Dementia is a growing concern, ranking as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. This has spurred interest in strategies to prevent cognitive decline, and the MIND diet has emerged as a promising approach. The MIND diet, or Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, focuses on nourishing the aging brain.
Origins of the MIND Diet
In 2015, Dr. Martha Clare Morris and her team at Rush University Medical Center and the Harvard Chan School of Public Health introduced the MIND diet. Their research, which followed a group of older adults for up to 10 years as part of the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP), aimed to identify dietary components that could protect against dementia and cognitive decline. The participants, who were dementia-free at the start of the study, were recruited from retirement communities and senior public housing units in the Chicago area. Over 1,000 participants completed annual dietary questionnaires for nine years and underwent two cognitive assessments.
A MIND diet score was developed to pinpoint specific foods and nutrients, along with their daily serving sizes, that were linked to cognitive health. The study identified fifteen dietary components, classifying them as either “brain healthy” or unhealthy. Participants with the highest MIND diet scores experienced a significantly slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those with the lowest scores.
The research sought to determine if the MIND diet, which draws inspiration from the Mediterranean and DASH diets, could directly prevent or slow the progression of dementia. Like its parent diets, the MIND diet emphasizes plant-based foods while limiting animal products and foods high in saturated fats.
Core Principles of the MIND Diet
The MIND diet recommends specific "brain-healthy" foods to include in your diet, as well as five unhealthy food items to limit. It emphasizes minimally processed, whole, and plant-based foods. The MIND diet limits animal-based foods that are high in saturated fats, dairy products high in fat content, and foods with added sugars. It is flexible in that it does not include rigid meal plans. However, this also means that people will need to create their own meal plans and recipes based on the foods recommended on the MIND diet. This may be challenging for those who do not cook. Although the diet plan specifies daily and weekly amounts of foods to include and not include, it does not restrict the diet to eating only these foods.
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Brain-Boosting Foods to Include in Your MIND Diet
The MIND diet food list prioritizes foods rich in fiber and nutrients like vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, folate, carotenoids, and flavonoids, all associated with better brain health. Here's a breakdown of what your MIND diet plan should include:
- Green Leafy Vegetables: Aim for at least one daily serving of veggies like collard greens, kale, and spinach. The rate of decline among those who consumed one to two servings per day of leafy greens was the equivalent of being 11 years younger in age compared with those who rarely or never consumed green leafy vegetables.
- Other Non-Green Vegetables: Consume two or more servings per day. Choose non-starchy vegetables for their high nutrient content and low-calorie count. You'll also want to include at least one daily serving of high-protein veggies, including broccoli, asparagus, artichoke, or cauliflower.
- Berries: Enjoy two or more servings per week. Think blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. Berries such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries all have antioxidant benefits.
- Nuts: Target five or more servings per week. Nuts, specifically walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, and other nuts loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, are recommended. The creators of the MIND diet don’t specify what kind of nuts to consume, but it is probably best to vary the type of nuts you eat to obtain a variety of nutrients.
- Olive Oil: Use olive oil daily as your primary cooking oil. Extra virgin olive oil is cold pressed (it's not processed or refined) and can withstand high temperatures without becoming saturated. It is also high in beneficial polyphenols.
- Whole Grains: Consume three servings or more per day. Look for minimally processed oats, quinoa, barley, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, and 100% whole-wheat bread.
- Fish: Have one or more serving per week of fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, and sardines. It is best to choose fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, trout, tuna, and mackerel for their high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
- Beans: Aim for four or more servings per week. Whether in a soup or salad, peas, lentils, chickpeas, or soybeans are a must! This category includes all beans, lentils, and soybeans.
- Poultry: Eat two or more servings per week. Try to eat chicken or turkey at least twice per week. Note that fried chicken is not encouraged on the MIND diet.
- Wine: One glass per day can be included, but it's optional. Antioxidant-rich resveratrol is the key component in wine and why it's included in the MIND diet.
Foods to Limit or Avoid on the MIND Diet
The MIND diet recommends limiting the following five foods:
- Butter and Stick Margarine: Try to eat less than 1 tablespoon (about 14 grams) daily. Instead, try using olive oil as your primary cooking fat and dipping your bread in olive oil with herbs. Margarine-Avoid this unhealthy fat as much as possible. As Ryan explained, "the thought behind limiting these types of fats is because of their high content of saturated fats, which aren't good for brain (or heart) health when consumed in excess." If you do find yourself craving that buttery flavor, grass-fed butter or ghee are both higher in unsaturated fats.
- Cheese: The MIND diet recommends eating cheese less than once per week. Whether it's soft, hard or low-fat cheese, limit it to one or fewer servings per week.
- Red Meat: Aim for no more than three servings per week. This category includes all beef, pork, lamb, and products made from these meats.
- Fried and Fast Food: The MIND diet strongly discourages these types of foods. Limit your consumption to less than once per week. They don't hold any nutritional value for your brain or your body.
- Sweets and Pastries: This includes most of the processed snack foods and desserts you may think of - ice cream, cookies, brownies, snack cakes, doughnuts, candy, and more. Try to limit these to no more than four times per week.
