The MIND diet may protect against Alzheimer's

Eating more vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, fruits, especially berries such as blueberries, dried fruits, prioritizing nuts, whole grains, olive oil and at least one serving of fish per week is what the Diet suggests MIND to fight Alzheimer's. And it seems to work  .

It is not the first period that this type of diet, a mixture of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet (the latter is designed to combat hypertension), has been studied as a link with the protective effect of Alzheimer's disease. In fact, a study just published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease supports the hypothesis that it really works. Something that was already observed in another study from 2015 .

The featured long-term study showed that participants on the MIND diet, even in moderation, had better cognitive functioning later in life, regardless of amyloid plaque or neurofibrillary tangles they might have. Both amyloid plaques, which form as a result of the accumulation of amyloid proteins in the brain, and neurofibrillary tangles are unequivocal signs of Alzheimer's disease .

"Some people have enough plaque and brain tangles to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's but do not develop clinical dementia in their era," says geriatric health researcher Claudian Dhana of Rush Medical Seminary .

"Some have the capability to maintain cognitive function despite the accumulation of these pathologies in the brain, and our research suggests that the MIND diet is associated with better cognitive function regardless of the brain pathologies associated with Alzheimer's ."

The scientists analyzed data from 569 participants who died during the Project Memory and Aging study, which began in 1997. Each of the participants agreed to undergo an annual clinical examination while they were alive, as well as to perform an autopsy after their death.

Later, in 2004, scientists gave a questionnaire to the participants to find out what they ate. Using their findings, the researchers rated the participants based on whether they were roughly close to what the MIND diet would look like. They create that a higher score on the MIND diet was associated with better cognitive functioning before death. And this was the case both in people who did not have cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study, and in those who or were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at autopsy due to the presence of amyloid signs and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain.

The research, while promising, shows certain limitations. First, if there are participants with cognitive impairment, they may not report what they ate. “We investigated this problem by excluding from the analysis those participants whose first overall cognitive score was in the bottom 25% of the sample. We also calculated the cumulative mean of the MIND diet score over the observation period to limit measurement error. "The team explains in their new article. Another limitation of the schoolwork is that the participants are predominantly Caucasian, which limits generalizability.

Why Diet MIND?

The MIND diet was developed by a group of nutritional epidemiologists at Rush University in Chicago with the goal of improving brain health.

The emphasis on eating green leafy vegetables like kale, lettuce, spinach, or kale is due to the fact that they are ironic in nutrients that are linked to better brain health. These nutrients are folate, vitamin E, carotenoids, and flavonoids.

As for the recommendation to consume berries such as blueberries and strawberries, the reason is their high level of flavonoids. As for walnuts, their protective power for the brain comes from the large amount of vitamin E.

The MIND diet recommends cooking in olive oil and avoiding butter and margarine. In addition, the consumption of meats is limited, especially red meat, which will be less than four times a week. Instead, the MIND diet recommends consuming legumes. For example, lentils, soybeans, and beans are rich in B vitamins, which have beneficial effects on the brain. This diet contains fish. At a minimum, it should be taken once a week.

Finally, the MIND diet allows you to have a glass of wine a day with dinner. According to the Mayo Clinic website, the reason could be that alcohol dilutes blood flow, preventing harmful blood clotting. The truth is that more and more research and scientific evidence recommends avoiding alcohol to stay healthy, so if you don't consume it, you probably shouldn't start for the potential brain benefits.