Eat Healthy to Keep Your Mind Young!

This massive new study shows that two healthy, plant-based diets can help keep

your brain healthy and young.

Cognitive decline with aging follows a trajectory that starts with subjective

cognitive decline and can progress as far as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Diet is emerging as a promising way to prevent that from happening. Two of the

most promising are the Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet. They have a

heavy focus on plant food in common. The Mediterranean diet leans on fruits,

vegetables, whole grains, legumes and olive oil with a very limited intake of meat.

The related MIND diet emphasizes foods that are most relevant for brain health,

like leafy greens and berries.

This new study was massive and long lasting, following 130,240 women and men

for 43 years. The results were spectacular.

When it came to dementia, compared to people who least adhered to the

Mediterranean diet, those who most adhered to it had a 21% lower risk of

dementia. With the MIND diet, the reduction in risk was 14%.

When it came to objective measures of cognitive decline, high adherence to the

Mediterranean diet delayed cognitive aging by 1.52 years. The MIND diet slowed

it by 1.17 years.

And when it came to subjective cognitive decline, people who most faithfully

followed a Mediterranean diet had a 40% lower risk of subjective cognitive

decline. For the MIND diet the benefit was a 42% lower risk.

This massive study shows that, from early stage cognitive decline to late stage

cognitive decline, the Mediterranean and MIND diets are associated with reduced

risk of subjective cognitive decline, slower cognitive aging and protection from

dementia. It holds out the promise that healthy, plant-based diets preserve

cognitive function and that easy-to-make dietary changes can help prevent

cognitive decline.

Alzheimers Dement. 2026 Mar 25;22(3):e71324.