Researchers encourage limiting your consumption of these foods because they contain saturated fats.
Evidence Supporting the MIND Diet
The diet was developed in 2015 by Dr. Martha Clare Morris and colleagues at Rush University Medical Center and the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. Morris and the team at Rush found that after an average of 4.5 years, people who adhered most closely to the MIND diet had a 53% reduced rate of Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who did not follow the diet closely. Those who moderately adhered to the diet had a 35% reduction in risk, according to Rush’s study.
Researchers found a 53% lower rate of Alzheimer’s disease for those with the highest MIND diet scores (indicating a higher intake of foods on the MIND diet). Even those participants who had moderate MIND diet scores showed a 35% lower rate compared with those with the lowest MIND scores. Several other large cohort studies have shown that participants with higher MIND diet scores, compared with those with the lowest scores, had better cognitive functioning, larger total brain volume, higher memory scores, lower risk of dementia, and slower cognitive decline, even when including participants with Alzheimer’s disease and history of stroke.
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A 2023 study found that middle-aged adults who closely adhered to the MIND diet had faster information processing speeds than those who did not closely follow the diet. A 2022 randomized clinical trial found that those who followed a calorie-restricted MIND diet for three months had higher scores for working memory, verbal recognition memory, and attention compared to the calorie-restricted control group.
Potential Mechanisms of Action
Current research on the MIND diet has not been able to determine exactly how it works. However, scientists think it may work by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.
Oxidative stress occurs when unstable molecules called free radicals accumulate in the body in large amounts. This often causes damage to cells. The brain is especially vulnerable to this type of damage.
Inflammation is your body’s natural response to injury and infection. But if it’s not properly regulated, inflammation can also be harmful and contribute to many chronic disease.
Together, oxidative stress and inflammation can be quite detrimental to your brain. In recent years, they have been the focus of some interventions to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease.
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Following the Mediterranean and DASH diets has been associated with lower levels of oxidative stress and inflammation. Because the MIND diet is a hybrid of these two diets, the foods that make up the MIND diet probably also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Sample MIND Diet Meal Plan
Making meals for the MIND diet doesn’t have to be complicated. Focus your meals on the 10 foods and food groups that are encouraged on the diet, and try to stay away from the 5 foods that the diet recommends limiting.
Here’s a 7-day meal plan to get you started:
Monday
- Breakfast: Greek yogurt with raspberries and sliced almonds
- Lunch: Mediterranean salad with olive oil-based dressing, grilled chicken, whole wheat pita
- Dinner: burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, fajita vegetables, grilled chicken, salsa, and guacamole
Tuesday
- Breakfast: whole wheat toast with almond butter, scrambled eggs
- Lunch: grilled chicken sandwich, blackberries, carrots
- Dinner: grilled salmon, side salad with olive oil-based dressing, brown rice
Wednesday
- Breakfast: steel-cut oatmeal with strawberries, hard-boiled eggs
- Lunch: Mexican-style salad with mixed greens, black beans, red onion, corn, grilled chicken, and olive oil-based dressing
- Dinner: chicken and vegetable stir-fry, brown rice
Thursday
- Breakfast: Greek yogurt with peanut butter and banana
- Lunch: baked trout, collard greens, black-eyed peas
- Dinner: whole wheat spaghetti with turkey meatballs and marinara sauce, side salad with olive oil-based dressing
Friday
- Breakfast: whole wheat toast with avocado, omelet with peppers and onions
- Lunch: chili made with ground turkey
- Dinner: Greek-seasoned baked chicken, oven-roasted potatoes, side salad, whole wheat dinner roll
Saturday
- Breakfast: overnight oats with strawberries and almond butter
- Lunch: fish tacos on whole wheat tortillas, brown rice, coleslaw, and pinto beans
- Dinner: chicken gyro on whole wheat pita, cucumber and tomato salad
Sunday
- Breakfast: spinach frittata, sliced apple with peanut butter
- Lunch: tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat bread, plus carrots and celery with hummus
- Dinner: curry chicken, brown rice, lentils, and a side salad
Most salad dressings you find at the store are not made primarily with olive oil, but you can easily make your own salad dressing at home. To make a simple balsamic vinaigrette, combine 3 parts extra-virgin olive oil with 1 part balsamic vinegar. Add a little Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper and mix well.
Considerations and Potential Downsides
The MIND diet can be a healthful eating plan that incorporates dietary patterns from the Mediterranean and DASH, both of which have suggested benefits in preventing and improving cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and supporting healthy aging. When used in conjunction with a balanced plate guide, the diet may also promote healthy weight loss if desired.
The MIND diet is flexible in that it does not include rigid meal plans. However, this also means that people will need to create their own meal plans and recipes based on the foods recommended on the MIND diet. This may be challenging for those who do not cook.
"You may see the number on the scale drop since it restricts certain fats and even some fruits," Ryan explained. That being said, the MIND diet does have a few downsides. Ryan said the diet's biggest con is that it may be considered restrictive. In addition, the high amounts of vitamin K found in the recommended amounts of leafy greens may be too much for people taking warfarin/Coumadin medications, so talk to your doctor before trying this diet if you are on such a medication.