Talk about a brain drain.
Several diets have been shown to have brain-boosting effects, from the Mediterranean diet’s gut-brain connection to reduced blood pressure effects from the DASH diet.
But one health food staple surprised researchers by being linked to faster cognitive decline, even despite being part of a popular and well-backed healthy diet.
A hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH eating plans, the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet has been shown to significantly reduce Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.
However, a decade-long study’s findings threw a wrench in the benefits of this nutritional powerhouse by discovering that whole grains unexpectedly were associated with a faster decline in some measures.
Published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, the study used repeated MRI scans of 1,647 adults who recorded all the foods they ate over the years.
Researchers used the responses to score each person’s MIND diet adherence on a scale of 0 to 15, with an average score of 6.8, or someone who eats salads most days but still indulges in fast food.
Those who scored higher on the MIND diet showed significantly slower loss of gray matter, the brain tissue that’s responsible for processing sensory information, muscle control and decision-making.
While berries and poultry were largely responsible for this positive effect, whole grains like oats and brown rice, as well as cheese (a food that’s not part of the MIND diet), showed somewhat faster declines in grey matter.
These findings came about when the researchers looked at individual diet components, meaning that it’s not a firm conclusion that these foods are a cause of cognitive decline and could reflect other habits of those who eat more cheese or grains.
Rather, this discovery warrants further research.
Previous research, though, has shown the MIND diet — which focuses on leafy greens, berries, nuts and olive oil — to have many positive brain benefits mainly by lowering high blood pressure.
This effect can increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain, reducing the risk of brain cell damage and Alzheimer’s.
Studies have shown that those who followed the diet were shown to have an overall 9% reduced risk of dementia.
And the longer people adhered to the diet, the greater the reduction of risk, with those who followed the plan over a 10-year period having a 25% lower risk.
The combination of the overall health effects of the Mediterranean diet and the sodium-reduction of the DASH diet offers a one-two nutritional punch for better brain health.
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