New Diet May Lessen Risk of Dementia Diagnosis

Researchers have created a new diet that could reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia, according to a new study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association (https://bit.ly/1cA1knS).

Martha Clare Morris, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, and colleagues developed the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet. The MIND diet combines pieces of both the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and the Mediterranean diet. Both have shown to lessen the risk of cardiovascular events and have also been said to prevent dementia. The MIND diet involves 15 dietary components, 10 of which are considered healthy foods and five of which are considered unhealthy foods (Table). Unhealthy foods should be consumed in moderation.

“The dietary components of the MIND diet are also the foundations of the Mediterranean and DASH diets—both of which have been found through randomized controlled trials to have many cardiovascular benefits,” Dr. Morris said. “It is hard to come up with a potential downside to adopting these dietary habits.”

Dr. Morris explained that, even if the MIND diet is followed on a moderate basis, it still results in a 35% lower risk of developing dementia/Alzheimer’s.