Berries improve cognitive function. Fish oil supplements may improve memory. Curry cures Alzheimer’s.
You may have noticed those popular claims about “brain foods” and the “magical” effects of certain foods that appear online and on social media.
But if you rely on any of these statements to guide your daily life, you may be wasting time and money.
Currently, an estimated 944,000 people in the UK have dementia, and in the US the figure is around 7 million. Alzheimer’s disease affects around six in ten people with dementia.
But can certain foods or diets really prevent or avoid this disease?
Research has suggested that two diets in particular, the Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet, may offer some protection against cognitive decline. These diets encourage consumption of unprocessed foods, plants, and seeds, and avoid or restrict alcohol consumption.
As a specialist nurse and researcher who has worked with people with dementia for several decades, this is a question I am often asked.
The answer is that, although there is no specific diet against Alzheimer’s, what is good for the heart is good for the head.
Professor June Andrews OBE FRCN FCGI is an expert in caring for frail older people and people with dementia.
This is because research shows that people with certain conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes (which affect at least 2 million Britons), are more likely than those without these conditions to experience age-related cognitive decline.
And there is a lot of evidence to show that the risk of developing these diseases is reduced by dietary changes.
Research has suggested that two diets in particular, the Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet (similar to the Mediterranean diet, but with fewer animal foods), may offer some protection against cognitive decline.
They promote consumption unprocessed foods, plants and seeds, and avoid or restrict alcohol.
Below I’ve detailed some specific foods that are worth stocking up on if you want to give yourself the best chance at fighting dementia.
Eat plenty of kale, spinach and broccoli.
It is very difficult to say that one thing or one food group is more important than another. The important thing is balance in everything.
But fruits and vegetables are very important for the antioxidants and vitamin C they provide.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss.
A US study last year found that people who followed the MIND diet and prioritised green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale may have fewer proteins in their brains linked to Alzheimer’s.
Published in the magazine NeurologyThey found that those who ate seven or more servings per week had a level of harmful brain plaque that made them nearly 19 years younger than people who ate less.
At the time, Puja Agarwal, study author and an adjunct professor specializing in the role of diet in neurodegenerative diseases at Rush University in Chicago, said: “These results are exciting.
“Our finding that eating more green leafy vegetables is itself associated with fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain is intriguing enough that people should consider adding more of these vegetables to their diet.”
Learn to love lentils
Whole grains, as well as legumes such as lentils and soybeans, also appear to have benefits for heart health and cognitive function.
Olive oil, a major component of the Mediterranean and MIND diets, has strong links to healthy cognitive aging.
One Study 2022 A study of more than 92,000 American adults found that higher olive oil intake was associated with a 29 percent lower risk of dying from a neurodegenerative disease.
There was also an 8 to 34 percent lower risk of overall mortality, compared with those who never or rarely consumed olive oil.
If you can afford to buy fresh food and cook it while it’s still fresh, that’s really important.
If you do one thing…stop drinking
It’s never too late to start a brain-healthy diet, but you need to be realistic about the difference it will make.
If you’re only going to do one thing, eliminate alcohol.
Now that there are so many great non-alcoholic drinks out there, you may find that this is the only life-changing change you can make to your diet.
Studies show that it is bad for the brain and research has found that heavier drinkers are much more likely to develop Alzheimer’s in the future than lighter drinkers.
Many young people believe that it is okay to get drunk, but the younger you start moderating your alcohol consumption, the better off you will be when you are older.
Women of my generation certainly drank more than our mothers, so we don’t yet know what the long-term effect of that is.
If you have a very careful diet, you exercise, but you drink excessively on the weekends, at parties, you are probably undoing all the good you have done during the week.