Adopting the MIND diet—even later in life—is linked with reduced dementia risk

 As the U.S. population ages and dementia cases rise, many people are asking whether it is possible to prevent this devastating disease. According to a new study, the answer may be on your plate: People who followed a dietary pattern known as the MIND diet were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or related forms of dementia.

 

The MIND diet, which stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, combines the Mediterranean diet with the blood pressure-lowering DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and also emphasizes proven brain-healthy foods like leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts and olive oil.

 The DASH and Mediterranean diets both emphasize plant-based foods, but differ in their focus. The DASH diet was specifically created to lower blood pressure, emphasizing potassium, magnesium, and calcium, and reducing salt and saturated fats. The Mediterranean diet is more flexible, focusing on overall health and longevity, with a greater emphasis on healthy fats from olive oil and fatty fish, and moderate alcohol consumption. 

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Similarities:

• Emphasis on plant-based foods: Both diets prioritize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. 
• Healthy fats: Both encourage the consumption of healthy fats, such as olive oil and fatty fish. 
• Reduced saturated and trans fats: Both diets aim to reduce the intake of unhealthy fats. 
• Reduced salt intake: While the DASH diet specifically focuses on reducing sodium intake, the Mediterranean diet generally encourages lower sodium due to its emphasis on whole, minimally processed foods. 
• Benefits for heart health: Both diets are known to be beneficial for heart health, with DASH being more effective for lowering blood pressure. 
• Diabetes management: Both diets can help manage blood sugar levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes. 

Differences:

• Focus:

  DASH diet is specifically designed to lower blood pressure, while the Mediterranean diet focuses on overall health and longevity. 
• Structure:

  DASH provides more structured guidelines, including specific serving sizes for different food groups, while the Mediterranean diet offers greater flexibility and variation in food choices. 
• Alcohol:

  DASH recommends avoiding alcohol, while the Mediterranean diet allows for moderate consumption of red wine. 
• Fish and dairy:

  The Mediterranean diet encourages regular consumption of fish, while the DASH diet allows for moderate intake of fish and poultry, and emphasizes low-fat dairy. 
• Sweets and sugary beverages:

  DASH recommends avoiding sweets and sugary beverages, while the Mediterranean diet allows for occasional moderate consumption. 
• Lifestyle factors:

  The Mediterranean diet traditionally emphasizes physical activity, communal dining, and stress reduction as important components of a healthy lifestyle, while the DASH diet focuses more on dietary factors. 

According to the study, the MIND diet had a stronger and more consistent risk reduction relationship with dementia than other healthy diets, although the relationship varied among five racial groups. Those who improved their adherence to the diet the most over time showed the greatest pattern of risk reduction. This beneficial relationship was seen similarly among younger and older groups, suggesting that there are benefits to adopting the diet at any age.

 

“Our study findings confirm that healthy dietary patterns in mid to late life and their improvement over time may prevent Alzheimer’s and related dementias,” said Song-Yi Park, PhD, associate professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “This suggests that it is never too late to adopt a healthy diet to prevent dementia.”

 

Park will present the findings at NUTRITION 2025, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held May 31–June 3 in Orlando, Florida.

 

Park and colleagues analyzed data from nearly 93,000 U.S. adults who provided information about their diet as part of a research cohort known as the Multiethnic Cohort Study starting in the 1990s. Participants were between 45-75 years old at baseline and over 21,000 developed Alzheimer’s or related dementias in the years that followed.

 

Overall, participants who scored higher for MIND adherence at baseline had a 9%

lower risk of dementia, with an even greater reduction—around 13%—among those who identified as African American, Latino or White. Baseline MIND diet adherence was not associated with a significant risk reduction among Native Hawaiian or Asian American participants. 

 

“We found that the protective relationship between a healthy diet and dementia was more pronounced among African Americans, Latinos and Whites, while it was not as apparent among Asian Americans and showed a weaker trend in Native Hawaiians,” said Park. “A tailored approach may be needed when evaluating different subpopulations’ diet quality.”

 

The results also showed that people who improved their adherence to MIND over 10 years (including those who didn’t follow the diet closely at first) had a 25% lower risk of dementia compared to those whose adherence declined. This trend was consistent across different ages and racial groups.

 

Researchers said that differences in dietary patterns and preferences among racial and ethnic groups could play a role in the variation they observed in the dementia-diet relationship. Since Asian Americans also experience lower rates of dementia than other groups, it is possible that the MIND diet may not reflect the advantages of diets that are more common among this population. Park said that further studies could help to clarify these patterns and added that interventional studies would be needed to verify cause and effect since the study was based on observational data.