The Mind Diet: How eating these foods can prevent dementia and help in new brain cell growth

57 million people had dementia worldwide in 2021, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There is a rise of 10 million new cases every year. What’s more concerning is that this progressive neurological condition worsens with time, which significantly affects the quality of life. What if you can keep the brain sharp and healthy, and reduce the risk of dementia? Yes, that’s possible. And it begins with what you eat. That’s where the MIND diet comes in. The MIND diet is a promising nutritional strategy that can protect brain health and potentially foster new brain cell generation. Take a look.

Developed by nutritional epidemiologist, late Martha Clare Morris, ScD, of the Rush University Medical Center, the MIND diet is the best of both worlds. It combines two healthiest diet strategies to focus on lowering dementia risk and improving cognitive function. The MIND diet stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. This diet combines the Mediterranean diet with the blood pressure-lowering DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. This combination is proven to benefit the brain. It focuses on some healthy foods such as leafy greens, berries, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, and limits certain foods.

The MIND diet combines nutrient-dense foods, which combat oxidative stress and inflammation, the key contributors to dementia. A 2021 study found that participants who followed this hybrid diet moderately later in life did not have cognitive problems. “Some people have enough plaques and tangles in their brains to have a postmortem diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, but they do not develop clinical dementia in their lifetime,” Klodian Dhana, MD, PhD, lead author of the paper and an assistant professor in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at Rush Medical College, said in a statement. “Some have the ability to maintain cognitive function despite the accumulation of these pathologies in the brain, and our study suggests that the MIND diet is associated with better cognitive functions independently of brain pathologies related to Alzheimer’s disease," Dhana added. The researchers concluded that the MIND diet is associated with better cognitive functioning independently of common brain pathology, suggesting that the diet may contribute to cognitive resilience in the elderly.

A previous study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association found that the MIND diet lowered the risk of Alzheimer's disease by as much as 53 percent in participants who adhered to the diet rigorously, and by about 35 percent in those who followed it moderately well.

A 2023 study found that the MIND diet was associated with fewer Alzheimer's plaques and tangles. “These results are exciting improvement in people’s diets in just one area such as eating more than six servings of green leafy vegetables per week, or not eating fried foods was associated with fewer amyloid plaques in the brain, similar to being about four years younger. While our research doesn’t prove that a healthy diet resulted in fewer brain deposits of amyloid plaques, also known as an indicator of Alzheimer’s disease, we know there is a relationship and following the MIND and Mediterranean diets may be one way that people can improve their brain health and protect cognition as they age,” study author Puja Agarwal, PhD, of RUSH University in Chicago, said.

• Green leafy vegetables – kale, spinach, cooked greens, salads

• Non-starchy vegetables

• Berries – strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries

• Nuts

• Olive oil

• Whole grains – oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, 100% whole wheat bread

• Fish – salmon, sardines, trout, tuna, mackerel

• Beans – beans, lentils, soybeans

• Poultry – chicken, turkey

• Butter and margarine

• Cheese

• Red meat – beef, pork, lamb, processed meat products

• Fried food

• Pastries and sweets