The MIND diet, as the name implies, is designed to promote a healthy mind and lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. It is a mash-up of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet — two diets that have been found to have several health benefits.
MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. The Mediterranean diet focuses on eating foods that are as natural as possible, while limiting unhealthy fats and red meat. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, as its name suggests, is aimed at helping to ease hypertension. It focuses on helping people to eat foods that can lower their sodium intake and blood pressure.
The MIND diet recommends eating 10 foods daily and avoiding five types of foods. The healthy-food group contains:
Vegetables; Green leafy vegetables in particular; Berries, especially blueberries; Nuts; Beans; Wine; Whole grains; Fish; Poultry; Olive oil
The five unhealthy foods are:
Fried or fast food; Red meats; Cheeses; Butter and stick margarine; Pastries and sweets
The rules of the diet are:
Get at least three servings of whole grains per day
Eat a salad each day
Eat one other vegetable every day
Drink a glass of wine each day
Snack almost every day on nuts
Eat beans every other day
Consume poultry and berries at least twice a week
Consume fish at least once a week
Unhealthy foods are allowed, but less than one serving per week, with the exception of butter
Less than 1 tablespoon a day of butter is allowed per day