The Diet That Could Make Your Brain 7 Years Younger
What you put in your body can have a big impact on what you keep in your head.
Many people worry about losing their mental sharpness as they get older. That’s not surprising given that we’re all hearing about rising rates of dementia as the population ages: A study in the January issue of Nature Medicine suggested that by the year 2060, the number of adults in the U.S. who will develop dementia is likely to double to a million people. That’s a club no one wants to join. Fortunately, science is showing that healthy eating habits can have a powerful impact on protecting cognitive function and memory.
Developed in 2015 by researchers studying the effects of diet on brain function and cognitive decline, the (aptly named) MIND diet combines the Mediterranean diet—with its focus on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and olive oil—and the fruit and veggie-rich DASH diet (which was designed to prevent or treat hypertension). Effectively, the MIND diet boils down to eating more high-nutrient foods like leafy greens and berries, and avoiding highly processed foods and saturated fat-filled stuff.
Studies show the MIND diet is associated with better brain function and could even help slow age-related cognitive decline. Those with the closest adherence to the MIND diet experienced slower aging of their brains—equivalent to being 7.5 years “younger” than those with the least adherence.
