Research Highlights Link Between the Mind Diet and Cognitive Performance

(Newswire.net — September 20, 2022) Orlando, FL — Research studies looking into the various aspects of brain health continue to increase. Time and again researchers suggest that making dietary and lifestyle improvements is vital for brain health improvement and protection.

A study shows that the MIND diet is associated with better cognitive performance. The investigators have particularly revealed that diet may contribute to cognitive resilience in the elderly. 

It is worth noting that aging has long been known to take a toll on the body and mind. For instance, the tissue of aging human brains may be susceptible to abnormal clumping of proteins. This is alarming considering that it is considered a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center who carried out the study have shown that older adults may actually benefit from the MIND diet, despite already developing these protein deposits called amyloid plaques and tangles. 

Experts suggest that plaques and tangles are a pathology present in the brain that builds up in between nerve cells. They have been found to typically interfere with thinking and problem-solving skills. 

The late Martha Clare Morris, ScD, who was a Rush nutritional epidemiologist, and her colleagues, developed the MIND diet is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets.

In previous studies, it has been found that the MIND diet may actually lessen one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease dementia.

This study reveals that the subjects who followed the MIND diet moderately did not have cognition problems later in life.

The findings of this interesting study were published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

“Some people have enough plaques and tangles in their brains to have a postmortem diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, but they do not develop clinical dementia in their lifetime,” said Klodian Dhana, MD, Ph.D.

Dhana is the lead author of the paper and an assistant professor in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at Rush Medical College.

“Some can maintain cognitive function despite the accumulation of these pathologies in the brain, and our study suggests that the MIND diet is associated with better cognitive functions independently of brain pathologies related to Alzheimer’s disease.”

Dietary changes have long been known to be extremely beneficial for brain health. Today, experts are increasingly looking into the impacts of consuming healthy foods in warding off diseases affecting the brain. 

There are also supplements like Divine Bounty Lion’s Mane that could be an excellent addition to a brain-enhancing diet. (www.amazon.com/Organic-Lions-Mane-Mushroom-Capsules/dp/B07LGR1KN7).