Although several genes have been associated with Alzheimer’s disease, a growing body of research is showing that lifestyle factors, including your diet, can significantly influence your risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported on the MIND diet, the latest in the arsenal for improving how your brain ages.
Developed by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet borrows elements from the heart healthy Mediterranean diet and the blood pressure lowering DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet.
When tested in 923 participants from the ongoing Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP) who were age 58 to 98 years, the MIND diet lowered the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 53% in participants who strictly adhered to the diet, and about 35% in those who followed it moderately for an average of 4.5 years.
Benefitting from the MIND diet
The MIND diet is rich in natural plant-based foods and is low in animal and high saturated fat foods. While it overlaps with the Mediterranean dietary pattern, which I recommend and at least do my best to follow, it is unique in its emphasis on “brain-healthy” foods. In particular, it specifies berries rather than high fruit consumption and green leafy vegetables, among other foods associated with neuroprotection.
Here are its four main benefits:
1. It can help counter one of the greatest fears of growing older. Based on a national poll, Americans fear losing their mental capacity twice as often as declining physical ability (62% vs. 29%). The MIND diet, in addition to possibly preventing Alzheimer’s dementia, may slow the rate your mental capacities decline as you grow older. In a separate study, the Rush research group found that participants who were able to stick closely to the MIND diet had a slower rate of cognitive decline—the equivalent to 7.5 years of younger age—compared to participants who were least able to follow it.
2. You don’t have to strictly follow the MIND diet to reduce your risk of dementia. In this study, even though participants found the Mediterranean diet easier to follow (57% were able to adhere to it compared to 49% with the MIND diet), the Mediterranean diet reduced risk of Alzheimer’s only when participants followed it closely. Since closely following any pattern of eating can be difficult, an advantage of the MIND diet is that even if you do a pretty good, but not perfect, job sticking with it, you may still reduce your risk of dementia.
Here is how the MIND diet works. It contains 15 dietary components, including 10 “brain healthy foods”, and 5 unhealthy foods. By following it, you are really following a pattern of eating rather than a diet per se.
FOODS TO INCLUDE
Green leafy ≥ 6/week
Other vegetables ≥ 1/day
Nuts ≥ 5/week
Berries ≥ 2/week
Beans > 3/week
Whole grains ≥ 3/day
Fish ≥ 1/week
Poultry ≥ 2/week
Olive Oil as primary oil
FOODS TO AVOID
Red meat and products < 4/week
Butter and stick margarine < 1T/day
Pastries and sweets < 5/week
Fried or fast food < 1/week
You get a point for each do or don’t. When the participants in this MIND study were able to follow eight and a half to twelve and a half of the components, they were observed to have a 53 percent reduction in their risk of Alzheimer’s. However, participants that followed seven to eight of the fifteen components were still observed to have a 35 percent reduction in their risk of Alzheimer’s dementia
3. Being plant based, the MIND diet may benefit your heart as well as your brain. There are many studies that link a mostly plant based dietary pattern, such as Mediterranean style diet, to protecting against hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The benefit plant-based foods have on health is likely attributable to them being high in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids relative to pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids, rich in protective antioxidants and soluble fiber, and low in refined carbohydrates. The American Heart Association recommends a pro-vegetarian, or plant-based diet for heart health.
Plant-based diets such as the MIND diet may help brain health not only by improving circulatory and general health but may have two other distinct advantages:
4. An ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure. Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s dementia and the drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s have limited benefit in slowing progression of the disease. Being biased as a primary care, preventive medicine doctor, I think any effort towards preventing, or at least postponing the onset of dementia, will improve your quality of life as you grow older.
The caveat is that the current studies on the MIND diet are observational rather than controlled trials—which means they can show an association with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s but don’t prove that the MIND causes a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s. The type of large scale randomized interventional studies needed to prove a causal link between diet and brain health are notoriously difficult to carry out (think of how hard it would be to get participants to strictly adhere to a dietary plan for years) and may never become available. Many large studies show a plant based diet effectively lowers cardiovascular risk. It is not surprising that a newer group of studies on brain health are showing the same benefit.
