A study involving more than 14,000 older adults finds an association between following the MIND diet, which combines foods from the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, and a reduced risk of developing cognitive decline.
The MIND diet combines features of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet – indicated to combat hypertension – and includes green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale and chard, among other vegetables. It also promotes the consumption of whole grains, olive oil, poultry, fish, legumes and nuts, prioritizes the consumption of berries over other fruits and suggests eating fish at least once a week.
This eating pattern appears to have many health benefits, as a new study has found that people whose diet most closely resembles the MIND diet may have a lower risk of cognitive decline. Their results have been published in the American Academy of Neurology’s journal Neurology. The results were similar for both black and white participants. It should be noted that these results do not prove that the MIND diet prevents cognitive decline, but only show an association between the two.
“With the growing number of people with dementia due to an aging population, it is critical to find changes we can make to delay or slow the development of cognitive problems,” said study author Dr. Russell P. Sawyer, of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “We were particularly interested in seeing whether diet affected the risk of cognitive decline in both black and white participants.”
A diet that helps reduce the loss of cognitive abilities
The study included 14,145 people with a mean age of 64 years. Of these participants, 70% were white and 30% black, and they were followed for an average of 10 years. Participants completed a questionnaire about their diet over the past year. Researchers assessed how closely the foods they ate matched the MIND diet recommendations.
One point was awarded for meeting the following guidelines: three or more daily servings of whole grains; six or more weekly servings of green leafy vegetables; one daily serving of other vegetables; two or more weekly servings of berries; one or more weekly servings of fish; two or more weekly servings of poultry; three weekly servings of legumes; five daily servings of nuts; four or fewer weekly servings of red meat; one or fewer weekly servings of fast or fried foods; one or more weekly servings of olive oil; and one tablespoon or less of butter or margarine per day; five or fewer weekly servings of sweets or pastries; and one glass of wine per day. The maximum possible score was 12.
The researchers divided the participants into three groups. The low-scoring group had an average of five points, the middle group an average of seven points, and the high group an average of nine points. The participants’ memory and thinking skills were assessed at the beginning and end of the study.
People who followed the MIND diet more closely showed a slower decline in their cognitive abilities compared to those who did not.
During the study, 532 people in the low diet group (12% of 4,456 people) developed cognitive impairment; 617 people in the intermediate group (11% of 5,602 people); and 402 people in the high diet group (10% of 4,086 people). After adjusting for factors such as age, high blood pressure, and diabetes, the researchers found that people in the high group had a 4% lower risk of developing cognitive impairment compared with the low group.
Looking at men and women, the researchers observed a 6% reduction in the risk of cognitive decline for women who followed the diet more closely, but found no significant reduction in men. They also looked at the speed of decline in cognitive abilities and found that people who followed the MIND diet more closely showed a slower decline compared to those who did not, and this association was stronger in Black participants than in white ones.
“These findings merit further research, especially to examine differences between men and women and between black and white people, but it is encouraging to think that simple dietary changes could reduce or delay the risk of cognitive problems,” Sawyer concluded.
