MIND diet rich in greens and berries is linked to lower dementia risk in older adults. Following the diet over time may boost cognitive longevity by up to a quarter.
United States: Eating lots of dark green vegetables and berries may support your cognitive well-being as you get older, according to the latest research.
Even starting the MIND diet when you are older can help greatly reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia, according to a long-running study, as NBC News reported.
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At the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the University of Southern California showed that elderly adults who ate according to the MIND diet, which combines the Mediterranean and DASH diets, were at a lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who did not.
Compared to the Mediterranean diet, which also includes leafy greens, olive oil, and whole grains, the MIND diet adds berries—which studies have linked to brain health.
A better score is given to a diet with a variety of foods eaten often, as this is associated with a lower chance of getting dementia. Having fruit like berries just twice a week is considered better than having them zero or just one time a week.
The Multiethnic Cohort, which began in the early 1990s, was the data source for the study. For those following the MIND diet the most, the risk of dementia at the start went down 9%.
But for Black, Latino, and white participants, it went down by a greater amount, specified at 13%.
A drop in risk of 25% was seen in those who improved their MIND diet over 10 years, despite not sticking to the diet in the beginning—that is, compared to people who stuck less closely to the diet even after 10 years, as CBS News reported.
MIND diet advice includes having leafy greens at least six times weekly, including other veggies daily, and reducing the amount of red meat, cheese, fried or baked foods, desserts, and pastries you eat.