MIND Diet Foundational Research
The MIND diet, encouraging consumption of leafy green and other colorful vegetables, berries, unsaturated fats such as extra-virgin olive oil and nuts, fish, and whole grains, bridges the gap between the nutrients and foods shown to be protective to the heart with those shown to play a role in prevention of cognitive decline and risk for Alzheimer’s Disease. In observational cohort studies, high adherence to the MIND diet was shown to slow cognitive decline with aging by an average of 7.5 years and reduce incident risk for AD by up to 53%. In contrast to either the Mediterranean or DASH diets alone, even moderate adherence to the diet was shown to reduce AD risk by 35%, suggesting that the MIND diet may be a more practical dietary approach to cardiometabolic and cognitive health.
The MIND diet has been consistently ranked amongst the top of U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Diets” list.
Read the benchmark research studies that laid the foundation for The Official MIND Diet:
MIND Diet Slows Cognitive Decline with Aging
MIND Diet Associated with Reduced Incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease
MIND Diet Score More Predictive than DASH or Mediterranean Diet Scores
The MIND Diet Clinical Trial
In the first clinical trial of the MIND diet, researchers compared the cognitive abilities for people following a MIND diet eating pattern with coaching for weight loss with a usual diet eating pattern also combined with weight loss coaching. At the end of the 3-year study, cognition improved in both groups on average and the average weight loss for both groups reached a clinically significant target of 5.5%. It was also discovered that diet quality improved in both arms, despite the instruction for participants in the usual diet group to keep their eating habits the same. The MIND diet group improved their average MIND diet score from 7.7 to 11.0 and the usual diet improved from 7.8 to 8.5. Although a statistically significant difference was not found between the two diet groups, this may suggest that adhering to at least a moderate MIND diet pattern coupled with weight loss may improve cognitive outcomes. Read more in the New England Journal of Medicine’s publication on the MIND Diet Trial.
Future research is looking at the impact of diet in stroke survivors in the NOURISH study and the MIND diet coupled with other lifestyle practices such as physical activity, social interaction and learning, and health monitoring in the U.S. POINTER Study as part of the World Wide FINGERS collaboration, a global initiative to reduce risk for cognitive decline and dementia.
Need MIND Diet Support?
Check out our expert-led lifestyle programs on nutrition and stress management. More resources, support, and opportunities to participate in research can be found through the Alzheimer’s Association.
