Mediterranean, MIND Diet May Protect Brain Against Alzheimer’s Disease, Study Shows

Healthy dietary patterns, such as MIND and the Mediterranean diet, have been associated with slowing cognitive decline and preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

“MIND” stands for Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. Dietary patterns include elements of the Mediterranean diet and the blood pressure-lowering DASH diet, as well as specific foods and nutrients associated with optimal brain function.

Now, research from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago suggests that both dietary patterns can prevent the build-up of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, a hallmark sign of Alzheimer’s disease.

latest research

The study, published online March 8 in the journal Neurology, involved 581 people who participated in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, an ongoing study in older adults that began in 1997.

Participants in the current analysis had an average age of 84 at study initiation and had agreed to donate their brains at death to advance dementia research.

They underwent annual dietary assessments during the several years of follow-up prior to death. The researchers then calculated a score to determine how well their diet matched the MIND and Mediterranean diets.

The MIND Diet Score indicates consumption of brain-healthy food groups (such as leafy greens, berries, nuts, fish, and olive oil) versus brain-unhealthy food groups (such as red meat, butter, cheese, sweets, and fried foods). Calculated by evaluating the amount. fast food).

A Mediterranean diet score was determined by measuring consumption of 11 dietary components including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans/lentils, olive oil, fish, and potatoes.

Higher scores indicated adherence to these dietary patterns.

Brain autopsies were performed to assess the amount of beta-amyloid plaques and tautangles, which when accumulated can disrupt brain cell function and impair a person’s ability to think and remember.

Investigation result

Participants died on average 7 years after study initiation.

Overall, those with the highest MIND or Mediterranean diet scores had lower accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain. They were 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at autopsy.

Findings did not change after considering other risk factors, including age at death, sex, education, daily caloric intake, and whether participants carried genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

According to study author Puja Agarwal, an assistant professor at Rush University Medical Center, those who scored the highest on the MIND diet had 12 years of beta-amyloid and tautangle levels compared to participants with the lowest scores. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with the amount of plaque and tangles equivalent to 18 years younger.

The results also showed that the MIND diet score was 1 point higher. This corresponds to a typical plaque build-up 4 years younger, showing improvement in only one food group, such as eating more berries or eating less red meat.

When researchers looked at single dietary ingredients, they found leafy greens such as spinach, kale, chard, collards, rapini, and arugula to be the most effective.

The MIND and Mediterranean diets are rich in plant foods that provide nutrients and phytochemicals essential for brain function and provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties thought to protect brain cells.

Leafy greens are a good source of vitamin K, folic acid, beta-carotene, and lutein, nutrients thought to help maintain brain function.

This study is an observational study and does not definitively prove that following these dietary patterns delays the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Still, these new findings add to growing evidence that making simple dietary changes, such as adding leafy greens to your daily diet, can help protect your brain as you age.

MIND Diet Details

Introduced in 2015 by researchers at Rush University Medical Center, the MIND Diet offers advice for including nine specific brain-healthy food groups in your diet.

Leafy greens are recommended daily (half to 1 cup). Do the same with other vegetables (half a cup).

It should also include three servings of whole grains per day. A serving is one half cup of cooked grain or whole-wheat pasta, or one slice of whole-wheat bread. Two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil is recommended daily.

Food groups eaten weekly are berries (5 ½ cup servings), nuts (5 oz), legumes, lentils, soybeans (3 ½ cup servings), fish (3 to 5 oz servings), poultry (2 3 ~5 oz serving).

Five brain-unhealthy food groups to limit include red and processed meats (up to 3 servings per week), butter and stick margarines (up to 1 teaspoon daily), full-fat cheeses (less than 1 ounce), Pastries, sweets (up to 4 servings per week) and fried/fast food (up to 1 serving per week).

The good news: you don’t have to follow the plan perfectly. Even moderate adherence to the MIND diet has been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Toronto-based private practice dietician Leslie Beck is Medcan’s Director of Food and Nutrition. follow her on her twitter @LeslieBeckRD

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