About The Buzz: Leafy Greens & Berries Fight Alzheimer’s? About The MIND Diet

TheBUZZ Leafy Greens & Berries Fight Alzheimer’s? About The MIND Diet

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

A study published in the February 2015 issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia demonstrated a protective effect of the MIND diet, which emphasizes eating leafy greens and berries to fight against Alzheimer’s disease in aging adults.1

WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS

If you could follow a type of diet that would reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s by over 50%, would you?

The Rush Memory and Aging Project followed over 900 men and women ages 58 to 98 from 2004 and 2013. Throughout the duration of the study, participants answered a 144-item food and beverage questionnaire and underwent 19 mental skill tests every few years. No dietary intervention was required to participate; participants simply answered questions about their dietary habits.

Researchers discovered that older adults whose diets conformed most closely to a diet called the MIND diet were much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those who only moderately followed the diet. The dedicated followers saw their risk of Alzheimer’s drop by a whopping 53%! Participants who followed the diet “moderately well” still benefitted greatly: their risk for Alzheimer’s still dropped by roughly 35%.

The study looked at factors other than diet to determine how much of an impact other lifestyle habits might potentially enhance or detract from the protective effect of the MIND diet. Smoking history, exercise and physical activity habits, level of education, mentally challenging activities (such as crossword puzzles) and a history of obesity, depression or heart disease were all added to the picture.2 Regardless of lifestyle or other factors, this study found that the MIND diet offered protection whether or not other healthy behaviors or health conditions were present.2 This means that no matter what, following the MIND diet can lower your risk of Alzheimer’s.

A CLOSER LOOK: THE MIND DIET

The MIND diet is a blend of two diets you may recognize: the Mediterranean diet and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. The MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet is easier to follow than the others because it is relatively simple in comparison.

Similar to the Mediterranean and DASH diets, the MIND diet emphasizes plant-based foods and the limited consumption of animal and high saturated fat foods (cheese, butter, pastries) but uniquely specifies the consumption of berries and green leafy vegetables. It does not, however, specify high fruit (3-4 servings each day), dairy, or fish consumption like the other two diets. The MIND diet has 15 key dietary components, 10 of which are “brain-healthy” groups and 5 that are “unhealthy.”

10 Brain-Healthy Dietary Components of the MIND Diet

  1. Green leafy vegetables
  2. Other vegetables
  3. Nuts
  4. Berries
  5. Beans
  6. Whole grains
  7. Fish
  8. Poultry
  9. Olive oil
  10. Wine

5 Unhealthy Dietary Components of the MIND Diet

  1. Red meats
  2. Butter and margarine
  3. Cheese
  4. Pastries and sweets
  5. Fried foods

To follow the diet, you would need to consume three servings of whole grains, a green leafy vegetable, one other vegetable and a glass of wine pretty much every day. You would also need to be snacking on nuts most days, eating beans every other day or so, eating poultry and berries at least twice a week and eating fish at least once a week. Finally, only very limited amounts of butter (less than 1 tablespoon a day), cheese and fried foods (less than a serving per week) would be consumed.2

OUR ADVICE

Every person has a different goal or outcome in mind and a specific idea of their ideal healthy self. It’s easy to get lost in the latest headlines toting the “too-good-to-be-true!” health benefits of the latest fad diet. We all have goals, but whether it’s attempting to lose weight, stave off Alzheimer’s disease, or protect against heart disease, you can never go wrong by increasing your intake of a colorful variety of fruits and veggies like leafy greens and berries! The easiest way eat more veggies every day is to fill half your plate with fruits and veggies during every meal and snack!

 

1 MC Morris, CC Tangney, W Yang, et al. “MIND diet associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.” Journal of Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2015 (1-8). View

2 Could a Diet Help Shield You from Alzheimer’s? Medline Plus. 2015. View

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