Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow It WorksWhat to EatWhat to AvoidPotential BenefitsIs It Right for Me?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How It Works
What to Eat
What to Avoid
Potential Benefits
Is It Right for Me?
The MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) is a combination of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) diet. It was designed to protect brain health and is based on research findings about dementia.
The MIND diet is ideal for reducing brain function decline anddementiarisk as you age.
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How Does the MIND Diet Work?
Origin of the MIND Diet
The MIND diet encourages you to eat brain-healthy foods. It emphasizesplant-based foods, berries, and leafy green vegetables. It limits meat and foods high in saturated fats.
What About Wine?Red wine was originally included in the list of foods to eat on the MIND diet, but has since been removed for “safety reasons” as the effects of alcohol may vary based on personal or family history. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says including alcohol is a personal choice to be discussed with your healthcare provider.
What About Wine?
Red wine was originally included in the list of foods to eat on the MIND diet, but has since been removed for “safety reasons” as the effects of alcohol may vary based on personal or family history. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says including alcohol is a personal choice to be discussed with your healthcare provider.
Here is a list of approved foods to eat on the MIND diet:
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Can You Eat Eggs on the MIND Diet?Eggs are included in the Mediterranean and DASH diets, so they are also approved in the MIND diet. Research from 2021 shows eating eggs is associated with slower cognitive decline in healthy, older adults.
Can You Eat Eggs on the MIND Diet?
Eggs are included in the Mediterranean and DASH diets, so they are also approved in the MIND diet. Research from 2021 shows eating eggs is associated with slower cognitive decline in healthy, older adults.
Foods that arehigh in saturated and trans fatsshould be avoided on the MIND diet. Specific foods to avoid on the MIND diet are:
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Boosts Brain Health
The MIND diet has potential to boost brain health. In a small study from 2023 on adults between the ages of 28 and 40 (average age 34), closely following the MIND diet was associated with faster brain functioning, specifically, faster information processing.
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May Decrease Oxidative Stress and Inflammation
According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), diet impacts the body’s oxidative stress and inflammation levels.
Oxidative stress and inflammation are two underlying biological mechanisms inAlzheimer’s. Foods in the MIND diet provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant health benefits. These provide protective benefits that improve cellular metabolism, protecting protect against brain-based and other associated diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
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May Reduce Harmful Beta-Amyloid Proteins
According to the NIA, eating the MIND diet may also reduce or inhibit harmful beta-amyloid proteins that clump together, forming plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.Amyloid protein plaques interfere with healthy cell functioning, causing disruption.
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May Aid in Alzheimer’s and Dementia Prevention
The Memory and Aging Project found that the MIND diet may slow cognitive decline associated with aging.From the same experts, another study on the benefits of the MIND diet for reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
A small study from 2019 suggests the MIND diet is effective at preventing cognitive decline in people who have had astroke.Having a stroke significantly increases your risk of dementia. Research from the American Heart Association found dementia risk may triple in the first year after stroke, and remain elevated for the next 20 years.
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Is the MIND Diet Right for Me?
The MIND diet may be right for you, especially if you’re looking for ways to prevent Alzheimer’s or wondering how to prevent dementia. There is some research suggesting consuming brain-healthy foods may help reduce risk of these diseases.
However, there are other things to consider when making a lifestyle change as significant as changing your diet. These things include budget, preferences, and medications. For example, certain foods may interfere or interact with medications.If you are on medications for health conditions, consult with a healthcare provider or pharmacist before making significant diet changes.
Your Healthcare Team
Summary
Research suggests the MIND diet may help support brain health and reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia. The MIND diet emphasizes plant-based eating, focusing on vegetables, beans, nuts, berries, and olive oil for a fat, with limited red meat. Foods to avoid include those high in saturated fat and/or trans fat. Consider asking your healthcare provider if the MIND diet is right for you.
