are you eating food that improves your brain, or causes its deterioration?
Most of us go about our lives eating whatever we want, whatever’s at hand, or, hopefully, what we know is healthy.
We feed our bodies for energy, for muscle-building, for brain function, for sleep, and for concentration and focus.
But how much do we think about what we eat
now and its impact on our brains in the
future?
Being more aware of how our food choices today affects the way our brains—and bodies—function for decades to come is a crucial tenet of
Aging Gracefully.
A recent study highlights the importance of making consistently smart food choices to maintain good cognitive and overall body function.
A team of researchers from the University of Cincinatti in Ohio published the results of their study in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In their paper, they highlighted one eating plan in particular as being particularly brain-friendly, one to consider if you want to maintain good cognition as you age.
The diet studied for this paper was the MIND Diet, which is essentially a mash-up of the Mediterranean and DASH diets. The MIND Diet is rich in:
- Dark and leafy greens like collard greens, spinach, and kale
- Whole grains
- Olive oil
- Beans
- Nuts
- Berries (more so than other fruits)
- Red wine
More than 14,000 people were included in the study, with the average age being 64 (older adults). The participants were followed over the course of 10 years, filling out a questionnaire each year examining how closely they believed they followed the MIND Diet.
Points were given for every “smart” food choice—everything from eating less red meat and processed food to eating more olive oil, vegetables, and nuts and seeds.
The group with the lowest point total (an average of 5 out of 12) had the highest rates of cognitive impairment by the end of the ten years. No surprise, of course, that the group with the highest point total (average of 9 out of 12), those who followed the MIND Diet most closely, had the lowest rates of cognitive impairment. The difference wasn’t enormous—12% for the high group, 10% for the low group—but noticeable enough to record.
But it didn’t stop there. The researchers also adjusted for other factors—age, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.—and found that the high group had a 4% lower risk of cognitive impairment compared to the low group.
Curiously,
women who followed the MIND Diet had the lowest risk of cognitive impairment (6% decrease), but men didn’t. Black participants also experienced significantly slower rates of cognitive decline compared to the white participants.
However, the study made clear that across the board, those who followed the MIND Diet most closely saw slower rates of cognitive decline than those who didn’t.
The study clarified the outcome by saying, “These results do not prove that the MIND diet prevents cognitive impairment, they only show an association.”
That’s fair. But even if there is no direct cause-and-effect that can be pointed to, the evidence to suggest a healthy diet is good for your brain is clear as day.
The MIND Diet is ranked highly and regarded well by experts because of its focus on eating healthy fats, a balance of all the macro and micronutrients, and decreasing the intake of red meats and processed foods.
If you’re looking for a diet to try that could do wonders for your health
and potentially slow down cognitive decline as you age, this study—along with many others—proves the MIND Diet may be a good one to try.
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