The MIND Diet May Help Prevent Alzheimer’sWATCH SEGMENT ON KFOR-TV Doctors have been saying for years that what you eat can affect the health of your heart. Now there's growing evidence that the same is true for your brain. Research has found that a new diet plan – called the MIND diet – can have a profound impact on your brain health as you age, and can even lower your odds of getting Alzheimer’s disease. The MIND diet takes two proven diets – the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet and the blood-pressure lowering DASH diet – and zeroes in on the foods in each that specifically affect brain health. The MIND diet, which stands for “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay,” was developed by Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center, through a study funded by the National Institute on Aging. The study followed the diets of nearly 1,000 elderly adults, who filled out food questionnaires and underwent repeated neurological testing for an average of 4.5 years. It found participants whose diets most closely followed the MIND recommendations had brains that functioned as if they were 7.5 years younger, and it lowered their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 53 percent. And even those who didn’t stick to the diet perfectly but followed it moderately well reduced their risk of Alzheimer’s by 35 percent. The MIND Menu
And the five unhealthy food groups you should limit include:
Other Benefits Another advantage is that the MIND diet can help you lose some weight too, if you keep your portions in check and are careful about how the food is prepared. It’s also important to understand that even though diet plays a big role, it’s only one aspect of Alzheimer’s disease. So get regular exercise, if you smoke, quit, and learn how manage your stress to lower your risk even more.
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