“Following the Mediterranean-like MIND diet may help you protect against Alzheimer’s” (Click to tweet)
Putting knowledge to action
Alzheimer’s disease is increasing in epidemic numbers. As we live longer, the World Health Organization expects the number of cases of Alzheimer’s dementia worldwide to double by 2030 (65.7 million) and more than triple by 2050 (115.4 million). Your best defense may be using the power of food, as part of a larger healthy lifestyle, to protect your brain health.
Ingawa jeni kadhaa zimehusishwa na ugonjwa wa Alzheimer, utafiti unaoongezeka unaonyesha kwamba mambo ya mtindo wa maisha, ikiwa ni pamoja na lishe yako, yanaweza kuathiri sana hatari yako ya kuugua ugonjwa wa Alzheimer. Gazeti la Wall Street Journal limeripoti juu ya lishe ya akili, ambayo ni moja ya njia za kuimarisha umri wa ubongo. "Kulingana na utafiti wa Rush University Medical Center huko Chicago, ""Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay"" (MIND) ni mkakati wa kupunguza shinikizo la damu na kupunguza shinikizo la damu kwa kutumia njia za chakula." Katika utafiti uliofanywa na washiriki 923 wa Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP) wenye umri wa miaka 58-98, chakula cha Mind Diet kilipunguza hatari ya ugonjwa wa Alzheimer kwa asilimia 53 kwa wale walioshikamana kabisa na chakula hicho na asilimia 35 kwa wale waliochukua kwa wastani wa miaka 4.5. Kwa sababu ya lishe ya akili, lishe ya akili ni tajiri katika vyakula vya asili vya mimea na ni chini katika chakula cha wanyama na chakula cha mafuta mengi. Ingawa inalingana na mtindo wa chakula cha Mediterania, ambao ninapendekeza na angalau ninafanya kila niwezalo kufuata, ni ya kipekee katika msisitizo wake juu ya vyakula vyenye afya ya ubongo. Kwa mfano, inataja matunda badala ya matumizi ya matunda na mboga za majani ya kijani, miongoni mwa vyakula vingine vinavyohusiana na neuroprotection. Hapa kuna faida zake nne kuu: 1. Hii inaweza kusaidia kukabiliana na moja ya hofu kubwa ya kuzeeka. Kulingana na utafiti wa utafiti wa utafiti wa utafiti wa utafiti, watu wa Marekani wanaogopa kupoteza uwezo wao wa akili mara mbili zaidi ya kupoteza uwezo wao wa kimwili (62% dhidi ya 29%). Chakula cha akili, pamoja na uwezekano wa kuzuia dementia ya Alzheimer, inaweza kupunguza kiwango cha uwezo wako wa akili kupungua unapozeeka. Katika utafiti tofauti, kikundi cha utafiti cha Rush kiligundua kuwa washiriki ambao waliweza kushikamana kwa karibu na lishe ya akili walikuwa na kiwango cha polepole cha kupungua kwa utambuzi - sawa na miaka 7.5 ya umri mdogo - ikilinganishwa na washiriki ambao hawakuweza kuifuata. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata Si lazima ufuate kwa ukali mlo wa MIND ili kupunguza hatari yako ya ugonjwa wa akili. Katika utafiti huu, ingawa washiriki walipata lishe ya Mediterania rahisi kufuata (57% waliweza kuifuata ikilinganishwa na 49% na lishe ya MIND), lishe ya Mediterania ilipunguza hatari ya ugonjwa wa Alzheimer tu wakati washiriki waliifuata kwa karibu. Kwa kuwa kufuata kwa karibu mfuatano wowote wa kula kunaweza kuwa ngumu, faida ya lishe ya akili ni kwamba hata ikiwa unafanya kazi nzuri, lakini sio kamilifu, ukiendelea nayo, bado unaweza kupunguza hatari