Dementia is a progressive brain disease, interrupting how the brain functions. Which healthy diet could help reduce a person’s dementia risk?
According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF): “There’s evidence that the right diet could reduce your risk of developing dementia.”
Researchers at Rush University in Chicago, created the MIND diet to help prevent dementia and slow down age-related loss of brain function.
Heart and circulatory disease can increase a person’s risk of developing dementia.
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The MIND diet combined two diets already known to reduce a person’s risk of heart and circulatory disease.
The first is one is the Mediterranean diet, based on wholegrains, fish, pulses, fruits and vegetables.
The second one is the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, which is designed to control blood pressure by minimising salt intake.
High blood pressure is also a risk factor for dementia.
The MIND diet lists 10 foods linked to improved, or delayed incline, in cognitive function.
Wholegrains
Examples of wholegrain include whole wheat pasta, oats, brown rice, whole rye and bulgar.
Green, leafy vegetables
Create main meals with green, leafy vegetables, such as spinach, cabbage, spring greens, kale and salad leaves.
Other vegetables
Eat the colours of a rainbow, try orange squash, red beetroot and purple aubergine.
Nuts
There’s an array of tasty nuts to snack on, including almonds (high in vitamin E), pistachio (vitamin B) and pecans (vitamin A).
Healthy nuts provide lots of nutritional benefits and are great examples of super foods.
Beans and lentils
Beans come in all forms – chickpeas, black-eyes peas, runner beans, kidney beans and garden peas.
And lentils appear in five different colours: brown, green, red, yellow and black.
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Berries
Feeling peckish? Grab a handful of blueberries or strawberries.
Chicken or turkey
Want something with a bit more bite? Chew into chicken or turkey for dinnertime.
Fish
Fancy something a bit different to poultry? Cut into a fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, tuna or mackerel.
Olive oil
Drizzle your salads, or cook in, olive oil to help stave away dementia.
Wine
Yes, really, a small glass of wine (125ml) per day is included in the MIND diet.
This heart and brain healthy diet regime also recommends certain foods to avoid (or limit).
This includes red meat, such as pork, lamb and beef. And cheese and butter.
Additionally, pastries and sweets, as well as fried or fast food is to be limited.
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