This Diet Could Cut Your Alzheimer’s Risk in Half

According to new research published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, a new diet, appropriately called the MIND diet, may lower a person’s risk of developing the disease by up to 53 percent. And you don’t even have to follow the diet meticulously to reap the benefits: Participants who followed it moderately well still lowered their risk by 35 percent.

So what does the diet entail exactly? It’s actually a fusion of two diets — the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet — which have been getting a lot of attention lately for their heart-healthy benefits. The MIND diet has 15 dietary components made up of 10 brain-healthy foods and five unhealthy groups to avoid.

On the menu: Leafy greens, vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil, and wine

Off the regular menu: Red meat, cheese, sweets, and fried foods are limited to less than one serving per week and butter and margarine to less than 1 tablespoon per day.

The study, which looked at almost 1,000 participants over a 9-year period, suggests that the longer an individual followed this diet, the less likely they were to develop Alzheimer’s. While researchers say more studies need to be conducted to confirm a cause-and-effect relationship between the MIND diet and reduction of Alzheimer’s risk, the results are promising.

Plus, eating this way will help lower your risk for a host of other conditions, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

From: Every Day Health
Photo credit: iStock Photo

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