When your parents said, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” they may have been more right than they realized. There’s plenty of evidence the way we eat affects the health of our bodies. But what about our minds? A new cookbook by a Pittsburgh author is based […]
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When your parents said, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” they may have been more right than they realized. There’s plenty of evidence the way we eat affects the health of our bodies. But what about our minds?
A new cookbook by a Pittsburgh author is based on the idea that following a certain way of eating, known as the MIND diet, could protect the brain. Recent research, in a series of large population studies, suggests it’s worth a try.
First developed by Rush University nutritionists, the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is thought to combat inflammation and pack an anti-oxidative punch — both known to play important roles in preserving brain health. Primarily plant-based, it emphasizes whole grains, vegetables, nuts and fruit; while minimizing red meat, processed foods and sugar.
In a report published last September, researchers from Rush University linked adherence to the diet with slower rates of cognitive decline and a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer’s-related dementia in older adults by as much as 53%. But even those who followed the diet more loosely saw dividends — their risk of exhibiting neurological symptoms was 35% lower compared to subjects who didn’t observe the diet.
Most intriguingly, these associations held even for subjects whose brains contained the amyloid tangles of classic Alzheimer’s. In other words, “the diet protected cognitive function even in the presence of deposits in the brain,” said Puja Agarwal, an assistant professor at Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and an author of the recent research.
Similarly, a study published this January looked at the diet’s effect on two populations of elderly subjects in the Netherlands — an older cohort from 1986 to 1993 and a newer cohort from 2009 to 2013. Data on subjects’ cognitive status was collected until 2018.
The differences in diet and lifestyle between Europeans and Americans made evaluating the diet in a Dutch population especially interesting, according to Tosca de Crom, an epidemiologist at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam and first author of the new research.
“We wanted to know whether a diet developed in the United States could be translated to Europe,” she said.
Like the earlier study at Rush University, Ms. de Crom and her team demonstrated subjects who followed the diet exhibited fewer signs of dementia in the initial follow-up. But the effect diminished in subsequent check-ins. In the case of the older cohort, the effect disappeared entirely.
“We still don’t know what people should eat to prevent developing dementia,” Ms. de Crom acknowledged. “But the diet is a really good first step, because eating healthy is associated with all kinds of cardiovascular risk factors, which are [in turn] associated with the risk of developing dementia.”
Ms. Agarwal agreed, citing the diet’s benefits for cardiovascular conditions like hypertension, heart attack and stroke as well as metabolic disorders like diabetes, all of which can impact cognitive health. And it’s not just dementia.
“Overall, MIND has been related to [improvements in] other outcomes that are quite common in older adults such as disability and motor function decline,” Ms. Agarwal said.
Most of the evidence amassed in favor of programs like the MIND diet have been epidemiological — observational studies following large groups of people over long periods of time. Typically these investigations seek to link diet with health outcomes, while controlling for confounders like age, education, or underlying disease — which are also linked to cognitive health. But decades of animal and in vitro studies, or science conducted in petri dishes, have also confirmed the epidemiological findings, demonstrating foods high in fat and sugar can have devastating effects on the body.
The diet’s guidance is simple: Prioritize 10 brain-healthy foods while minimizing or eliminating five brain-damaging ones. The to-eat category includes leafy vegetables, other vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans, poultry, fish, berries, olive oil and wine; while the to-avoid category contains fried foods, cheese, sweets, butter and margarine and red meat. Generally speaking, sample from the to-eat category foods several times per day or week and limit the to-avoid category foods to once a week at most.
The relative ease with which the diet can be adopted appealed to Ms. de Crom. Most of the foods on the recommended list — like fish, vegetables and fruit — are already a part of many people’s diets.
“But I highlight in particular the berries and the green, leafy vegetables” such as kale and spinach, because these items might not be on everyone’s radar, Ms. de Crom said.
“They’re very specific for this diet and very specific for cognition and dementia,” she said.
The new cookbook, by a Pittsburgh-based dietitian, Laura Ali, offers recipes that make use of the diet’s guidelines.
Dr. Charles Duffy, a neurologist and director of Brain Health and Memory Center at University Hospitals in Ohio, advocated broad lifestyle changes with diet as a crucial component.
“I grew up as a meat and potatoes guy,” Dr. Duffy said. “But I’ve had to change because I’ve seen the adverse consequences of not changing every day.”
But Dr. Duffy tries not to be too prescriptive, giving his patients general principles to follow instead.
“Eat real food, but not too much,” he said, echoing the famous line from the author Michael Pollan. “Green stuff is really good and pretty diverse. Cut back on red meat, and use fish and poultry as replacement sources of protein.”
Dr. Duffy, whose patients suffer from dementia and other cognitive issues, also stressed the importance of obtaining buy-in from loved ones like spouses, children and friends.
“It's easier to change someone's lifestyle in the direction in which it needs to be changed if it's a family affair,” he said.
Ultimately, Dr. Duffy thinks the take-home message — that there’s a lot we can do to move the needle on our own health — is empowering.
“And it’ll make a difference not just in how long you live, but how well you live, which will have impacts on your family and community,” he said.
Connie Chang is a freelance writer.
First Published April 2, 2022, 10:00am
