There are 10 foods that need to be in your diet-and five you must avoid-if you are going to dramatically reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia. The MIND diet, as it’s called, could more than halve your risk, say researchers.
People who stuck faithfully to the diet saw their risk reduce by 53 per cent, while those who followed it to some degree saw theirs fall by 35 per cent.
The 10 foods to introduce into your diet on a daily, or weekly, basis are:
o Green leafy vegetables
o Other vegetables
o Nuts
o Berries
o Beans
o Whole grains
o Fish
o Poultry
o Olive Oil
o Wine
The five foods to avoid, or eat infrequently, are:
o Red meats
o Butter and margarine
o Cheese
o Pastries and sweets
o Fried or fast food
People who want to follow the diet strictly should be eating at least three servings of whole grains-such as corn, brown rice, barley or wheat-a salad and one other vegetable every day. Poultry and berries should be included in meals at least twice a week, fish once a week, and beans every other day. If you want to snack between meals, eat a handful of nuts. And drinking one glass of red wine a day can also help our mental health.
The MIND diet has been devised by Dr Martha Clare Morris and her team of researchers at Rush University. It’s a blend of the Mediterranean diet with the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
They tested it on 923 volunteers, aged from 58 to 98, who followed the MIND diet for an average of four-and-a-half years.
(Source: Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 2015; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.009)