yako ya dementia. Hapa ni jinsi MENYI chakula kazi. "Kati ya vyakula vyenye afya, ""Vyakula 10 vya Ubongo"" na ""Vyakula 5 visivyo vya afya"" vimeorodheshwa." Kwa kuifuata, kwa kweli unafuata mtindo wa kula badala ya mlo wa kawaida. ODS: Green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy, green leafy Wakati washiriki katika utafiti huu wa MIND waliweza kufuata vipengele nane na nusu hadi kumi na mbili na nusu, walionekana kuwa na upungufu wa asilimia 53 katika hatari yao ya ugonjwa wa Alzheimer. Hata hivyo, washiriki waliochukua vipengele saba hadi nane kati ya kumi na tano bado walionekana kuwa na kupunguzwa kwa asilimia 35 katika hatari yao ya dementia ya Alzheimer. Kwa kuwa chakula cha MIND ni cha mimea, kinaweza kuwa na manufaa kwa moyo wako na pia kwa ubongo wako. Kuna utafiti mwingi unaounganisha mtindo wa chakula cha mimea, kama vile chakula cha mtindo wa Mediterania, na ulinzi dhidi ya shinikizo la damu, unene, ugonjwa wa moyo na sukari. Kwa kweli, faida ya vyakula vya mimea kwa afya ni uwezekano wa kuwa na asidi nyingi za mafuta ya omega-3 ya kupambana na uvimbe ikilinganishwa na asidi nyingi za mafuta za omega-6 za kuchochea uvimbe, zenye antioxidants za kinga na nyuzi zinazoweza kuyeyuka, na chini ya wanga uliosafishwa. Shirika la Moyo la Marekani hupendekeza kula mboga tu, au vyakula vinavyotokana na mimea, ili moyo uwe na afya. Chakula cha mimea kama vile chakula cha MIND kinaweza kusaidia afya ya ubongo sio tu kwa kuboresha mzunguko wa damu na afya ya jumla lakini inaweza kuwa na faida nyingine mbili tofauti: Huenda hatua moja ya kuzuia ikawa na matokeo mazuri. Kwa sasa, hakuna tiba ya dementia ya Alzheimer na dawa zinazotumiwa kutibu Alzheimer zina faida ndogo katika kupunguza maendeleo ya ugonjwa huo. Kama daktari wa matibabu ya msingi, nadhani juhudi yoyote ya kuzuia, au angalau kuahirisha, mwanzo wa dementia, itaboresha ubora wako wa maisha unapozeeka. Uhakika ni kwamba masomo ya sasa juu ya lishe ya akili ni uchunguzi badala ya majaribio yaliyotengwa - ambayo inamaanisha wanaweza kuonyesha uhusiano na hatari iliyopunguzwa ya Alzheimer's lakini hawaonyeshi kwamba akili husababisha hatari iliyopunguzwa ya Alzheimer's. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, aina ya utafiti mkubwa wa uingiliaji wa nasibu unaohitajika kuthibitisha uhusiano wa kisababishi kati ya lishe na afya ya ubongo ni ngumu sana kutekeleza (fikiria jinsi ingekuwa ngumu kupata washiriki kushikamana kabisa na mpango wa lishe kwa miaka) na inaweza kamwe kuwa inapatikana.""" Uchunguzi mkubwa unaonyesha kwamba kula vyakula vyenye mimea hupunguza hatari ya ugonjwa wa moyo. Haishangazi kwamba kikundi kipya cha masomo juu ya afya ya ubongo kinaonyesha manufaa yaleyale. "Kufanya chakula cha ""Mediterranean-like MIND"" kunaweza kukusaidia kujilinda dhidi ya ugonjwa wa Alzheimer's, na kwa hivyo, kwa sababu ya kuenea kwa ugonjwa huo, kuna uwezekano mkubwa wa kuenea kwa ugonjwa huo." Kwa mujibu wa WHO, idadi ya watu wenye ugonjwa wa akili wa Alzheimer's duniani kote itazidi mara mbili kufikia mwaka 2030 (milioni 65.7) na zaidi ya mara tatu kufikia mwaka 2050. "Kila mtu anaweza kutumia nguvu ya chakula kama sehemu ya maisha ya afya ili kulinda afya ya ubongo."""