The MIND Diet Promotes the Longevity of Cognitive Health

Highlights

• The MIND diet includes dietary patterns from the Mediterranean and DASH diets and likely shares their benefits in reducing disease risk and supporting healthy aging.
• Research shows that following the MIND diet lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline.

Introduction

The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) combines two popular eating patterns, the Mediterranean and the DASH diets. Both of these diets are great choices when it comes to health and longevity. Can their combination deliver even better results? The MIND diet has been developed to reduce age-related cognitive decline. Does it deliver on its promise? We will review the available research and answer these questions to help you decide which clients would benefit most from switching to MIND.

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How was the MIND diet formulated?

The MIND diet was first outlined in a 2015 paper by Rush University Medical Center researchers. They included 960 participants from the Rush Memory and Aging Project and followed them over an average of 4.7 years. The participants were asked to complete annual dietary questionnaires and conduct two cognitive assessments. The group of researchers developed a MIND diet score to identify foods and nutrients related to protection against cognitive decline. Results showed that participants with the highest MIND diet scores had a significantly slower rate of cognitive decline than those with the lowest scores (1).

MIND diet guidelines

The original study on the MIND diet classified 15 dietary components as either brain-healthy or unhealthy. When helping a client follow the MIND diet, the following recommendations would be the ideal starting place:

• Whole grains: Aim for 3+ servings every day. Examples include oatmeal, brown rice, whole-grain pasta, and whole-grain bread.
• Green leafy vegetables: Include 6+ servings per week of kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, and other types of leafy greens.
• Other vegetables: Eat at least one serving of vegetables other than leafy greens per day. Good examples would be bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, or asparagus.
• Beans: Have lentils, soybeans, and other types of beans in at least 4 meals every week.
• Berries: Include 2 or more servings of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries per week.
• Nuts: Try to get 5+ servings of nuts every week. Rotate different types of nuts in your diet.
• Poultry: Aim for 2 or more meals per week that include poultry.
• Fish: Eat fish at least once a week. Good options would be salmon, sardines, trout, tuna, or mackerel because of their high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
• Olive oil: If you need to add extra fat to any meal, use mainly olive oil.

The original list included wine as a beneficial dietary component in moderation. Later trials looking at the MIND diet considered the effects of alcohol complex and potentially risky. They stated that the inclusion of alcohol has to be based on an individual's unique personal and family history, weighing all benefits and risks (2).

The remaining dietary components were found to be unhealthy and limited consumption was recommended.

• Pastries and sweets: Keep foods such as ice cream, cookies, brownies, cakes, doughnuts, or candy under 5 servings per week.
• Red meat: Beef, pork, lamb, and products made from these types of meats should be kept under 4 servings per week.
• Cheese: Limit cheese to one serving per week.
• Fried foods: Keep all fried foods, especially from fast food restaurants, to one serving per week.
• Butter and margarine: Aim to have less than 1 tablespoon (about 14 grams) per day of butter or margarine. Olive oil should be used for cooking.

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Benefits of the MIND diet

The MIND diet includes components of the Mediterranean and DASH diets which have both been extensively studied. We know these diets are associated with a wide range of health benefits, such as heart health and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Similar benefits may also apply to the MIND diet, as early research shows it is associated with a reduced chance of breast cancer (3). Most MIND diet research focuses on cognitive health as that is its main focus.

Research finds that people with the highest MIND diet scores have a 53% lower rate of Alzheimer’s disease than those with the lowest scores. And those with moderate MIND scores still showed a 35% lower rate (4). Another study says that better adherence to the MIND diet is associated with a lower risk of dementia (5).

Studies also show that the MIND diet helps cognition even outside of neurodegenerative disease. A higher MIND diet score was associated with better cognitive functioning and slower cognitive decline in adults 65 and older. These results held even when accounting for Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases (6). The MIND diet has also been shown to slow the rate of cognitive decline in people who have experienced a stroke (7).

There is some evidence that the MIND diet may even improve cognition. A study found that adults with a median age of 34.1 years that closely adhered to the MIND diet had faster information processing speeds than those who did not follow the diet (8). A prospective cohort study of women aged 70 and over found that those with high MIND diet scores showed higher memory scores in later life (9) than participants with lower MIND diet scores.

Problems with the MIND diet

The MIND diet, much like the Mediterranean diet, does not prescribe a rigid meal plan. This may be a disadvantage for people who do not have professional guidance. With the help of a nutritionist or a health coach, clients should easily identify enjoyable and satisfying meals.

Clients that eat many of their meals outside of their homes or as takeaways may have issues with adherence. The MIND diet is not as well-known as the Mediterranean or vegetarian diets, and restaurants may not know how to accommodate it.

It is important to consider that the MIND diet is relatively new, and as much as we know from observational research, we still lack clinical trials. There is an ongoing randomized control trial that will be valuable in assessing the diet’s actual effects on cognition, health, and longevity (2). Still, we will have to wait for several years to see the results.

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Conclusions

The MIND diet incorporates eating patterns from the Mediterranean and DASH diets. It likely shares its benefits in reducing the risk of some cancers, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes and supporting healthy aging. Current research shows that closely following the MIND diet is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline in general. However, more evidence is needed to understand the full extent of the diet’s effects. The MIND diet can be recommended to most clients but those with a family history of neurodegenerative disease or those at an increased risk of cognitive decline will benefit the most.

References

1. Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT. MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association 2015;11(9):1015-22. 10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011
2. Liu X et al. Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) study: Rationale, design and baseline characteristics of a randomized control trial of the MIND diet on cognitive decline. Contemporary clinical trials 2021;102:106270. 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106270
3. Aghamohammadi V, Salari-Moghaddam A, Benisi-Kohansal S, Taghavi M, Azadbakht L, Esmaillzadeh A. Adherence to the MIND Diet and Risk of Breast Cancer: A Case-control Study. Clinical breast cancer 2021;21(3):e158-e164. 10.1016/j.clbc.2020.09.009
4. Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT. MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association 2015;11(9):1007-14. 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.009
5. de Crom TOE, Mooldijk SS, Ikram MK, Ikram MA, Voortman T. MIND diet and the risk of dementia: a population-based study. Alzheimer's research & therapy 2022;14(1):8. 10.1186/s13195-022-00957-1
6. Dhana K, James BD, Agarwal P, Aggarwal NT, Cherian LJ, Leurgans SE, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Schneider JA. MIND Diet, Common Brain Pathologies, and Cognition in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD 2021;83(2):683-92. 10.3233/JAD-210107
7. Cherian L, Wang Y, Fakuda K, Leurgans S, Aggarwal N, Morris M. Mediterranean-Dash Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diet Slows Cognitive Decline After Stroke. The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease 2019;6(4):267-73. 10.14283/jpad.2019.28
8. Holthaus TA, Kashi M, Cannavale CN, Edwards CG, Aguiñaga S, Walk ADM, Burd NA, Holscher HD, Khan NA. MIND Dietary Pattern Adherence is Selectively Associated With Cognitive Processing Speed in Middle-Aged Adults. The Journal of nutrition 10.1093/jn/nxac203
9. Berendsen AM, Kang JH, Feskens EJM, de Groot CPGM, Grodstein F, van de Rest O. Association of Long-Term Adherence to the MIND Diet with Cognitive Function and Cognitive Decline in American Women. The journal of nutrition, health & aging 2018;22(2):222-9. 10.1007/s12603-017-0909-0

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