People who eat certain type of diet are at low risk for dementia, research shows

Certain foods may feed the brain better than others.New research presented this week at NUTRITION 2025, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition in Orlando, Florida, found that the MIND diet is particularly beneficial for cognitive health.People who followed the MIND eating plan — which stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay — were “significantly less likely” to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, according to a press release from the American Society for Nutrition.MIND is a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), the latter of which is designed to reduce blood pressure.The diet focuses on “brain-healthy foods” like leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts, and olive oil.“The MIND diet is unique as the first eating plan focused on foods to specifically improve and support cognitive health,” Lauren Harris-Pincus, registered dietitian nutritionist and founder of NutritionStarringYOU.com and author of “The Everything Easy Pre-Diabetes Cookbook,” told Fox News Digital. The plant-focused MIND diet highlights 10 types of food, including berries, leafy greens, veggies, whole grains, nuts and seeds, beans, legumes, seafood, poultry, and olive oil, according to Harris-Pincus, who was not involved in the research. “These focus foods contain nutrients that play a critical role in supporting brain health, including flavonoids, carotenoids, B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids (especially DHA), choline, and minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium,” she said.“The diet also suggests limiting foods such as pastries, refined sugar, red meat, cheese, fried foods, fast food, and butter or margarine.”Researchers from the University of Hawaii analyzed data from nearly 93,000 U.S.adults who reported their dietary habits during the 1990s as part of the Multiethnic Cohort Study.At the start of the study, participants ranged in a...