Brain Food: More Evidence That What You Eat Affects Your Brain Health

By now, you know there’s a direct connection between the food that you eat and the state of your health as an older adult. Numerous studies and clinical insights have underscored the importance of food type, quality, and variety to give your body and brain the essential nutrients necessary to fuel a healthy aging lifestyle (and to avoid or lower your risk of age-associated illness). Whether it’s lowering your chance of heart disease or cancer, or improving your cognitive reserve, the food you eat is one of the essential factors in how healthy you are aging.

Two new research studies highlight the important connection between brain health and food intake. First comes research published in JAMA Neurology studying a connection between diet and cognitive functioning. Examining the health records of almost 160,000 people, researchers found that among 6 different healthy dietary patterns, those individuals most closely adhering to the DASH diet were able to lower their risk of cognitive decline by 41% compared to people who did not closely follow this diet (though other healthy diets also were associated with some level of reduced risk of cognitive decline). With its emphasis on lowering blood pressure and its inclusion of vegetables, nuts, lean protein, whole grains, and limited sugar and salt, the DASH diet had the greatest effect for lowering the risk for dementia, especially among those aged 45-54. For more on this study, stir fry some veggies and look here.

The second study examined the DASH diet together with the Mediterranean diet, which, in combination, is called the MIND diet. In this research, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, those following the MIND diet were regularly checked for health, questioned about their food intake, and given several MRI scans of their brains to consider the impact of this diet on brain health. There were about 1600 participants, with an average age of 60, who were followed for up to 12 years. Those who followed the MIND diet most closely (which was previously associated with better cognitive functioning) showed less brain tissue loss and slower brain structural changes compared to those not following the diet. In particular, they showed less loss of gray matter in their brains, the part of the brain associated with memory, thinking, and decision-making. The MIND diet emphasizes leafy green veggies, berries, nuts, whole grains, fish, beans, olive oil, and poultry, with limits on butter, cheese, red meat, sweets, and fried foods. Both the DASH and MIND diets are considered heart-healthy, and, as one expert commented, “This reinforces the idea that sustained, overall diet quality- and the cardiovascular health it supports- may be foundational to preserving brain health over time.” If either of these studies inspires you to step up your cooking to include healthier ingredients and recipes, take a look at some recent 5-star cookbooks for both the DASH and the MIND diets.

Nutrition experts don’t recommend you try to embrace a healthier eating style in one fell swoop. Rather, it’s advised that you slowly incorporate more vegetables, whole grains, plant proteins, and healthy fats. It’s recommended that you gradually swap out animal meats for plant-based foods, trying to introduce a plant-based food at each meal. If all of this sounds a bit confusing and challenging (after all, nutrition recommendations seem to change as often as the weather), it’s useful to know that heart-healthy diets and their benefits to body and brain have been around for many decades and undergone rigorous testing, so while more research on these diets continues, adopting their approaches to eating is generally accepted as part of a healthy aging lifestyle. Any other nutrition or food recommendations that you can bank on? A recent article in The Washington Post underscores a few battle-tested tips: Make sure your diet includes fiber; be mindful of the connection between salt and the risk of heart disease and stroke, and reduce the amount of saturated fat you consume to lower your LDL (bad cholesterol) and lessen your risk for heart disease. So file these under firm recommendations, and read more here.