MIND Diet Linked to Better Cognitive Resilience

A US longitudinal clinical-pathologic study revealed that healthy diet is associated with cognitive resilience (defined as performing better than expected given burden of neuropathology) independently of common brain pathology in older adults. The study included 569 decedents with valid dietary data, cognitive testing proximate to death, and complete autopsy data. The MIND diet score has 15 dietary components, including 10 brain-healthy food groups (green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans/legumes, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil, and wine) and 5 unhealthy food groups (red meat, fried and fast foods, pastry and sweets, butter, and cheese). A higher MIND diet score was associated with better global cognitive functioning proximate to death independently of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other common age-related brain pathologies. The MIND diet-cognition relationship remained significant when the analysis was restricted to individuals without mild cognitive impairment at the baseline or in people diagnosed with postmortem diagnosis of AD. The findings suggest that the MIND diet may protect from some of the cognitive loss associated with brain pathology and contribute to cognitive resilience. Previous studies have identified late-life cognitive activities and physical activity associated with better cognitive functioning independently of common neuropathologic conditions. Source: https://content.iospress.com/