MIND Diet — Wiki

1) What is the MIND diet?

The MIND diet (Mediterranean–DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) is an eating pattern that blends key elements of the Mediterranean and DASH diets and emphasizes foods linked with better brain health and slower cognitive decline. In its scoring system, foods are grouped as “brain-healthy” (to eat regularly) or “unhealthy” (to limit). Serving targets were built into the score to make it practical to follow. The Nutrition Source

2) How the MIND diet came about

Researchers led by Martha Clare Morris at Rush University and collaborators at Harvard Chan created the MIND diet in 2015 after observing that Mediterranean- and DASH-style patterns tracked with healthier cognition. They constructed a MIND score from dietary questionnaires and tested its association with cognitive outcomes in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, then with incident Alzheimer’s disease. The Nutrition SourcePubMed+1

3) Elements of the MIND diet (0–15 points)

There are 15 dietary components:

10 “brain-healthy” food groups (higher intake recommended)

5 “unhealthy” food groups (lower intake recommended)

✅ Brain-Healthy Foods (1 point each if intake meets criteria)

Green leafy vegetables (e.g., spinach, kale): ≥6 servings/week

Other vegetables: ≥1 serving/day

Nuts: ≥5 servings/week

Berries (especially blueberries, strawberries): ≥2 servings/week

Beans/legumes: ≥3 servings/week

Whole grains: ≥3 servings/day

Fish (not fried): ≥1 serving/week

Poultry (not fried): ≥2 servings/week

Olive oil: primary oil used at home (yes = 1 point)

Wine: 1 glass/day (optional; not required for score)

❌ Unhealthy Foods (1 point each if intake is limited)

Red meats: <4 servings/week

Butter and stick margarine: <1 tablespoon/day

Cheese: <1 serving/week

Pastries and sweets: <5 servings/week

Fried or fast food: <1 serving/week

Total Score

Each component is scored 0 or 1 (depending on whether the cutoff is met).

Maximum score = 15 points (best adherence).

Higher scores = greater adherence → stronger association with slower cognitive decline and reduced dementia risk in observational studies.

Interpretation (from Morris et al. 2015, Alzheimer’s Dement.)

High adherence (12–15 points) → ~53% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Moderate adherence (7–11 points) → ~35% reduced risk.

Low adherence (≤6 points) → baseline risk.

📖 Reference:
Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT. MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(9):1007–1014.
PubMed link

4) How to adhere to the MIND diet (practical playbook)

Anchor your day with whole grains (e.g., oatmeal breakfast; brown rice or whole-wheat pasta at meals) to hit 3/day.

“Leafy + one” rule: include a leafy green (spinach, kale, romaine) most days and at least one other vegetable daily.

Swap snacks to nuts (¼ cup) 5x/week; keep unsalted mixed nuts handy.

Schedule berries (fresh or frozen) twice weekly—on yogurt or oats.

Batch-cook beans for 4 meals/week (chili, bean salads, lentil soups).

Plan your proteins: fish weekly, poultry twice weekly; reduce processed and red meats to stay under targets.

Cook with olive oil; limit butter to <1 Tbsp/day.

Restaurant/eating out: choose grilled/roasted mains, swap fries for veggies, and watch cheese/cream-heavy dishes to meet the “unhealthy” limits.
Targets and food lists derive from the original scoring details and research summaries. The Nutrition Source

5) Does it work? (what the research shows)

Observational evidence (strong and consistent):

In >900 older adults followed ~4.5 years, higher MIND adherence was linked to 35–53% lower Alzheimer’s disease risk; notably, even moderate adherence showed benefit. PubMed

In ~960 participants followed ~4.7 years, higher MIND scores were associated with slower global cognitive decline, roughly equivalent to being ~7.5 years younger. PubMed

Large cohorts since 2015 generally report better cognition, slower decline, or lower dementia risk with higher MIND scores. The Nutrition Source

Randomized trials (mixed so far):

NEJM 2023, 3-year, n=604: MIND diet + mild calorie reduction vs a control diet with equal calorie reduction and behavioral support. No significant difference in change in global cognition or brain MRI over 3 years (both groups improved modestly), suggesting weight loss and general diet quality improvement in the control group may have diluted between-group differences. PubMedThe Nutrition Source

Scientific Reports 2022, 3-month RCT in middle-aged women with obesity (n=40): MIND diet led to greater improvements in several cognitive tests and increased inferior frontal gyrus surface area vs calorie-restricted control. Small, short-term trial. Nature

Recent syntheses:

JAMA Psychiatry 2023 cohort study associated higher MIND adherence with lower dementia risk, extending findings to other populations. Highest adherence had 17% lower risk of dementia than lower adherence. JAMA Network

Systematic reviews (2024–2025) conclude MIND adherence is promising for global cognition and dementia risk, but RCT results are mixed, underscoring the need for longer, diverse trials. ScienceDirectPubMed

Bottom line: Strong observational links + biologic plausibility. However, when compared to trials against controls that also have some other sort of diet/weight loss, the specific benefit of MIND diet becomes less clear. 

6) MIND Diet - Final Thoughts

-Seems to be clearly associated with some cognitive benefit

-Seems to have benefit on both a clinical and a pathological level

-Whether it is specifically better than a generic low-calorie diet, however, is still a matter of debate and research

-Most studies on MIND are also on persons who do not already have dementia. Its benefits for persons who already have dementia are less clear

-Large overlap with general DASH diet

-TLDR: Does HottoCare recommend the MIND diet? Yes!

• Likely has some benefit on slowing or preventing cognitive decline (even if it may or may not be better than regular dieting)
• Often it is difficult to find a validated diet to choose from, just in general terms
• MIND diet is very clear and not overly complex. No need to count calories.
• MIND diet has some flexibility. No meal plans.
• Low risk
• MIND diet will have other metabolic benefits as well, since it is foundationally similar to DASH diet. Thus overall very likely to benefit you in some way or form.
• Do note, as a caveat, that for persons with other diseases with dietary restrictions (diabetes, kidney disease, etc.), that those may take precedent. That said, most special diets will still be mostly compatible with the MIND diet.

Key Research (direct links)

Morris et al., 2015 — Cognitive decline (Alzheimer’s & Dementia). PubMed

Morris et al., 2015 — Incident Alzheimer’s (Alzheimer’s & Dementia). PubMed

Barnes et al., 2023 — NEJM randomized trial (no between-group difference at 3 years). PubMed

Arjmand et al., 2022 — Short-term RCT in women with obesity (benefits on tests/MRI). Nature

Chen et al., 2023 — JAMA Psychiatry cohort (lower dementia risk). JAMA Network

Recent systematic reviews (2024–2025) on cognition/dementia risk. ScienceDirectPubMed