The MIND Diet: Food To Lower The Risk Of Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s is one of the cruelest degenerative diseases a person can face. However, there are ways to prevent this, including through diet and the MIND diet.

What you need to know about the MIND Diet

The name of this diet is an acronym derived from the English “Mediterranean-Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay”. Rush University Medical Center developed the MIND diet to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists collected the available information about the diet of older people with Alzheimer’s or older people with a genetic predisposition to the disease. To this end, they tested the diets followed by patients aged 65 or older to see what their chances were of developing Alzheimer’s.

The results of the study were more than striking. The scientists concluded that the people who strictly followed the diet managed to reduce their chance of getting the disease by up to 53%.

Also, some of the people who followed the diet saw a 35% reduction in their chances of getting Alzheimer’s.

The study also showed that the sooner these dietary habits are put into practice, the more a patient benefits from them. Patients were able to lower their chances of getting the cellular degeneration that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease.

The MIND diet is not very difficult to follow. It consists of fifteen parts belonging to the ten food groups.

These include nuts, vegetables, grains, natural oils from fish, white meat and wine.

On the other hand, we should reduce our intake of the following foods: fast food, red meat, refined sugar and butter.

The MIND diet: what you should eat every day

Among the foods that should be on the menu every week are beans and legumes, and two servings of red fruits. Other recommended foods include cranberries, white meat from free-range poultry, white fish and salmon.

The MIND diet should contain the following foods:

• Three servings of grains
• A portion of green leafy vegetables with chard, lettuce and arugula
• A piece of fruit
• A handful of nuts, especially peanuts, almonds and hazelnuts
• Half a glass of red wine.

Eat in moderation

According to the MIND diet, lard or butter, among other things, should be consumed in moderation. Portions should not exceed half a tablespoon per day.

You should also be careful with your portions of fatty cheeses, fast foods, or products with refined sugars.

The Western Diet and Alzheimer’s Disease

However, this is not the only evidence showing a link between diet and Alzheimer’s. According to a study published by Scientific Reports Nature, researchers at Tufts University found that diet is directly linked to the disease.

During the study, scientists fed mice large amounts of animal food products with high fat and sugar levels. These studies showed that following the diet for a long period of time led to a decrease in immune responses in the brain.

Such kind of diet consists of excessive consumption of fried foods, refined sugars, white flour and processed foods. It leads to an imbalance in our immune system because what our bodies really do is reject that food. This imbalance, in turn, leads to all kinds of diseases – including Alzheimer’s.

The scientists also saw increased activity in the microglia, the nervous system cells that reside within the central nervous system’s immune system. There are also several studies showing that this type of inflammation increases the risk of Alzheimer’s.

So now that you know this,  you have another reason to change your diet to include healthier foods. So follow the MIND diet.