All You Need to Know about the MIND Diet
First thing I thought of when I read about this diet is hopefully the MIND diet will help me remember where I put stuff. I suffer from CRS, can’t remember shizz. Maybe because I’m getting older and this is what happens. Or maybe because my head is constantly steps ahead of body and I’m never in the moment. Know what I mean?
Of course, then I wonder about Alzheimer’s or dementia. I do worry because my aunt had Alzheimer’s and my dad has minor dementia. Can this be me? If you have a close family member you know what I’m talking about. Any little signs of thoughtlessness, sends us down that rabbit hole of self-awareness when it comes to remembering things or events.
What is the MIND diet?
It is actually a combination of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet with MIND being the acronym for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurogentative Delay. Now this “diet” isn’t what we would normally call a diet for weight loss but rather a way of eating. For example, I mainly eat chicken and vegetables and that is my diet or my food preference. Others may eat mostly fast food and that is their diet or food preference.
The MIND diet focuses foods which have been linked with brain health benefits and a reduced risk of dementia.
What foods are on the MIND diet?
6 servings or more of green leafy vegetables per week
5 servings or more of nuts per week
4 or more meals consisting of beans
3 or more servings a day of whole grains
2 or more servings of berries a week
2 or more servings of poultry per week'
1 or more servings of fish per week
1 or more servings a day of vegetables
Mainly Olive Oil
Unhealthy items to limit would be foods that are high in saturated and trans fat, less than 4 servings a week of beef, pork and lamb, less than a serving of cheese and fried foods and less than a tablespoon a day of butter or margarine.
What are the benefits of the MIND diet?
Slows age related cognitive decline
Older adults who followed the MIND diet experienced a slower decline in various aspects of cognitive function, including episodic memory, working memory, semantic memory, visuospatial ability and perceptual speed—over the course of five years, research shows.
Another study found that high adherence to the MIND diet was associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline over nearly six years among older adults who had a history of stroke.
Reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s
Research has found that while high adherence to the DASH diet, the Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet all appear to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease among older adults, even cases of just moderate adherence to the MIND diet is associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s.
May reduce the risk of Breast Cancer
A 2021 study in Clinical Breast Cancer found that women who closely adhered to the MIND diet had 60% lower odds of breast cancer compared to those who didn’t follow it closely.
Although the MIND diet is a relatively “new” diet, the origin of eating unprocessed food and more of a whole food way of eating goes back a long way. The Mediterranean Diet, which is considered the healthiest way of eating has already been proven.
For example, there are certain areas of the world called the Blue Zones. They are Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California and Icaria, Greece. In these zones, people are living longer and healthier lives.
Why are they living longer and healthier? They eat fresh, unprocessed food, exercise regularly, have a sense of community and get a good night’s sleep.
The basis of the MIND diet way of eating is that the main foods are full of antioxidants or anti-inflammatory foods. As just a reminder, when our body is inflamed, this is when the body remains in stress which in turn causes dis-ease.
What would a daily meal look like?
Sample Menu
Breakfast: Spinach omlette with whole wheat toast
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Grilled chicken, salad of various leafy greens and chick peas dressed with Olive Oil.
Dinner: Salmon with honey glaze and brown basmati rice
Sounds delicious, doesn’t it?
Eating healthy can be a way of eating for anyone. It seems as if working out and eating right are time consuming, especially for those of us who have full time jobs and kids in sports or activities. Even those of us who are just in a hurry all the time can forego the fast food or boxed food for healthier eating.
Why not get excited about getting your MIND and body into shape!
Challenge yourself to make the switch to eating healthier.
Get 30 days of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
>>>>>>>meals on text wheels<<<<<<<<
Salmon with rice and veggies
