Weight loss – drink wine, shed pounds AND cut risk of dementia with the MIND diet
IF you want to give yourself the best possible chance of avoiding dementia, you might want to pour yourself a glass of wine.
According to a new study, following the MIND diet may reduce our chances of developing Alzheimer's.
The study has been following 1,220 Australian adults aged 60 and over for a period of 12 years.
Over that time, scientists charted how different eating plans influenced brain health.
And they found that following the MIND diet was linked to a 19 per cent reduced odds of developing clinically diagnosed dementia.
Interestingly, however, the Mediterranean diet was found to have no particular benefit for staving off cognitive decline.
"This study has shown for the first time, outside the United States, that the MIND diet reduces the risk of dementia," said study lead Professor Kaarin Anstey, from the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute.
Scientists got participants to answer questions about their dietary intake, while their brain function was monitored over time.
Their diets were scored to see whether their dietary patterns followed the MIND or Mediterranean pattern.
And they found that the MIND diet was the clear winner.
It's not the first time that the MIND diet has proven to lower the chances of developing dementia.
Prof Morris conducted studies on the plan for nearly a decade, working with 923 older people.
They found that the diet lowered the risk of Alzheimer's by as much as 53 per cent in people who meticulously stuck to the plan, and up to 35 per cent in those who only followed it moderately.
"One of the more exciting things about this is that people who adhered even moderately to the MIND diet had a reduction in their risk for AD," Morris said in a .
"I think that will motivate people."
So, what is the MIND diet?
MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurogenerative Delay (what a mouthful!).
It was developed by Professor Martha Morris at the Rush University Medical Centre, with the goal of lowering the risk of Alzheimer's through brain-healthy foods.
What is the MIND diet?
The MIND diet recommends eating ten foods every single day and avoiding five types of food.
The healthy daily food includes:
- Veggies
- Green leafy veg in particular
- Berries - especially blueberries
- Nuts
- Beans
- Wine
- Whole grains
- Fish
- Poultry
- Olive oil
The five to avoid are:
- Fried foods /fast food
- Red meat
- Cheese
- Butter/margarine
- Pastries and sweets
There are also ten rules which MIND dieters have to stick to:
- Eat at least three servings of whole grains a day
- Eat a salad a day
- Eat one other vegetable every day
- Drink a glass of wine every day
- Snack on nuts every day
- Eat beans every other day
- Eat chicken and berries at least twice a week
- Eat fish at least once a week
- Only have one serving of unhealthy food a week
- Eat less than one tablespoon of butter a day
It's a combination of the Meditteranean diet - which focuses on whole foods and as little bad fats and red meat as possible, as the DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) diet, which looks to lower high blood pressure by lowering sodium.
Sounds easy enough, doesn't it?
Many of these diets have the same core principals - eating whole foods and keeping processed grub to a minimum.
By that very fact, you're bound to shed excess body fat and maintain a healthy weight.
It's just that with this very simple and easy plan, you're able to protect your brain health as well as your overall wellbeing.
MORE ON WEIGHT LOSS
Other ways to protect your brain include brushing your teeth twice a day, exercising regularly and sleeping more.
It is worth pointing out that many cases of Alzheimer's are down to genetics and age - and there's nothing you can do about that.
But if you try to live a healthy, active lifestyle when you're younger, at least you try to reduce any other risk factors.
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