In the short time since the MIND Diet was introduced in 2015, a steady stream of research has demonstrated a strong relationship between MIND Diet nutrition, better cognitive function, and reduced risk for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

For those who would like to dig deeper into the science of brain nutrition and the MIND Diet, here is a list of important, peer reviewed research papers.

1- Mind Diet Slows Cognitive Decline With Aging

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4581900/

This was the first study to suggest that MIND diet foods substantially slows cognitive decline with age. In this study, Martha Clare Morris and her team created the MIND Diet score that captures the dietary components shown to be neuroprotective and related it to change in cognition. The study lasted almost 5 years and included 960 participants.

In adjusted mixed models, the MIND score was positively associated with slower decline in a global cognitive score and with each of 5 cognitive domains; perceptual-motor function, learning and memory, executive function, language, and social cognition. The difference in decline rates for being in the top tertile of MIND diet scores versus the lowest was equivalent to being 7.5 years younger in age.

2 - Mind Diet Associated With Reduced Incidence Of Alzheimer’s Disease

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25681666/

While the first study was able to find an association between diet and cognitive decline, this second study looked for an association between nutrition and Alzheimer's disease (AD) specifically. Like the first study, this study investigated the diet-AD relationship among 923 participants, ages 58 to 98 years from the first study.

The data revealed that strong adherence to the MIND diet may reduce AD risk by 53%. Even moderate adherence to the MIND diet may also decrease AD risk.

3 - Mind Diet Associated With Reduced Incidence And Delayed Progression Of Parkinsonism In Old Age

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30498828/

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease that has many similarities to Alzheimer’s Disease. In this study, the authors examined the association between MIND Diet and the incidence and progression of parkinsonism in older adults.

A total of 706 participants aged 59 -97 years were assessed annually for the presence of four parkinsonian signs using a 26-item modified version of the United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Incident parkinsonism was defined as the first occurrence over 4.6 years of follow-up of two or more parkinsonian signs.

The study found that higher MIND Diet adherence scores were associated with a decreased risk of parkinsonism and a slower rate of parkinsonism progression. The conclusion was that the MIND Diet created for brain health may be associated with decreased risk of Parkinson’s Disease and a slower rate of neurodegeneration.

4- Nutrients and bioactives in green leafy vegetables and cognitive decline: Prospective study

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29263222/

This study investigated the individual association between cognitive decline and the primary nutrients and bioactives in green leafy vegetables, including vitamin K (phylloquinone), lutein, β-carotene, nitrate, folate, kaempferol, and α-tocopherol. While this is not specifically a MIND Diet study, leafy green vegetables are a key component of MIND Diet

The study found that green leafy vegetables are associated with slower cognitive decline. The decline rate for those in the highest quintile of leafy green intake (median 1.3 servings per day) was much slower. This was the equivalent of being 11 years younger in age. The rates for the highest vs the lowest quintiles of intake were 1.) phylloquinone, 2.) lutein, 3.) folate, 4.) α-tocopherol, 5.) nitrate, 6.) kaempferol, and 7.) β-carotene.

Consumption of approximately 1 serving per day of green leafy vegetables and foods rich in bioactive compounds may help to slow cognitive decline with aging.

5- Neuroprotective Diets Are Associated With Better Cognitive Function: The Health And Retirement Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5633651/

This study was a large nationally representative study conducted among 5,907 older adults. The mean age of participants was 68 ± 10.8 years. Adherence to dietary patterns was determined from food frequency questionnaires to generate MIND diet scores. Cognitive performance was measured using a composite test score of global cognitive function (range 0–27). The results were adjusted for age, gender, race, educational attainment and other health and lifestyle covariates.

Compared to those with low MIND Diet scores, participants with mid and high score were less likely to have poor cognitive performance. Higher MIND Diet score were independently associated with significantly better cognitive function. In conclusion, greater adherence to the MIND diet was independently associated with better cognitive function and lower risk of cognitive impairment.

6- Mind Not Mediterranean Related To The 12-year Incidence Of Cognitive Impairment In An Australian Longitudinal Cohort Study

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30826160/

This study investigated MIND and Mediterranean diets over a 12 year span to determine the association between these diets and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.

The authors measured MIND Diet and Mediterranean diet adherence through the use of a food frequency questionnaire. Higher dietary scores indicated greater diet adherence.

The results showed that the MIND Diet, but not Mediterranean diet, was associated with reduced odds of 12-year cognitive impairment. This strongly suggests that neuroprotective effects of the MIND Diet are generalizable to a larger population.

7- The Effect of Healthy Diet on Cognitive Performance Among Healthy Seniors – A Mini Review

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7433394/

This mini review evaluates and describes recent randomized clinical and cohort studies exploring the effect of healthy diet like the MIND Diet on cognitive performance among adults, as well as to update the existing information on this research issue.

The authors reviewed full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles available in Web of Science and PubMed between September 2017 and February 2020. Altogether nine original studies were included.

The results indicate that a healthy diet like the MIND Diet and healthy diet components have a positive impact on cognitive functions. Furthermore, the findings reveal this type of dietary pattern, as well as some single nutrients might have a significant effect on specific cognitive domains, such as memory in general, episodic memory, or processing speed.

Furthermore, the findings reveal that healthy diet and healthy diet components might have effects on specific cognitive domains, such as memory in general, episodic memory, or processing speed (Kuroda et al., 2019)

8- Dietary flavonols and risk of Alzheimer dementia

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31996451/

The study was conducted among 921 participants of the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP), an ongoing community-based, prospective cohort. Participants completed annual neurologic evaluations and dietary assessments using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Among 921 participants who initially had no dementia in the analyzed sample, 220 developed Alzheimer dementia. The analysis showed that dietary intake of flavonols were inversely associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Those with the highest intake of flavonols had the lowest risk for Alzheimer’s Disease. The flavonols with the greatest positive effect were, kaempferol, myricetin, and isorhamnetin. Quercetin was not associated with Alzheimer dementia.

The conclusion is that higher dietary intakes of flavonols may be associated with reduced risk of developing Alzheimer dementia. The important point is that the MIND Diet is, by design, high in flavonols.

9- Long-term Dietary Flavonoid Intake and Subjective Cognitive Decline in US Men and Women

https://n.neurology.org/content/97/10/e1041

The goal of this research was to look for an association between long-term dietary flavonoid intact and subjective cognitive decline (SCD). This was a very large study that followed 49,493 women and 27,842 men from 2012 to 2014.

Specifically, the researchers evaluated the association between dietary flavonoids (flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, anthocyanins, polymeric flavonoids, and proanthocyanidins) and Subjective Cognitive Decline.

The results show that higher intake of total flavonoids was associated with lower odds of SCD. In the pooled results, the strongest associations were observed for flavones, flavanones, and anthocyanins. Positive correlations were strongest for flavones, followed by anthocyanins. Their findings support a benefit of higher flavonoid intakes provided by MIND Diet foods for maintaining cognitive function in US men and women.

10 - MIND Diet, Common Brain Pathologies, and Cognition in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34334393/

The objective of this research was to examine whether the association of the MIND Diet with cognition is independent of neurodegenerative disease. In other words, does the MIND Diet improve cognitive function regardless of its impact on dementia.

A series of regression analyses were used to examine associations of the MIND diet, dementia-related brain pathologies, and global cognition adjusting for age, sex, education, APOEɛ4, late-life cognitive activities, and total energy intake.

The results showed that a higher MIND diet score was associated with better global cognitive functioning and neither the strength nor the significance of association changed substantially when AD pathology and other brain pathologies were included in the model.

The authors found that a higher MIND diet score was associated with better memory and thinking skills. The conclusion was that MIND diet is associated with better cognitive functioning independently of common brain pathology, suggesting that the MIND diet may contribute to cognitive resilience.

About Good Thinking Foods

The goal for Good Thinking Foods is to provide people with proven brain nutrition in an easy to eat snack form. It’s our hope that by providing brain healthy food in a convenient and affordable form, we can help reduce the rate of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases for millions of people around the world.