MIND YOUR DIET: CAN EATING RIGHT REALLY REDUCE YOUR DEMENTIA RISK?

WE ALL know someone, a grandparent, a parent, a neighbour, who's struggled with memory loss, confusion or a dementia diagnosis.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

It's heartbreaking. And while there's no magic bullet to stop Alzheimer's, new research suggests that what's on our plates could make a big difference even later in life.

The spotlight is on the MIND diet, short for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay.

Think of it as a brain-boosting hybrid of two already-famous eating plans: the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, both known for supporting heart and overall health.

But here’s the exciting part: a recent large-scale study presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting found that people who followed the MIND diet had a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, even if they only started eating this way in middle age or later.

What the study found

Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the University of Southern California analysed long-term data from the Multiethnic Cohort group.

Over 215 000 people, aged between 45 and 75, from five racial and ethnic backgrounds, including black, Latino and Asian communities. More than 21 000 of the participants developed Alzheimer’s or related dementia over time.

Here’s what they uncovered:

• People who closely followed the MIND diet had a 9% lower risk of developing dementia.

• The risk dropped by 13% among black, Latino and white participants.

• Even better? Those who improved their diet over 10 years had a 25% lower risk, regardless of their age or background.