Can you eat for a healthier mind?

Everyone knows you can eat for a healthier body.  But can you eat foods to improve your mind or to keep your brain healthier?  Yes.  Actually, there is a diet called the MIND diet specifically designed to keep your brain healthier.  The MIND diet is a combination of two other highly recommended diets – the DASH diet designed to prevent high blood pressure and the Mediterranean diet for overall good health.  U.S. News & World Report ranks the MIND diet as 5^th in their rankings of Best Diets Overall.  They describe this diet as one that aims to prevent mental decline, especially designed to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.  Rush University researchers found that following the MIND diet can reduce Alzheimer risk by 53% for those who strictly followed the diet plan.  And the good news is, you can benefit your brain health without even sticking rigidly to this diet plan.  For those who followed the diet only moderately well, their risk was lowered by 35%. 

What are some of the “brain foods” you eat on the MIND diet?

The MIND diet emphasizes 10 food groups of brain-healthy foods and recommends decreasing your intake of 5 not so brain healthy food groups.  

What foods to eat for brain health:

1. Whole grains – 3 times a day.  Start your day with oatmeal or any General Mills cereal.  At lunch, make a sandwich with a whole grain bagel or whole grain English muffin.  Have a KIND bar for a snack.
2. Green Leafy vegetable + 1 more veggie – so 2 veggies a day.  Have some carrot sticks at lunch and a spinach or spring salad mix for dinner.
3. Nuts – Dr. Oz recommends a handful of nuts a day for good health.  A handful of nuts a day is also good for brain health.
4. Poultry – chicken or turkey at least twice a week.  Pretty easy to do as there are so many chicken recipes.  And if you like fast food, many places now offer grilled chicken like KFC or a grilled chicken sandwich.
5. Fish – at least once a week.  If you are not a fish lover, try fish sticks or a tuna salad sandwich.
6. Berries at least twice a week – add those blueberries to your morning oatmeal.  Enjoy some berries on your yogurt.  Blueberries seem to be especially healthy for your brain.  Full of those good antioxidants.  Dr. Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist, says, “blueberries are one of the more potent foods in terms of protecting the brain.”  Strawberries run a close second. 
7. Beans – eat them a few times a week.  Enjoy those baked beans at the next barbecue you go to.  (On Prince Edward Island, the breakfast buffet offered baked beans right next to the oatmeal.) 
8. Wine – if you like wine, a glass a day is good for your brain.  But you don’t have to drink wine to benefit from the MIND diet.

What foods should you cut back on for brain health?

Margarine the lowers cholesterol

 

1. Butter – limit to 1 T. a day.  But margarine is OK.  Choose heart healthy margarines.  Livestrong recommends 3 margarines for good heart health, Smart Balance (which we use), Benecol spread which the Mayo Clinic likes because it has been shown to lower cholesterol levels and Promise Activ – also recommended by the Mayo Clinic as it is low in saturated fat and may lower cholesterol.   Choose olive oil for cooking.
2. Sweets and Pastries – hard to give up as who doesn’t like sweets?  But reducing intake and choosing oatmeal , for breakfast instead of a pastry would bee good for your brain.
3. Whole fat cheese – cheese is one of my favorite foods and I eat a lot of cheese.  But we do try to purchase 2% fat, or reduced fat cheese.  Many stores offer Cheddar Cheese is a lower fat option, Mozzarella cheese is usually lower in fat.
4. Fried or fast food – limit to once a week.  Fast food gets a bad rap but one can have a pretty healthy meal at fast food restaurants.  KFC offers the grilled chicken, corn on the cob, green beans and coleslaw.  Most fast food establishments offer a good choice of salads.  Wendy’s offers the Apple Pecan Chicken Salad.  Starbuck’s offers the Turkey & Fire-Roasted Corn Salad.  Panera has the healthy Ancient Grain & Arugula Salad. So, one doesn’t have to give up fast food, just make some healthier choices from the menu. 

Heart healthy margarine

 Everyone can benefit from eating healthier.  If you aren’t up for following the entire MIND diet, adopting some of the healthier habits would still be good for your health.  Start a habit of a handful of nuts a day.  A very easy habit to follow.  When buying cheese, choose the lower fat options.  Switch your margarine to a heart healthy choice.  

Sources:  Best Diets Overall, risk by 53%, brain health, Livestrong, Smart Balance, Benecol, Promise, olive oil  Image sources:  Smart Balance, Benecol, Promise