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MIND Diet: Benefits, Foods To Eat And Meal Plan
The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet, or more commonly, the MIND diet, is the combination of the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet. The fairly new diet focuses on the top brain-healthy foods emphasized by both the Mediterranean and DASH diets - leafy greens and other vegetables, berries, nuts and beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil, and wine [1] .
Developed by Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist and her team at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, the MIND diet is gaining popularity due to the positive impact it has on improving one's cognitive function and reducing the risks of Alzheimer's disease [2] .
The MIND diet was developed with the aim of reducing dementia and the decline in brain health that often occurs as people get older. By combining the aspects of both the diet types, the MIND diet is asserted to be beneficial in lowering blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, diabetes and several other diseases [3] . Although both the diets separately have various health benefits for the human body, it did not have any significant impact on the cognitive functioning of individuals.
Therefore, researchers came together with the intention of creating a diet specifically to help improve brain function and prevent dementia. With both of the diet plans being based on whole foods, the MIND diet has low sodium, added sugar, and refined grains content. It is also low in highly processed foods, including sugary beverages, fast foods, and fried foods [4] .
The MIND diet does not possess any daily calorie limit or goal and does not require consuming meals on specific timings. The diet possesses a sense of freedom, which the individual can enjoy while improving their physical and mental health [5] , [6] . One of the best parts about the MIND diet is that it does not require you to completely give up your snacking habits or your favourite type of foods as the diet is encompassed of almost all varieties of foods. The diet focuses on increasing one's consumption of food that can improve the cognitive function and reduce the intake of food that can hamper your brain's performance and health.
The healthy diet plan encourages people to consume more of natural foods and limiting their intake of red meat and unhealthy fats [3] . Religiously following the diet is one of the easiest ways to keep your brain young and healthy and not be affected by the signs and symptoms of ageing and other factors.
Foods To Eat
The types of food encouraged by the MIND diet are as follows [7] :
Green, leafy vegetables: Such as kale, broccoli, spinach, or collards. Try to incorporate six or more servings per week.
Other vegetables: Chose non-starchy vegetables, due to the high nutritional value and low calories. At least one serving per day.
Berries: Include berries like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries (antioxidants). Eat berries at least twice a week.
Nuts: The diet does not specify the type of nuts to be consumed; so feel free to include the different varieties of nuts into your diet. Try to have five servings of nuts or more each week.
Whole grains: Incorporate whole grains like oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and 100% whole-wheat bread. Have at least three servings daily.
Beans: Include all the varieties of beans such as lentils, soybeans, mung beans etc. Have beans at least four times every week.
Poultry: Eat chicken at least twice a week. You can have turkey also. But, fried chicken is not encouraged on the MIND diet.
Fish: Choose fatty fish like salmon, sardines, trout, tuna and mackerel; due to the presence of high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Eat fish at least once a week.
Wine: Drink red wine as its red wine compound resveratrol help protect your brain against Alzheimer's disease. Have no more than one glass daily.
Olive oil: Use olive oil as your main cooking oil.
Foods To Avoid
The MIND diet requires reducing and limiting the consumption of the following foods [7] :
Cheese: Limit your cheese consumption to three-four times a month.
Butter and margarine: Use olive oil instead of butter while cooking. Try to eat less than 1 tablespoon daily.
Fried foods: Limit your consumption to three-four times a month.
Pastries and sweets: Limit the consumption to no more than four times a week. Avoid processed foods and desserts like ice creams, brownies, cookies, doughnuts, candy etc.
Red meat: Reduce your consumption of beef, pork, lamb and products made from these meats. And limit your consumption to no more than three servings each week.
Benefits Of The MIND Diet
Since its début in 2015, the diet plan has been very successful in slowing down cognitive decline in healthy older adults. A recent study conducted on the impact of the MIND diet pointed out that individuals who strictly follow the diet functioned as if they were 7.5 years younger than those who did not follow it [8] .
Let's take a look into the amazing health benefits possessed by the MIND diet apart from its ability to reduce cognitive function decline [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] .
