A study found that following the MIND diet is associated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment, particularly among women and Black participants. However, the study only shows an association, not proof, and was limited to older Black and white people.
A study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggests that individuals whose diets align more closely with the MIND diet may have a reduced risk of cognitive impairment. The findings were consistent across both Black and white participants. However, the results only indicate an association and do not establish that the MIND diet directly prevents cognitive impairment.
The MIND diet is a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets. It includes green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, and collard greens along with other vegetables. It recommends whole grains, olive oil, poultry, fish, beans and nuts. It prioritizes berries over other fruits and recommends one or more servings of fish per week.
“With the number of people with dementia increasing with the aging population, it’s critical to find changes that we can make to delay or slow down the development of cognitive problems,” said study author Russell P. Sawyer, MD, of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and member of the American Academy of Neurology. “We were especially interested to see whether diet affects the risk of cognitive impairment in both Black and white study participants.”
Study Overview
The study involved 14,145 people with an average age of 64. Of participants, 70% were white and 30% were Black. They were followed for an average of 10 years.
Participants filled out a questionnaire on their diet over the past year. Researchers looked at how closely the foods people were eating matched the MIND diet.
One point was given for each of the following: three or more daily servings of whole grains; six or more weekly servings of green leafy vegetables; one or more daily servings of other vegetables; two or more weekly servings of berries; one or more weekly servings of fish; two or more weekly servings of poultry; three weekly servings of beans; five daily servings of nuts; four or fewer weekly servings of red meat; one or fewer weekly servings of fast or fried foods; one or more weekly servings of olive oil; and one or fewer tablespoons of butter or margarine daily; five or fewer weekly servings of pastries and sweets; and one glass per day of wine. The total points possible was 12.
Grouping Participants and Cognitive Measurements
Researchers then divided participants into three groups. The low group had an average diet score of five, the middle group had an average score of seven and the high group had an average score of nine.
Thinking and memory skills were measured at the beginning and end of the study.
During the study, cognitive impairment developed in 532 people, or 12% of 4,456 people in the low diet group; in 617 people, or 11% of 5,602 people in the middle group; and in 402 people, or 10% of the 4,086 people in the high group.
After adjusting for factors such as age, high blood pressure and diabetes, researchers found people in the high group had a 4% decreased risk of cognitive impairment compared to those in the low group.
When looking at male and female participants, researchers found a 6% decreased risk of cognitive impairment for female participants who most closely followed the diet but no decreased risk for male participants.
Researchers also looked at how quickly people’s thinking skills declined as they developed problems. They found that people who more closely followed the MIND diet declined more slowly than those who did not, and that association was stronger in Black participants than in white participants.
“These findings warrant further study, especially to examine these varying impacts among men and women and Black and white people, but it’s exciting to consider that people could make some simple changes to their diet and potentially reduce or delay their risk of cognitive issues,” said Sawyer.
A limitation of the study was it included only older Black and white people so results may not be the same for other populations.
Reference: “Association of Adherence to a MIND-Style Diet With the Risk of Cognitive Impairment and Decline in the REGARDS Cohort” by Russell P. Sawyer, Jessica Blair, Rhonna Shatz, Jennifer J. Manly and Suzanne E. Judd, 18 September 2024, Neurology.
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000209817
The study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute on Aging.
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1 Comment
I am a medical anthropologist research and author. Alcohol is bad for the brain, and is a known carcinogen. There is no safe amount of alcohol to consume. Drinking wine daily should not be part of any cognitive-preservation program. This diet includes one glass per day of wine. It doesn’t say one glass or less. It says one glass per day. That means this diet actually encourages alcohol consumption as a good thing. It also ignores alcohol consumption history of participants. “…after adjusting for age, sex, race, region, education, income, total energy, hypertension history, dyslipidemia, diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate, ischemic heart conditions, atrial fibrillation, and lifestyle factors including sedentary, obesity, and smoking.” Note they don’t include alcohol consumption or other drug use, which affects the brain. They also don’t consider sleep position, which is associated with brain circulation and brain function.
Also, one point was given for each of the following criteria: “One point was given for each of the following: (1) three or more daily servings of whole grains; (2) six or more weekly servings of green leafy vegetables; (3) one or more daily servings of other vegetables; (4) two or more weekly servings of berries; (5) one or more weekly servings of fish; (6) two or more weekly servings of poultry; (7) three weekly servings of beans; (8) five daily servings of nuts; (9) four or fewer weekly servings of red meat; (10) one or fewer weekly servings of fast or fried foods; (11) one or more weekly servings of olive oil; and (12) one or fewer tablespoons of butter or margarine daily; (13) five or fewer weekly servings of pastries and sweets; and (14) one glass per day of wine. The total points possible was 12.” No, there are 14, not 12, criteria given for this diet.
The results are not very significant, if you can believe them, with less than 5% slower cognitive decline. It also did not show an effect in men, while it did in women, which is not explained, and is strange, given that these participants were over 60 and had reduced sex hormone levels.
The greatest oversight is not considering sleep position. You cannot understand brain function without considering sleep position, which impacts brain circulation. Sleeping with the head of the bed elevated 10-30 degrees optimizes brain circulation, and prevents strokes, glaucoma, sleep apnea, migraines, and dementia, among other things. See my article, Heads Up! The Way You are Sleeping can be Killing You! https://www.academia.edu/1483361/Heads_Up_The_Way_You_Are_Sleeping_May_Be_Killing_You_