11 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT.MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging.Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(9):1015–1022. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Diet review—MIND diet.Liu X, Morris MC, Dhana K, Ventrelle J, Johnson K, Bishop L, Hollings CS, Boulin A, Laranjo N, Stubbs BJ, Reilly X, Carey VJ, Wang Y, Furtado JD, Marcovina SM, Tangney C, Aggarwal NT, Arfanakis K, Sacks FM, Barnes LL.Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) study: Rationale, design and baseline characteristics of a randomized control trial of the MIND diet on cognitive decline.Contemp Clin Trials.2021;102:106270. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2021.106270Lee GJ, Oda K, Morton KR, Orlich M, Sabate J.Egg intake moderates the rate of memory decline in healthy older adults.J Nutr Sci. 2021;10:e79. doi:10.1017/jns.2021.76Holthaus TA, Kashi M, Cannavale CN, Edwards CG, Aguiñaga S, Walk ADM, Burd NA, Holscher HD, Khan NA.MIND dietary pattern adherence is selectively associated with cognitive processing speed in middle-aged adults.J Nutr. 2023;152(12):2941-2949. doi:10.1093/jn/nxac203National Institute on Aging.What do we know about diet and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease?National Institute on Aging.What happens to the brain in Alzheimer’s disease?Clare Morris M, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT.MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2015;11(9):1007-1014. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.009Cherian L, Wang Y, Fakuda K, Leurgans S, Aggarwal N, Morris M.Mediterranean-Dash intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diet slows cognitive decline after stroke.J Prev Alzheimers Dis.2019;6(4):267-273. doi:10.14283/jpad.2019.28Joundi RA, Fang J, Yu AY, Austin P, Smith, EE, Ganesh A, Sposato L, Hachinski V, Sharma M, Kapral MK.Risk and time-course of post-stroke dementia: a population-wide cohort study, 2002-2022.Stroke.2024;55:Suppl_1. doi:10.1161/str.55.suppl_1.67American Heart Association.Medication interactions: Food, supplements and other drugs.
11 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT.MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging.Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(9):1015–1022. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Diet review—MIND diet.Liu X, Morris MC, Dhana K, Ventrelle J, Johnson K, Bishop L, Hollings CS, Boulin A, Laranjo N, Stubbs BJ, Reilly X, Carey VJ, Wang Y, Furtado JD, Marcovina SM, Tangney C, Aggarwal NT, Arfanakis K, Sacks FM, Barnes LL.Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) study: Rationale, design and baseline characteristics of a randomized control trial of the MIND diet on cognitive decline.Contemp Clin Trials.2021;102:106270. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2021.106270Lee GJ, Oda K, Morton KR, Orlich M, Sabate J.Egg intake moderates the rate of memory decline in healthy older adults.J Nutr Sci. 2021;10:e79. doi:10.1017/jns.2021.76Holthaus TA, Kashi M, Cannavale CN, Edwards CG, Aguiñaga S, Walk ADM, Burd NA, Holscher HD, Khan NA.MIND dietary pattern adherence is selectively associated with cognitive processing speed in middle-aged adults.J Nutr. 2023;152(12):2941-2949. doi:10.1093/jn/nxac203National Institute on Aging.What do we know about diet and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease?National Institute on Aging.What happens to the brain in Alzheimer’s disease?Clare Morris M, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT.MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2015;11(9):1007-1014. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.009Cherian L, Wang Y, Fakuda K, Leurgans S, Aggarwal N, Morris M.Mediterranean-Dash intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diet slows cognitive decline after stroke.J Prev Alzheimers Dis.2019;6(4):267-273. doi:10.14283/jpad.2019.28Joundi RA, Fang J, Yu AY, Austin P, Smith, EE, Ganesh A, Sposato L, Hachinski V, Sharma M, Kapral MK.Risk and time-course of post-stroke dementia: a population-wide cohort study, 2002-2022.Stroke.2024;55:Suppl_1. doi:10.1161/str.55.suppl_1.67American Heart Association.Medication interactions: Food, supplements and other drugs.