The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet, or more commonly, the MIND diet, combines portions of the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and the

Mediterranean diet The Mediterranean diet is a concept first proposed in 1975 by the American biologist Ancel Keys and chemist Margaret Keys. The diet took inspiration from the eating habits and traditional food typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and s ...

. Both the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet have been shown to improve

cognition Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

. A team at Rush University Medical Center, including Martha Clare Morris (a nutritional epidemiologist), worked to create the MIND diet. Like the DASH and Mediterranean diets, the MIND diet emphasizes the intake of fresh fruit, vegetables, and legumes. The MIND diet may be more effective at reducing cognitive decline than either the Mediterranean or the DASH diet alone, although a cause and effect relationship has not been determined.

Background and development

Various diets, including the Mediterranean and DASH, have been investigated with relation to cognitive decline. Neither the Mediterranean nor DASH diets were specifically developed to slow cognitive decline. In an effort to develop a diet specifically for limiting cognitive decline, components of the Mediterranean and DASH diets were combined. The MIND diet was developed from studies in an aging project, but a cause and effect relationship between the diet and cognitive decline could not be determined.

Research

The MIND diet was published in 2015. Changes in cognitive ability were correlated with specific nutritional components of the MIND diet. The inclusion of higher numbers of MIND diet recommended foods in one's daily diet was associated with less cognitive decline than when these foods were not included or were included in lesser quantities. A follow-up study compared the effectiveness of the MIND diet to that of the Mediterranean and DASH diets within the same study population. The study showed that all the diets have potential to inhibit cognitive decline when they are strictly followed. Although the MIND diet shows promising results, the findings must be replicated in other population based studies to confirm these conclusions. When designing diets for the prevention of certain diseases, it is necessary to know the impacts of individual nutrients on the human body. The MIND diet could be improved by future research which investigates the impacts of individual nutrients or foods on neuronal physiology and anatomy. It is also beneficial to use dietary measurements that are culturally appropriate to enable researchers, dietitians, and the general public to draw accurate conclusions from the data.

Recommendations

The MIND diet recommends: *

Whole grain A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. As part of a general healthy diet, consumption of whole grains is associated ...

s: three or more servings a day * Green leafy vegetables (kale, collards, greens;

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

; lettuce/tossed salad): at least six servings a week * Other vegetables (green/red peppers, squash, cooked carrots, raw carrots, broccoli, celery, potatoes, peas or lima beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, string beans, beets, corn, zucchini/summer squash/eggplant, coleslaw, potato salad): at least one a day *

Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

: one glass a day * Nuts: five servings a week * Beans and lentils: at least three servings a week * Berries: two or more servings a week * Non-fried poultry (like

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

): two times a week * Non-fried

Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

: once a week *

Olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

: use it as your main cooking oil. The diet discourages: *

Butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

and stick

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a Spread (food), spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The ...

: more than a tablespoon daily * Pastries and sweets: more than five servings a week *

Red meat In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw (and a dark color after it is cooked), in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before (and after) cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified ...

and pork: more than four servings a week *

Cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

: more than one serving a week * Fried or fast food (like French fries, chicken nuggets): more than one serving a week

Background and development

Research

Recommendations

See also

References

Further reading