A Diet to Cut Alzheimer’s Risk

28 Mar A Diet to Cut Alzheimer’s Risk

“Still Alice” just played at The Nugget. But even you if missed the movie, its premise was grist for the media mill: Julianne Moore is Alice Howland, a linguistics professor at Columbia diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, having inherited the life-changing disease from her father. It could happen to anyone dealt the wrong cards. However, it may be worth hedging your bets with a dietary  change suggested by Carolyn Gregoire in HuffPost Healthy Living. Hint: think green leafy veggies and berries. Lose butter, cheese, red meat and processed food, the usual suspects when it comes to health chatter.

Spanish tapas and paella on table, courtesy Huff Post

What if there was a preventative measure that could slash your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by up to half?

Some nutritionists may have found it, in the form of a Mediterranean-based diet that’s high in nutrients and low in sugar and unhealthy fats.

The brain-healthy (and fittingly named) MIND diet — which stands for “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay” — is effective even if it is not followed rigorously, according to a new study from Rush University. Researchers found that people who followed the diet closely had a 53 percent lower chance of developing Alzheimer’s, and those who only moderately adhered to the diet still lowered their risk of developing the devastating brain disease by 35 percent.

The MIND Diet incorporates elements of the Mediterranean diet — which is high in fish, healthy fats, vegetables and whole grains and has been found to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer — and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet — which is heavy in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy and has been found to reduce the risk of hypertension, heart attack and stroke.

The researchers said in a press release that the MIND diet is easier to follow than the full Mediterranean diet, which requires daily fish consumption and multiple servings of fruits and vegetables.

Here’s a look at a typical day on the MIND diet:…

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