Keeping your brain healthy is fundamentally important to maintaining overall optimal health and wellness.
But does diet have anything to do with keeping the brain healthy?
According to a study that was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, a diet called the MIND diet has been shown to effectively slow cognitive decline and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease dementia.
The data from the study is pretty complicated, but it’s built upon a basic premise.
There are two groups of food that were listed in the study.
There’s a group of foods called unhealthy foods; and then there was a group of foods called healthy foods.
And according to the study, people whose diets consist mostly of the healthy foods (consumed in accordance with the MIND diet guidelines) while limiting the unhealthy foods were found to have better memory and thinking skills as they became older.
But the study also revealed that people in this group whose diets consisted of the healthy food groups (consistent with the guidelines of the MIND diet) never developed clinical dementia.
This was even true despite the fact that some of them did develop protein deposits commonly found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
This would suggest that the MIND diet, which is the diet made up of the healthy food groups while limiting the unhealthy food groups, could play a vital role in delaying mental and cognitive decline and preventing Alzheimer’s.
So what exactly are the foods in these two food groups? Let’s take a look.
The Unhealthy Food Group
According to the literature, there are five unhealthy food groups.
These include:
- Butter and stick margarine
- Fried and fast food
- Cheese
- Sweets and pastries
- And red meat
The Healthy Food Group
The MIND diet itself is actually a hybrid diet, created by combining elements of the Mediterranean diet with a diet specifically designed to help stop hypertension.
Here are the specifics of how to follow the MIND diet, including the healthy foods contained within.
The MIND Diet
First, you need to eat at least three servings of whole grains per day.
Second, you need to eat at least one green leafy vegetable per day.
Third, you need to eat one other vegetable per day.
Fourth, you need to drink a glass of wine per day.
There are also some additional guidelines:
You’re supposed to eat nuts as snacks, poultry and berries twice a week, beans every other day, and fish at least once per week.
You’re also supposed to limit the consumption of items in the unhealthy food group.
According to the study, this diet was highly effective at preventing cognitive decline and helping to protect those who consumed it from the dangers of clinical Alzheimers.
And judging by the results of the research, it certainly seems like it would be a good diet to follow to protect the mind and promote optimal mental health and wellness.
In Conclusion
There you have it!
The ideal diet for protecting your brain and keeping it functioning healthily and normally.
And to be quite honest, the diet doesn’t even sound that bad.
You even get a glass of wine every day!
It might just be worth it to give it a try.
After all…
Your brain is absolutely worth it!