A new study adds substance to the claims made for the MIND Diet. It said it can lower your risk against dementia, and ‘cognitive impairment’ in general. But hard evidence remains elusive, even as a whole flock of studies continue…
The MIND Diet caused quite a stir when it was first proposed. Since then, it’s triggered a cascade of learned studies aimed at substantiating its claims. But that’s proving much harder than researchers expected…
What it is
We’ve talked – though only tangentially – about the MIND Diet in the past. Those mentions were as-sociated with mainstream discussions of the Mediterranean Diet and similar eating regimes designed to optimize one’s daily food intake in line with current official Food Guides.
The MIND diet is actually 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 con-sumption of more whole grains, olive oil, poultry, fish, beans and nuts. It prioritizes berries over other fruits, and mandates one or more servings of fish per week.
Why researchers were curious
“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.
“We were especially interested to see whether diet affects the risk of cognitive impairment in both Black and white study participants.”
What they did
The new study involved 14,145 people with an average age of 64. Of the participants, 70 percent were white and 30 percent 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 the subjects had been eating – by their own choice – matched the MIND diet.
A points system was devised to objectively gauge how closely each participant followed the MIND diet. A ‘perfect’ score was defined 12.
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.
What they found
During the study, cognitive impairment developed in 532 subjects, or 12 percent of 4,456 those in the low-scoring diet group. At the same time, 617 people, or 11 percent of 5,602 people in the middle-scoring group developed some impairment. And 402 people, or 10 percent of the 4,086 people in the high-scoring group were affected.
After adjusting for factors such as age, high blood pressure and diabetes, researchers found people in the high-scoring group had a 4 percent lower risk of cognitive impairment compared to those in the low-scoring group.
Researchers found a 6 percent lower risk of cognitive impairment for female participants who most closely followed the diet – but no decrease in risk for male participants.
Subjects 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.
The takeaway
Though the differences in scores did correspond to differences in cognitive declines, the association was not particularly substantial… Nevertheless, researchers say further research is warranted.
“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. The comparative effects of similar low, medium and high scoring groups could be compared with another, parallel subject group which follows the MIND Diet to the letter.
My take
The current study shows there is definitely potential in the MIND Diet for helping the general popu-lation fight cognitive impairment as they age. And seeing how much the risk can be controlled by starting beneficial diet changes at increasingly earlier ages.
It’s too late for me to benefit over a ‘long run’. But I have been following a more-or-less-Med diet for some time, now – even before that eating regime was officially formulated. And I believe I’m signifi-cantly ahead in the dementia game. Though by how much remains debatable.
I’m also maintaining other habits aimed at exercising and protecting my mind. Not the least of which is researching and writing this food news report for you, every day!
~ Maggie J.