"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

MIND food plan slows cognitive decline, especially in two groups

September 19, 2024 – Older and middle-aged individuals who followed the MIND food plan for not less than a yr had fewer and slower cognitive declinein comparison with individuals with a significantly different food plan. According to the outcomes of a latest study, the advantages were particularly pronounced in women and black people.

In older individuals with cognitive decline, considering, memory, concentration and other brain functions change into harder than expected as a consequence of the aging process.

The official name of the MIND food plan is Mediterranean DASH intervention to delay neurodegenerative diseasesand its goal is to support healthy aging of the brain. MIND food plan recommends the consumption of nine foods: whole grains, vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, berries, poultry, fish and olive oil. The food plan also includes limiting the consumption of pastries, sweets, beef, cheese, fried foods and butter or margarine.

“Given the number of people with dementia As cognitive abilities increase with the aging population, it is critical to find changes we can make to delay or slow the development of cognitive problems,” said study creator Russell P. Sawyer, MD, of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio in a opinion.

For this latest study, researchers used questionnaire responses from people detailing what that they had eaten previously yr. The study's data got here from a separate project geographic and racial differences in stroke risk. Study participants were 45 and older, with a mean age of 64. They all took standard cognitive tests that included being asked to repeat three words to an interviewer and to say the yr, month and day of the week.

The Results published in the newest issue of neurologythe medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The evaluation showed that folks who followed the MIND food plan most closely had a lower risk of cognitive decline overall. The researchers also found that girls who followed the food plan most closely had as much as a 6% lower risk of cognitive problems, while men didn't experience a corresponding decline.

The team also checked out whether the food plan might affect how quickly cognitive function modified. They found that folks who followed the MIND food plan closely showed a slower decline. The impact was biggest in black individuals who followed the food plan closely.

“These findings require further study, particularly to examine the differential effects in men and women and blacks and whites. However, it is exciting to consider that people could make some simple changes to their diet and potentially reduce or delay their risk of cognitive problems,” Sawyer said.