The MIND diet is designed to prevent dementia and loss of brain function as you age.
The MIND diet combines the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet to create a dietary pattern that focuses specifically on brain health.
This article is a detailed guide for beginners, with everything you need to know about the MIND diet and how to follow it.
“MIND” stands for “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay.”
The MIND diet aims to reduce dementia and the decline in brain health that often occurs as people get older. It combines aspects of two very popular diets, the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.
Many experts regard the Mediterranean and DASH diets as two of the healthiest diets. Research has shown that they can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and several other diseases (1, 2, 3, 4).
But researchers wanted to create a diet specifically to help improve brain function and prevent dementia.
To do this, they combined foods from the Mediterranean and DASH diets that had been shown to benefit brain health.
For example, the Mediterranean and DASH diets both recommend eating a lot of fruit. Fruit intake has not been correlated with improved brain function, but berry intake has been (5, 6, 7).
Thus, the MIND diet encourages eating berries but does not emphasize consuming fruit in general.
Currently, there are no set guidelines for how to follow the MIND diet. You can simply eat more of the 10 foods that the diet encourages and eat less of the 5 foods that it recommends you limit.
The next two sections discuss which foods to eat and which to avoid on the diet.
The MIND diet combines the DASH and Mediterranean diets to create a diet aimed at reducing the risk of dementia and the decline in brain health that people often experience as they age.
Here are the 10 foods the MIND diet encourages:
If you’re unable to consume the target number of servings, don’t quit the MIND diet altogether. Research has shown that following the MIND diet even to a moderate degree is associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment (9, 10).
When you’re following the diet, you can eat more than just these 10 foods. However, the more you stick to the diet, the better your results may be.
According to research, eating more of the 10 recommended foods and less of the foods that the diet recommends avoiding has been associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and better brain function over time (9, 10).
The MIND diet encourages the consumption of all kinds of vegetables, berries, nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fish, beans, poultry, and a moderate amount of wine.
The MIND diet recommends limiting the following five foods:
Researchers encourage limiting your consumption of these foods because they contain saturated fats and trans fats.
Studies have found that trans fats are clearly associated with all sorts of diseases, including heart disease and even Alzheimer’s disease. However, the health effects of saturated fat are widely debated in the nutrition world (11, 12, 13).
Although the research on saturated fats and heart disease may be inconclusive and highly contested, animal research and observational studies in humans do suggest that consuming saturated fats in excess is associated with poor brain health (14).
The MIND diet encourages limiting your consumption of butter and margarine, cheese, red meat, fried food, pastries, and sweets because they contain large amounts of saturated fat and trans fat.
The current research on the MIND diet has not been able to determine exactly how the diet works. However, the scientists who created the diet 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 diseases (15).
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 (16).
Following the Mediterranean and DASH diets has been associated with lower levels of oxidative stress and inflammation (17).
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.
The antioxidants in berries and the vitamin E in olive oil, green leafy vegetables, and nuts are thought to benefit brain function by protecting the brain from oxidative stress (18).
Additionally, the omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish are well known for their ability to lower inflammation in the brain and have been associated with slower loss of brain function (19, 20, 21).
Researchers believe that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of foods encouraged on the MIND diet may help lower the risk of dementia and slow the loss of brain function that can occur with aging.
Researchers also believe the MIND diet may benefit the brain by reducing potentially harmful beta-amyloid proteins.
Beta-amyloid proteins are protein fragments found naturally in the body.
However, they can accumulate and form plaques that build up in the brain, disrupting communication between brain cells and eventually leading to brain cell death (22).
In fact, many scientists believe these plaques are one of the primary causes of Alzheimer’s disease (23).
Animal and test-tube studies suggest that the antioxidants and vitamins that many MIND diet foods contain may help prevent the formation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain (24, 25).
Additionally, the MIND diet limits foods that contain saturated fats and trans fats, which studies have shown can increase beta-amyloid protein levels in the brains of mice (26).
Human observational studies have found that consuming these fats is associated with a doubled risk of Alzheimer’s disease (27).
However, it is important to note that this type of research is not able to determine cause and effect. Higher quality, controlled studies are needed to discover exactly how the MIND diet may benefit brain health.
Researchers believe that the foods included in the MIND diet contain nutrients that may help prevent beta-amyloid plaque formation, a potential cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
The first official paper on the MIND diet was published in 2015. Since then, researchers have performed additional studies to investigate the benefits of the diet for brain health.
Previous observational studies showed that the MIND diet was associated with a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease as well as slowed cognitive decline (9, 28).
However, both of these studies were observational, which means they cannot indicate cause and effect — they can only detect associations.
More recently, a 2021 study found that the MIND diet slowed the rate of cognitive decline in people who had experienced a stroke (29).
Additionally, a 2022 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 (30).
That said, more research is still needed to gauge the true effectiveness of the MIND diet.
Early research suggests that the MIND diet may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and slow the decline in brain function that can happen with age.
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:
You can drink a glass of wine with each dinner to satisfy the MIND diet recommendations, and nuts can make a great snack.
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.
Meal planning on the MIND diet is simple and easy. Center your meals on the 10 foods that are encouraged, and try not to use the 5 foods that need to be limited.
The MIND diet was created to help prevent dementia and slow the decline in brain function that can happen with age.
The diet encourages consuming vegetables, berries, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, fish, beans, poultry, and wine.
These foods contain many nutrients that promote good brain health, possibly by reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and the formation of beta-amyloid plaques.
Early research shows that closely following the MIND diet is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and slower loss of brain function over time. However, more research is needed to understand the diet’s effects.
Because the MIND diet is a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets, it will not be surprising if future research shows that it offers other health benefits that are also associated with these two diets.
But for now, if you’re looking for a way of eating that focuses on maintaining brain health as you age, the MIND diet is a great approach that’s simple to follow.
Last medically reviewed on September 14, 2022
Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
Current Version
Sep 15, 2022
Written By
Keith Pearson, Molly Burford
Edited By
John Bassham
Medically Reviewed By
Grant Tinsley, Ph.D., CSCS,*D, CISSN
Copy Edited By
Jill Campbell
Jul 30, 2017
Written By
Keith Pearson
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