I don’t know about you, but when I hear about another new diet, all I do is roll my eyes and think, “here we go, again”.
But what if a diet could prevent a serious and increasingly occurring condition – would I take heed then?
It seems that I can’t look the other way when it comes to the MIND diet. Researchers have now suggested that those who follow the MIND diet can lower their risk of dementia by as much as 50 per cent.
This finding was published in the Alzheimer’s and Dementia journal, and involved 923 study participants, aged between 58 and 98 years, who were followed for an average of 4.5 years.
The MIND diet specifically focuses on foods that have been scientifically proven to be good for the brain, such as:
- green leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach, kale and salad greens) – at least six servings a week
- other vegetables – at least once a day
- nuts – five servings a week
- berries – two or more servings a week
- beans (legumes) – at least three servings a week
- whole grains – three or more servings a day
- fish – once a week
- chicken – twice a week
- olive oil – use as your main cooking oil
- wine – one standard serve a day.
The diet also cautions against foods with saturated and/or trans fats – such as butter, cheese, pastries and sweets – and suggests having such foods for only a couple of servings per week, or none at all. Less than four servings of red meat a week is also recommended.
By the way, the MIND diet stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. Hmmm … it seems I’ll have to follow the MIND diet to remember what that acronym means.
Read more about the MIND diet at WebMD and Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation.
Would you follow the MIND diet based on this research? Do you already follow it? What has been your experience?
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Which diet is best for you
Foods to keep your brain healthy