MIND diet keeps your brain healthy and young, can benefit those with Alzheimer’s disease: Check details

A new study found that people who consume plant-based Mediterranean and brain-focused MIND diets have fewer signs of Alzheimer's disease, such as beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, when autopsied. The full form of MIND is Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay.

Those who most closely followed either of the diets had lower odds of having enough plaques and tangles in brain tissue to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Researchers found that people who adhered to the Mediterranean diet had average plaque and tangle amounts in their brains similar to being 18 years younger than people who scored lowest, while people who followed the MIND diet had plaque and tangle amounts similar to being 12 years younger than those who scored lowest.

Adding just one food category from either diet, such as recommended amounts of vegetables or fruits, can reduce amyloid buildup in the brain to a level similar to being about four years younger.

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Assistant professor of internal medicine at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Puja Agarwal, said that doing a simple dietary modification, such as adding more greens, berries, whole grains, olive oil and fish, can delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease or reduce the risk of dementia, CNN reported.

Green leafy vegetables provide the most benefit, but adding more berries, whole grains and other healthy foods recommended by the diets was also beneficial. Alzheimer's disease researcher Dr. Richard Isaacson, a preventive neurologist at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Florida, suggests adding green leafy vegetables to most meals and recommending the Mediterranean-style diet to patients at risk.

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Professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School Rudy Tanzi said that the Mediterranean diet is heart-healthy and reduces the risk of stroke and neurovascular injury, which can also increase risk for Alzheimer’s disease pathology.

What does MIND diet recommend?

The MIND diet recommends specific "brain healthy" foods to include and five unhealthy food items to limit. The diet guidelines suggest healthy items to include, such as three or more servings a day of whole grains, one or more servings a day of vegetables (other than green leafy vegetables), six or more servings a week of green leafy vegetables, five or more servings a week of nuts, four or more meals a week of beans, two or more servings a week of berries, two or more meals a week of poultry, and one or more meals a week of fish. Additionally, the diet mainly suggests using olive oil if added fat is used.