A specific diet could help preserve brain function as you age
BOSTON - New research finds following a particular diet, the MIND diet, could help you preserve brain function as you age.
The MIND diet combines the Mediterranean and DASH diets and includes vegetables, especially leafy greens like spinach and kale, whole grains, olive oil, poultry, fish, beans and nuts. It also prioritizes berries over other types of fruit and recommend one of more servings of fish per week.
A new study published in Neurology followed 14,000 people with an average age of 64 for 10 years and scored their diets on how closely they matched the MIND diet. They found those in the "high group" had a 4% decreased risk of cognitive impairment compared to those in the "low group", and people who best followed the MIND diet also tended to decline more slowly if they did develop cognitive issues.
The effects were noted for both white and Black participants. They said this study suggests that people can make simple changes to their diet to prolong healthy brain function.