10 Oct 2024 Article

MIND diet

What should you eat to keep your brain sharp for longer?

In this article I will tell you about a promising diet. It is called MIND. It aims to prevent Alzheimer’s disease by eating healthy foods. The creators of this diet claim that the risk of mental decline can be reduced, even if you do not follow the diet very strictly.

The MIND diet is a hybrid diet. It combines two diets: the DASH diet (a widely used diet in the United States to lower blood pressure) and the Mediterranean diet. The DASH and Mediterranean diets do not prohibit eating unhealthy foods. The MIND diet, on the other hand, proposes to severely limit foods that are known to negatively affect brain function.

The emphasis of the new MIND diet is on the regular consumption of ten categories of foods that are good for brain function:

  1. Green leafy vegetables;
  2. All other types of vegetables;
  3. Nuts;
  4. Berries, preferably blueberries;
  5. Legumes;
  6. Whole grains;
  7. Fish;
  8. Poultry;
  9. Olive oil;
  10. Wine.

It is recommended to avoid foods from five unhealthy groups, namely:

  1. Red meat;
  2. Butter and margarine;
  3. Cheeses;
  4. Sweets;
  5. Fried foods.

The MIND diet was developed several years ago by the team of Dr. Martha Claire Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, USA), with support from the National Institute on Aging. The team followed the diet of 923 elderly residents of Chicago. Over a period of four and a half years, 144 participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

The scientists noted that the longer people adhered to the MIND model, the lower their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Interestingly, even the people who made “modest” changes to their diet, in the direction of the MIND diet, had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The difference in performance was equal to 7.5 years. That is, the brains of those who adhered to the principles of MIND were “younger” by this number of years. The study shows that MIND reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by about 35 percent in people who are not too fanatical about the diet. And up to 53 percent in those who are quite strict! Morris emphasizes that the observations of individuals who adhere to her diet are not long enough to draw definitive conclusions. But so far, the results are positive.

How do you eat according to MIND in practice?

If we translate the recommendations of the MIND team into practical advice, we get the following tips:

  • Eat at least three portions of whole grains every day.
  • Eat leafy greens and other vegetables every day (raw or cooked).
  • You can drink one glass of wine every day (if you are a woman) or two (if you are a man). It should be noted here that scientists do not advise people who do not drink alcohol at all to start drinking it “for health”.
  • Eat nuts daily or almost daily.
  • Eat a portion of legumes (beans, lentils, peas) every other day.
  • You can eat poultry up to twice a week.
  • Eat fish at least once a week.
  • Eat an ounce of berries twice a week or more often.
  • Give preference to olive oil over other types of oil.
  • Avoid red meat and meat products, sweets and pastries.
  • Also limit the consumption of butter to less than one tablespoon per day and the consumption of cheese to one portion per week.
  • Forget fast food for good.
  • There is no daily calorie limit, but it is important to maintain a healthy weight.

The MIND diet is quite logical if you think about it. It is no secret that the main foods on the recommended list have a positive effect on brain function. These are, in particular, berries, nuts, oily fish and leafy vegetables.

Is the MIND diet helpful for losing weight?

The MIND diet is very filling due to the high amount of plant foods rich in fiber. So, people who follow this diet do not feel hungry. Is this diet good for losing weight? I think so, because you will simply not consume high-calorie foods such as butter and other fatty dairy products, sweets, and fast food. All these foods, especially if consumed in large quantities, make you gain weight.

My professional opinion: the diet is very logical. But as with all healthy diets, it will only work if it becomes a natural part of your life and not a temporary experiment.