The MIND diet aims to reduce the risk of dementia and loss of brain function as you age
The MIND diet combines the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet to create an eating pattern that focuses specifically on brain health. This article is a detailed guide for beginners that contains everything you need to know about the MIND diet and how to follow it.
What is the MIND diet?
“MIND” stands for “Mediterranean-DASH Delayed Intervention for Neurodegeneration.” The MIND diet aims to reduce dementia and brain health decline, which often occur as people age. It combines two very popular diets, the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. Many experts consider the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet to be the healthiest diets. Studies have shown that they can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and several other diseases.
But researchers wanted to create a diet specifically to help improve brain function and prevent dementia. To achieve this goal, they combined the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, which have been shown to benefit brain health. For example, both the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet recommend eating more fruit. Fruit intake has been linked to improved brain function, but berries in particular have the strongest evidence to support this. Therefore, the MIND diet encourages eating berries, but does not emphasize eating fruit. Currently, there are no established guidelines on how to follow the MIND diet. You can simply eat more of the 10 foods that the diet encourages and less of the 5 foods that the diet recommends limiting.
The next two sections discuss which foods to eat in the diet and which foods to avoid.
Here are the 10 foods recommended by the MIND diet:
Leafy greens: Eat six or more servings per week. Include kale, spinach, cooked vegetables, and salads.
All other vegetables: In addition to leafy greens, eat other vegetables at least once a day. It is best to choose non-starchy vegetables because they provide a lot of nutrients and are low in calories.
Berries: Eat berries at least twice a week. Berries such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries all have antioxidant benefits.
Nuts: Try to eat five or more servings of nuts per week. The founders of the MIND diet don't specify which nuts to eat, but it's best to eat a variety of nuts to get a variety of nutrients.
Olive oil: Use olive oil as your primary cooking oil. Check out this article for information on the safety of cooking with olive oil.
Whole grains: Eat at least three servings per day (0.5 cup of cooked grains, 1 slice of bread). Choose whole grains like oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, and 100% whole-wheat bread.
Fish: Eat fish at least once a week. It's best to choose fatty fish like salmon, sardines, trout, tuna, and mackerel because they're high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Beans: Include beans in at least four meals per week. This category includes all beans, lentils, and soybeans.
Poultry: Eat chicken or turkey at least twice a week. Note that the MIND diet discourages eating fried chicken.
Wine: No more than one glass per day. Both red and white wines are good for the brain. While there's a lot of interest in the compound resveratrol found in red wine, recent studies have questioned whether it has clear benefits in humans.
If you can't eat your target servings, don't give up on the MIND diet altogether. Research shows that even moderately following the MIND diet can reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment. You can eat more than just these 10 foods when you follow the diet. However, the more you stick to the diet, the better results you'll have. Research shows that eating more of the 10 recommended foods and less of the foods the diet recommends avoiding can reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease and improve brain function over time.
The MIND diet recommends limiting the following five foods:
Butter and margarine: Try to consume less than 1 tablespoon (about 14 grams) per day. Instead, try using olive oil as your primary cooking fat and dipping bread in olive oil and herbs.
Cheese: The MIND diet recommends eating cheese less than once a week.
Red meat: Consume no more than three servings per week. This category includes all beef, pork, lamb, and products made from these meats.
Fried foods: The MIND diet strongly discourages fried foods, especially those from fast food restaurants. Consumption should be limited to less than once per week.
Pastries and desserts: This includes most of the processed snacks and desserts you might think of—ice cream, cookies, brownies, snack cakes, donuts, candy, and so on. Try to limit these foods to no more than four times per week.
Researchers recommend limiting intake of these foods because they contain saturated fat. Studies have found that trans fats are clearly associated with a variety of diseases, including heart disease and even Alzheimer's disease. However, the health effects of saturated fats are widely debated in the nutrition community.