1. Prevents cognitive decline
While discussing the benefits possessed by the MIND diet, it is necessary to point out the impact it has in preventing cognitive decline and reducing your risk of dementia and Alzheimer's. Various studies have been conducted on exploring the impact of the MIND diet and one's cognition and have pointed out that it can improve brain function and performance.
2. Enhances cognitive function
As aforementioned, the MIND diet focuses on one's cognitive skills and not only does it prevent the decline but also help enhance one's cognitive function. Studies revealed that individuals who follow the MIND diet have better memory and perceptual speed in comparison to others.
With an abundance of green leafy vegetables incorporated in the diet, the ample amount of vitamin E, folate, carotenoids and flavonoids help improve the functioning of your brain. Likewise, the berries in the diet aid in improving memory and learning abilities due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
3. Aids weight loss
One of the other major benefits of the MIND diet is that it supports healthy weight loss and management. As the diet encourages the consumption of more whole, fresh and unprocessed foods such as whole grains, beans, fish, greens, and olive oil; it eliminates the build-up of unwanted fat. Following a healthy diet also contribute towards healthy weight loss as the calorie intake is limited.
The MIND diet is asserted to contribute towards fat burning and increased metabolism; another factor pointing towards healthy weight loss.
4. Balances cholesterol levels
By limiting your consumption of unhealthy fats, MIND diet can limit the build-up of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The build-up can cause damage to your arteries and increase the bad cholesterol levels. By replacing unhealthy options with healthier ones (olive oil instead of butter), the diet help keep your cholesterol levels under control [13] .
5. Fights cancer
Packed with plenty of vegetables and legumes, berries, unsaturated fats like olive oil, fatty fish, and limited amounts of meat, the MIND diet is asserted to be beneficial in fighting certain types of cancer. Studies point out that the diet prescribed by oncologists to individuals fighting cancer has very close similarities to that of the MIND diet.
6. Prevents diabetes
An amalgam of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, the MIND diet is a definite preventive act against diabetes. It helps prevent high blood sugar or insulin resistance, thereby limiting the risks of developing diabetes.
7. Improves mental health
Nutrition is essential for maintaining a balanced mood and ensuring a lasting feeling of wellness. The MIND diet can help develop, manage and prevent the onset of various mental health problems, including depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety [14] .
8. Protects heart
Rich in nutrition and low in fat and calories, the MIND diet is a key towards improving your heart health and reducing the risks of heart disease. As the diet does not allow the accumulation of fat and unhealthy cholesterol, your heart can function well without any issues.
9. Reduces inflammation
The varieties of food incorporated in the MIND diet help control and reduce inflammation. By burning up the excess fat and removing the unwanted toxins from your body, the diet aids in reducing the inflammation caused by environmental toxins, stress and poor gut function [15] .
10. Promotes pain management
The MIND diet is beneficial for your body in so many different ways and one of it is the diet's ability to encourage healthy pain management. The diet functions by reducing the inflammation levels, which will directly cause the pain to reduce. Apart from this, the MIND diet is a good source of serotonin which helps increase your pain threshold [16] .
Sample 7-Day MIND Diet Meal Plan
In comparison to the different types of diet plans in existence, creating a MIND diet plan is not arduous. Take a look into the sample meal plan provided below [17] .
1st day - Monday
Breakfast:
Greek
yoghurt
with
strawberries,
topped
with
sliced
almonds.
Lunch:
Mediterranean
salad
with
olive-oil-based
dressing,
grilled
chicken,
whole-wheat
bread.
Dinner:
Brown
rice
with
black
beans,
boiled
vegetables
and
grilled
chicken.
2nd day- Tuesday
Breakfast:
Wheat
toast
with
scrambled
eggs.
Lunch:
Grilled
chicken
sandwich
with
boiled
carrots.
Dinner:
Grilled
salmon,
side
salad
with
olive-oil-based
dressing,
brown
rice.
3rd day - Wednesday
Breakfast:
Oatmeal
with
strawberries
and
hard-boiled
eggs.
Lunch:
Vegetable
salad
with
black
beans,
red
onion,
corn
and
grilled
chicken.
