    • Fans Are Convinced That Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper Are Secretly in Love

      Good Housekeeping
    • Ariana Grande's Fans Have Feelings About Her Skin-Care Routine

      Refinery29
    • Who Is Hudson Kroenig, Karl Lagerfeld's Adorable Sidekick?

      InStyle
    • Kylie Jenner talks plastic surgery in new interview

      Cosmopolitan Videos
    • Kim Kardashian wore a very revealing dress and the internet is very confused

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner Have Reportedly Trademarked Their Children’s Names

      Glamour
    • Vans employee fired for reportedly cursing out teen customer wearing MAGA hat

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Meghan Markle Wore a Thing: Vintage Courrèges Coat Edition

      Fashionista
    • Kim Kardashian Shreds Fast Fashion Brand Fashion Nova For Mugler Dress Ripoff

      HuffPost
    • Baby born on JetBlue flight to Florida inspires name change for plane

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Meghan Markle and Serena Williams Met Up for Dinner in New York City

      Elle