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT.MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging.Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(9):1015–1022. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Diet review—MIND diet.Liu X, Morris MC, Dhana K, Ventrelle J, Johnson K, Bishop L, Hollings CS, Boulin A, Laranjo N, Stubbs BJ, Reilly X, Carey VJ, Wang Y, Furtado JD, Marcovina SM, Tangney C, Aggarwal NT, Arfanakis K, Sacks FM, Barnes LL.Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) study: Rationale, design and baseline characteristics of a randomized control trial of the MIND diet on cognitive decline.Contemp Clin Trials.2021;102:106270. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2021.106270Lee GJ, Oda K, Morton KR, Orlich M, Sabate J.Egg intake moderates the rate of memory decline in healthy older adults.J Nutr Sci. 2021;10:e79. doi:10.1017/jns.2021.76Holthaus TA, Kashi M, Cannavale CN, Edwards CG, Aguiñaga S, Walk ADM, Burd NA, Holscher HD, Khan NA.MIND dietary pattern adherence is selectively associated with cognitive processing speed in middle-aged adults.J Nutr. 2023;152(12):2941-2949. doi:10.1093/jn/nxac203National Institute on Aging.What do we know about diet and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease?National Institute on Aging.What happens to the brain in Alzheimer’s disease?Clare Morris M, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT.MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2015;11(9):1007-1014. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.009Cherian L, Wang Y, Fakuda K, Leurgans S, Aggarwal N, Morris M.Mediterranean-Dash intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diet slows cognitive decline after stroke.J Prev Alzheimers Dis.2019;6(4):267-273. doi:10.14283/jpad.2019.28Joundi RA, Fang J, Yu AY, Austin P, Smith, EE, Ganesh A, Sposato L, Hachinski V, Sharma M, Kapral MK.Risk and time-course of post-stroke dementia: a population-wide cohort study, 2002-2022.Stroke.2024;55:Suppl_1. doi:10.1161/str.55.suppl_1.67American Heart Association.Medication interactions: Food, supplements and other drugs.
Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT.MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging.Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(9):1015–1022. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Diet review—MIND diet.
Liu X, Morris MC, Dhana K, Ventrelle J, Johnson K, Bishop L, Hollings CS, Boulin A, Laranjo N, Stubbs BJ, Reilly X, Carey VJ, Wang Y, Furtado JD, Marcovina SM, Tangney C, Aggarwal NT, Arfanakis K, Sacks FM, Barnes LL.Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) study: Rationale, design and baseline characteristics of a randomized control trial of the MIND diet on cognitive decline.Contemp Clin Trials.2021;102:106270. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2021.106270
Lee GJ, Oda K, Morton KR, Orlich M, Sabate J.Egg intake moderates the rate of memory decline in healthy older adults.J Nutr Sci. 2021;10:e79. doi:10.1017/jns.2021.76
Holthaus TA, Kashi M, Cannavale CN, Edwards CG, Aguiñaga S, Walk ADM, Burd NA, Holscher HD, Khan NA.MIND dietary pattern adherence is selectively associated with cognitive processing speed in middle-aged adults.J Nutr. 2023;152(12):2941-2949. doi:10.1093/jn/nxac203
National Institute on Aging.What do we know about diet and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease?
National Institute on Aging.What happens to the brain in Alzheimer’s disease?
Clare Morris M, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT.MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2015;11(9):1007-1014. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.009
Cherian L, Wang Y, Fakuda K, Leurgans S, Aggarwal N, Morris M.Mediterranean-Dash intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diet slows cognitive decline after stroke.J Prev Alzheimers Dis.2019;6(4):267-273. doi:10.14283/jpad.2019.28
Joundi RA, Fang J, Yu AY, Austin P, Smith, EE, Ganesh A, Sposato L, Hachinski V, Sharma M, Kapral MK.Risk and time-course of post-stroke dementia: a population-wide cohort study, 2002-2022.Stroke.2024;55:Suppl_1. doi:10.1161/str.55.suppl_1.67
American Heart Association.Medication interactions: Food, supplements and other drugs.
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