Three Types Of Nutrition For Brain Health

In order to maintain cognitive abilities at a high level, it is necessary not only to train mental abilities, but also to eat properly. There are three diets that will make you smarter. Mediterranean, DASH and MIND - what do we know about them?

In order to maintain cognitive abilities at a high level, it is necessary not only to train mental abilities, but also to eat properly. There are three diets that will make you smarter. Mediterranean, DASH and MIND - what do we know about them?

Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet is a type of diet characteristic of the Mediterranean region. Greece, Turkey, Italy, Cyprus, Spain, the south of France follow the Mediterranean diet. They talked about it in the 1990s, after the American scientist Ansel Case published an article about the diet of the inhabitants of southern Italy. Since then, the Mediterranean diet has gained more and more supporters in different countries.

It contains many products with a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids (a lot of them in olive oil) and omega-3 fatty acids (a lot of them in fish and nuts). In addition, this type of nutrition is characterized by the consumption of a large amount of fresh vegetables and fruits, red wine. But dairy products and red meat are rarely consumed, although they are not completely abandoned.

To date, scientists have established that the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, protects the human body from type 2 diabetes and cancer, and even increases life expectancy. For example, Canadian scientists from the University of Toronto, in their article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, claim that products included in the diet of Mediterranean residents improve the condition of people with type 2 diabetes, and also reduce the risk development of coronary heart disease.

 

In turn, scientists from the University of Wisconsin believe that the Mediterranean diet reduces inflammation and oxidative stress in the elderly. Thus, it reduces the risk of developing senile dementia and impaired cognitive abilities of the brain. These conclusions were made as a result of comparing the health and diet of several tens of thousands of people from Italy and the USA.

 

American scientists from Columbia University concluded that a diet similar to the Mediterranean diet slows down the process of brain cell death, which is characteristic of older people. If an elderly person follows a Mediterranean diet for seven months, the amount of gray matter in the brain will be about 5 mm larger than that of people who prefer, for example, American food.

The Dash Diet

 

The DASH diet (Dietary Approach to the Treatment of Hypertension) was developed by the Americans in the early 1990s. In 1997, its clinical trials ended, and since then it has been successfully used in the treatment of patients with hypertension.

DASH is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, whole grains, lean meats, nuts, and low-fat dairy products.

As you know, hypertension worsens the condition of blood vessels in the brain, which is one of the factors that lead to Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, lowering blood pressure with the DASH diet protects the human brain.

 

In 2013, a team of scientists from Rush University (Chicago) came to the conclusion that if elderly people follow the DASH diet (eating a lot of vegetables, legumes, nuts, and avoiding saturated fats), then the process of cognitive decline in the brain slows down. This conclusion was made as a result of an analysis of the diet and the state of the brain in 818 people who did not suffer from dementia.

 

"There are some foods that slow down the deterioration of our brain's cognitive abilities. These include, for example, vegetables, nuts, legumes. There are, of course, other useful products. One of the main conditions for maintaining a healthy brain is to avoid foods with saturated fats," says Claire Morris of Rush University.

The MIND diet

 

MIND is a hybrid diet that combines elements of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet. There is convincing evidence that it has a very beneficial effect on human cognitive abilities.

The MIND diet appeared only a few years ago. In 2015, the medical journal A&D published an article in which it was claimed that this diet reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, even if it is not strictly followed. In particular, it reduced the risk of senile dementia by more than 50% in those who followed it, and by more than 30% in those who followed it moderately.

When creating the MIND diet, we took into account which foods are most useful for the human brain. It contains the following components: green leafy vegetables and young cabbage, fruits and berries (blueberries!), chicken and turkey, whole grain bread, nuts, fish, wine, olive oil, vegetables.

Among the "unhealthy foods" of the MIND diet is butter. It should be consumed less than one tablespoon per day. Fried food can be eaten only once a week. Otherwise, there will be no benefit from the diet and your brain's cognitive abilities will deteriorate faster than genetically programmed.