It is worth noting that partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of trans fats in the food supply, have been banned by the FDA as of 2020. They are still naturally found in fried foods, dairy products, or red meat, but in much lower amounts, but margarine, pastries, and candy are no longer the main sources. While the research on saturated fat and heart disease may be inconclusive and highly controversial, animal studies and human observational studies do suggest that excessive intake of saturated fats is associated with poor brain health.
Health Benefits of the MIND Diet
Reduces risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. As its name implies, the MIND diet has been shown to help prevent cognitive decline, a finding confirmed by multiple studies, including a 2019 systematic review. Additionally, a 2023 study co-authored by Agarwal found that people who followed the MIND or Mediterranean diet had fewer beta-amyloid plaques in their brains, a key marker for Alzheimer's disease—a growing body of evidence supporting the neuroprotective properties of the MIND diet.
Improves brain health. While the specific mechanisms of the diet's neuroprotective properties are unclear, experts believe that the nutrient-dense, whole foods emphasized by the MIND diet can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation—both of which can damage the brain.
Improves heart health. Since the MIND diet combines two heart-healthy dietary approaches, the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, it's no surprise that it also promotes heart health. A 2022 study that followed 2,863 participants for 10 years found that those who adhered to the MIND diet were less likely to have cardiovascular disease and related events, such as heart attacks and strokes.
Healthy aging and longevity. In a 2020 long-term study of 882 older adults, participants whose diets more closely matched the MIND had a 37% lower risk of death from all causes compared to those whose diets matched the least.
Sample one-week meal plan
Making MIND diet meals isn’t complicated. Focus your meals on the 10 foods and food groups encouraged in the diet, and try to stay away from the 5 foods that the diet recommends limiting.Below is a 7-day MIND diet recipe. 4-day meal plan to get you started:
Monday
Breakfast: Greek yogurt with raspberries and almond slices
Lunch: Mediterranean salad with olive oil dressing, grilled chicken, whole-wheat pita
Dinner: Burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, veggie wrap, grilled chicken, salsa and guacamole
Tuesday
Breakfast: Whole-wheat toast with almond butter, scrambled eggs
Lunch: Grilled chicken sandwich, blackberries, carrots
Dinner: Grilled salmon, salad with olive oil dressing, brown rice
Wednesday
Breakfast: Strawberry oatmeal, hard-boiled eggs
Lunch: Mexican-style salad with mixed vegetables, black beans, red onion, corn, grilled chicken and olive oil dressing
Dinner: Chicken and vegetable fried rice, brown rice
Thursday
Breakfast: Greek yogurt with peanut butter and banana
Lunch : Grilled trout, kale, black-eyed peas
Dinner: Whole-wheat pasta with turkey meatballs and tomato sauce, served with salad dressed with olive oil
Friday
Breakfast: Whole-wheat toast with avocado, omelet with peppers and onions
Lunch: Ground turkey chili
Dinner: Greek-style grilled chicken, baked potatoes, salad, whole-wheat dinner rolls
Saturday
Breakfast: Overnight oats with strawberries
Lunch: Fish tacos on whole-wheat tortillas, brown rice, pinto beans
Dinner: Whole-wheat pita with chicken gyros, cucumber and tomato salad
Sunday
Breakfast: Spinach omelette, apple slices and peanut butter
Lunch: Tuna salad sandwich on whole-wheat bread with carrots, celery and hummus
Dinner: Curried chicken, brown rice, lentils
Conclusion:
The MIND diet is designed to help prevent dementia and slow the decline in brain function that occurs with age. The diet encourages the consumption of vegetables, berries, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, fish, beans, poultry and wine. These foods contain many nutrients that may benefit brain health, possibly by reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and the formation of beta-amyloid plaques.
Early research suggests that closely following the MIND diet may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and slow the rate at which brain function is lost over time. However, more research is needed to understand the diet's effectiveness. But for now, if you're looking for an eating style that focuses on keeping your brain healthy as you age, the MIND diet is a great, easy way to do it.