'MIND' YOUR DIET

Here's what foods you should put on your plate diet to boost your cognitive health

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There's long been evidence that what we eat can affect our risk of dementia, Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline as we age. But can any diet actually keep the brain strong and lower dementia risk? Evidence suggests the so-called 'Mind diet' might.

The Mind diet (which stands for the Mediterranean-Dash intervention for neurocognitive delay) combines the well-established Mediterranean diet with the "Dash" diet (dietary approaches to stop hypertension). However, it also includes some specific dietary modifications based on their benefits to cognitive health. Both the Mediterranean diet and Dash diet are based on traditional eating patterns from countries which border the Mediterranean Sea.

Both emphasise eating plenty of plant-based foods (such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds), low-fat dairy products (such as milk and yoghurts) and lean proteins including fish and chicken. Both diets include very little red and processed meats. The Dash diet, however, places greater emphasis on consuming low-sodium foods, less added sugar and fewer saturated and trans-fats to reduce blood pressure.

Both diets are well-researched and shown to be effective in preventing lifestyle-related diseases—including cardiovascular disease and hypertension. They're also shown to help protect the brain's neurons from damage and benefit cognitive health.

The Mind diet follows many of the core tenets of both diets but places greater emphasis on consuming more foods that contain nutrients which promote brain health and prevent cognitive decline, including: