What you eat may show up in your brain scans. A long-running study of 1,647 adults found that people who followed the MIND diet more closely lost brain tissue more slowly as they aged.
What the study found
- Every 3-point increase in a person’s MIND diet score was linked to slower loss of gray matter – roughly equal to 2.5 years less brain aging.
- Eating more berries and poultry was linked to slower enlargement of the brain’s fluid-filled spaces (a sign of shrinkage).
- Eating more sweets was linked to faster shrinkage, including in the hippocampus, an area important for memory.
- The links were strongest in people who were older, physically active and not obese.
Participants were on average 60 when the study began and had MRI brain scans every few years, with an average follow-up of 12 years. They were part of the long-running Framingham Heart Study in the US.
What is the MIND diet?
It blends the Mediterranean diet with the DASH diet for blood pressure, with a focus on foods linked to brain health.
- Eat more: leafy greens, other vegetables, berries, nuts, whole grains, fish, beans, olive oil and poultry.
- Eat less: butter and margarine, cheese, red meat, pastries and sweets, and fried or fast food.
The catch
This was an observational study. It shows a link, not proof that the diet caused the slower brain aging – people who eat this way may differ in other ways too. It also relied on people remembering what they ate. Still, the foods involved are ones most health advice already recommends.
This article is for general information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before making big changes to your diet.