Dinner:
Chicken
and
vegetable
stir-fry
and
brown
rice.
4th day - Thursday
Breakfast:
Peanut
butter
and
banana,
with
wheat
toast.
Lunch:
Baked
fish
(of
your
choice)
and
boiled
vegetables.
Dinner:
Whole-wheat
pasta
with
meatballs
and
salad.
5th day - Friday
Breakfast:
Wheat
toast
with
scrambled
eggs.
Lunch:
Baked
chicken
and
vegetable
salad
or
stir-fry.
Dinner:
Baked
or
oven
roasted
potato
with
fish.
6th day - Saturday
Breakfast:
Oats
with
berries.
Lunch:
Brown
rice
with
baked
fish
and
beans.
Dinner:
Vegetable
salsa
with
chicken
and
whole-wheat
pita.
7th day - Sunday
Breakfast:
Sliced
apple
with
peanut
butter
and
whole-wheat
bread.
Lunch:
Tuna
salad
sandwich
on
wheat
bread,
with
carrots.
Dinner:
Curry
chicken,
brown
rice
and
lentils.
Healthy MIND Diet Recipes
1. Chocolate blueberry smoothie
Ingredients [18]
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 1 cup milk (of your choice)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 dash ground cinnamon
- 1 dash ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
Directions
- Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a glass for a smoother texture.
- Garnish with a few whole blueberries, and serve immediately.
2. No-sugar sesame cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2/3 cup date paste
- 1/3 cup sesame seeds
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 °C.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the date paste, tahini, and olive oil.
- Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ones.
- Put the dough in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Roll the dough into small balls.
- Roll each ball into a bowl of sesame seeds.
- Press the ball onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes.
Tips For Following The MIND Diet
Now that we have perused the different aspects of the diet, such as the types of food to eat and avoid and its benefits, let's take a look into some suggestions that will help you follow the MIND diet [19] , [20] .
- Choose bread, cereals, and pasta that are made with whole grains.
- Include a few meatless entrées each week such as lentil soup.
- Choose fish, skinless poultry, or beans as the primary source of protein.
- Keep frozen berries on hand.
- Keep unsalted nuts with you, so that you may snack on it.
- Eat a green salad most days of the week.
Side Effects Of MIND Diet
Consuming
too
much
of
brown
rice
or
nuts
can
prevent
successful
weight
loss.
Eating
too
much
fish
poses
the
risk
of
pollutants
and
toxin
such
as
mercury
and
plastic
residues
entering
your
body
[21]
.
MIND Diet Vs Other Diets
MIND diet vs Mediterranean diet: The MIND diet is borrowed from the Mediterranean diet. The 'M' in MIND Diet stands for the Mediterranean. The MIND diet is more detail-oriented that the Mediterranean diet and favours specific types of fruits and vegetables over others.
The Mediterranean diet can be described as being less restrictive and focuses on holistic food patterns and lifestyle [22] . It does not just focus on the types of food consumed but also other factors such as the way of eating, physical activities, bodily response to food etc.
MIND diet vs DASH diet: Similar to that of the Mediterranean diet's involvement in the MIND diet, the DASH diet is a contributor to the MIND diet. The MIND diet follows the same principles of the DASH diet but with a few simple additions [23] . In comparison to the DASH diet, the MIND diet is freer and the people who follow it has a wider range of options to chose from.
DASH diet focuses on the portion size, eating a variety of foods and getting the right amount of nutrients and is centralised on lowering your blood pressure. Whereas MIND diet focuses on cognitive decline and repair [24] .
MIND diet vs Paleo diet: In comparison to the MIND diet, Paleo diet is less healthy. The MIND diet aims at lifelong health with its rich nutritional content [25] . The protein-related modification in the Paleo diet, that is, the reduction of protein intake poses as a bit of a drawback.
MIND diet vs Keto diet: The ketogenic diet is extremely low in carbohydrates, which is one of the major drawbacks of it. Keto diet encourages only 20 per carbohydrate consumption per day, which is less than an apple. Although it has several benefits accorded to it, the MIND diet is increasingly better when compared to that of the Keto diet [26] .
