It’s an unwritten law of nature that the more we grow old, the more we begin to notice a cognitive decline in the way we think, act, and behave. But luckily, there are ways to slow that process down or even keep our mental health in good condition as the years pass.
According to ScienceDaily.com, researchers from Ruch University Medical Center discovered that it’s a good idea for older adults to give the so-called MIND diet a try. They can benefit from the diet even if they develop abnormal protein deposits known as amyloid plaques and tangles that lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
MIND consists of DASH and Mediterranean diets
The MIND diet is a mixture of DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and Mediterranean diets. A new study has shown that the participants who opted for the MIND diet in moderate doses later in their lives didn’t have cognition issues.
Klodian Dhana, MD, PhD, and also the lead author of the paper, declared as quoted by ScienceDaily.com:
Some people have enough plaques and tangles in their brains to have a postmortem diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, but they do not develop clinical dementia in their lifetime,
Some have the ability to maintain cognitive function despite the accumulation of these pathologies in the brain, and our study suggests that the MIND diet is associated with better cognitive functions independently of brain pathologies related to Alzheimer’s disease.
Five hundred sixty-nine participants were involved in the research, and they were asked to complete annual evaluations as well as cognitive tests to see if they had problems with memory and thinking. The study began in 2004, and the participants were also given an annual questionnaire about how often they consumed 144 food items in the previous year.
Based on the answers to the questionnaires, each participant received a MIND diet score based on how often they consumed specific foods.
