Adopting the MIND diet, even later in life, is associated with a reduced risk of developing dementia.
As the U.S. population grows older and dementia cases continue to rise, many people are wondering: can anything be done to prevent this devastating disease?
New research suggests the answer might be as close as your next meal. A recent study found that people who followed a specific eating plan called the MIND diet were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and related types of dementia.
The MIND diet, short for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, blends the best of two powerful eating plans. It combines the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet with the blood pressure-lowering DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. Additionally, it puts extra emphasis on foods known to support brain health, including leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts, and olive oil.
The study revealed that the MIND diet delivered a stronger and more consistent reduction in dementia risk compared to other healthy diets. Although the results varied among different racial groups, one thing stood out: people who made the biggest improvements in their diet over time experienced the greatest drop in dementia risk.
The benefits appeared across both younger and older adults, suggesting it is never too late — or too early — to make brain-boosting changes to what’s on your plate.
“Our study findings confirm that healthy dietary patterns in mid to late life and their improvement over time may prevent Alzheimer’s and related dementias,” said Song-Yi Park, PhD, associate professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “This suggests that it is never too late to adopt a healthy diet to prevent dementia.”
Park presented the findings at NUTRITION 2025, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held May 31–June 3 in Orlando, Florida.
Insights from a Large, Diverse Study
Park and colleagues analyzed data from nearly 93,000 U.S. adults who provided information about their diet as part of a research cohort known as the Multiethnic Cohort Study starting in the 1990s. Participants were between 45-75 years old at baseline and over 21,000 developed Alzheimer’s or related dementias in the years that followed.
Overall, participants who scored higher for MIND adherence at baseline had a 9% lower risk of dementia, with an even greater reduction—around 13%—among those who identified as African American, Latino, or White. Baseline MIND diet adherence was not associated with a significant risk reduction among Native Hawaiian or Asian American participants.
Racial and Ethnic Variations in Diet Effectiveness
“We found that the protective relationship between a healthy diet and dementia was more pronounced among African Americans, Latinos, and Whites, while it was not as apparent among Asian Americans and showed a weaker trend in Native Hawaiians,” said Park. “A tailored approach may be needed when evaluating different subpopulations’ diet quality.”
The results also showed that people who improved their adherence to MIND over 10 years (including those who didn’t follow the diet closely at first) had a 25% lower risk of dementia compared to those whose adherence declined. This trend was consistent across different ages and racial groups.
Researchers said that differences in dietary patterns and preferences among racial and ethnic groups could play a role in the variation they observed in the dementia-diet relationship. Since Asian Americans also experience lower rates of dementia than other groups, it is possible that the MIND diet may not reflect the advantages of diets that are more common among this population. Park said that further studies could help to clarify these patterns and added that interventional studies would be needed to verify cause and effect since the study was based on observational data.
Meeting: NUTRITION 2025
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4 Comments
Regrettably, like you, the researchers conducting “the Multiethnic Cohort Study starting in the 1990s” weren’t aware of what I (with a family history of food allergies and dementia, by 1998) wasn’t aware of until the summer of 2000; in 1980 the FDA instigated multiple epidemics of chronic diseases with their illegal (FFDCA) approval of added artificially cultured “free” (can cross the blood-brain barrier) MSG, which I learned the costly/hard way in late 1981 can aggravate Dr. Arthur F. Coca’s (by 1935; my) kind of practically harmless individual nearly subclinical non-IgE-mediated food (minimally) allergy reactions, to turn them chronic and serious, long-term (months to decades, highly individual). Mostly adulterating protein rich animal products, it simply stands to reason that subjects on the MIND diet would fare better than those others, long-term.
Addition: “you” above at the top means associate professor Park.
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