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- [2] Morris, M. C., Tangney, C. C., Wang, Y., Sacks, F. M., Barnes, L. L., Bennett, D. A., & Aggarwal, N. T. (2015). MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging.Alzheimer's & dementia,11(9), 1015-1022.
- [3] Morris, M. C., Tangney, C. C., Wang, Y., Barnes, L. L., Bennett, D., & Aggarwal, N. (2014). MIND diet score more predictive than DASH or Mediterranean diet scores.Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association,10(4), P166.
- [4] Rogers, P. J. (2001). A healthy body, a healthy mind: long-term impact of diet on mood and cognitive function.Proceedings of the Nutrition Society,60(1), 135-143.
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- [10] O'Dea, J. A. (2003). Why do kids eat healthful food? Perceived benefits of and barriers to healthful eating and physical activity among children and adolescents.Journal of the American Dietetic Association,103(4), 497-501.
- [11] Hoover, H. C., Ryan, J. A., Anderson, E. J., & Fischer, J. E. (1980). Nutritional benefits of immediate postoperative jejunal feeding of an elemental diet.The American Journal of Surgery,139(1), 153-159.
- [12] Ulbricht, T. L. V., & Southgate, D. A. T. (1991). Coronary heart disease: seven dietary factors.The lancet,338(8773), 985-992.
- [13] Schelke, M. W., Hackett, K., Chen, J. L., Shih, C., Shum, J., Montgomery, M. E., ... & Isaacson, R. S. (2016). Nutritional interventions for Alzheimer's prevention: a clinical precision medicine approach.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences,1367(1), 50-56.
- [14] Fresán, U., Bes-Rastrollo, M., Segovia-Siapco, G., Sanchez-Villegas, A., Lahortiga, F., de la Rosa, P. A., & Martínez-Gonzalez, M. A. (2018). Does the MIND diet decrease depression risk? A comparison with Mediterranean diet in the SUN cohort.European journal of nutrition, 1-12.
- [15] Abbatecola, A. M., Russo, M., & Barbieri, M. (2018). Dietary patterns and cognition in older persons.Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care,21(1), 10-13.
- [16] Solfrizzi, V., Custodero, C., Lozupone, M., Imbimbo, B. P., Valiani, V., Agosti, P., ... & Guerra, V. (2017). Relationships of dietary patterns, foods, and micro-and macronutrients with Alzheimer’s disease and late-life cognitive disorders: A systematic review.Journal of Alzheimer's Disease,59(3), 815-849.
- [17] Aridi, Y., Walker, J., & Wright, O. (2017). The association between the Mediterranean dietary pattern and cognitive health: a systematic review.Nutrients,9(7), 674.
- [18] Alban, D. (2019, 21 March). The MIND Diet: How to Eat for a Healthy Mind (+ 42 Recipes). Be Brain Fit. Retrieved from, https://bebrainfit.com/mind-diet-recipes/
- [19] Kivipelto, M., Mangialasche, F., & Ngandu, T. (2018). Lifestyle interventions to prevent cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer disease.Nature Reviews Neurology, 1.
- [20] Walters, M., Hackett, K., Caesar, E., Isaacson, R., & Mosconi, L. (2017). Role of Nutrition to Promote Healthy Brain Aging and Reduce Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.Current Nutrition Reports,6(2), 63-71.
- [21] Willett, W. (2017).Eat, drink, and be healthy: the Harvard Medical School guide to healthy eating. Simon and Schuster.
- [22] Catalano, D., Trovato, G. M., Pace, P., Martines, G. F., & Trovato, F. M. (2013). Mediterranean diet and physical activity: an intervention study. Does olive oil exercise the body through the mind?.International journal of cardiology,168(4), 4408-4409.
- [23] McEvoy, C. T., Guyer, H., Langa, K. M., & Yaffe, K. (2017). Neuroprotective diets are associated with better cognitive function: the health and retirement study.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,65(8), 1857-1862.
- [24] Cordain, L. (2010).The Paleo Diet revised: lose weight and get healthy by eating the foods you were designed to eat. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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