The crème de la crème of diets?
Many eating plans vie to be called the best, such as the Mediterranean diet, which offers several health benefits, and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) for healthier aging.
Now, new research has potentially identified the best diet for boosting brain health as we age.
Healthy eating has been shown to help improve cognitive performance and stave off degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease over time.
And with more than 10 million people diagnosed with dementia each year worldwide, a study published Monday found that the DASH diet is thought to be best at maintaining cognitive health.
“The reason it’s great is because by keeping your heart healthy, you’re actually keeping your brain healthy,” Stephanie Schiff, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at Northwell Health, told The Post.
“And we might all know somebody who has had a heart transplant, but nobody has a brain transplant. So, we really need to protect our brain, and this is a phenomenal way to do it.”
The DASH diet — which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension — is a heart-healthy plan to lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and prevent chronic diseases.
This eating plan focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and low-sodium foods rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium.
An international team of researchers, including those from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, looked at the eating patterns of more than 159,000 participants across two large-scale studies.
Six diets were identified: the AHEI, the reversed empirical dietary indices for hyperinsulinemia, the DASH diet, the Planetary Health Diet Index, the reversed empirical dietary indices for inflammatory patterns and a plant-based diet.
While several of these regimens proved beneficial, including the AHEI and the plant-based diet, the DASH diet was shown to be particularly helpful in reducing cognitive decline.
Particular food groups were also associated with better cognitive function, including higher vegetable and fish intake and less consumption of red and processed meats.
While the Mediterranean diet, full of healthy fats, fish and vegetables, is often hailed as one of the best diets of all time, DASH takes it one step further by avoiding processed foods and reducing sodium intake, which can affect blood pressure.
And this is where DASH excels for better brain health. High blood pressure reduces blood flow and oxygen to the brain, paving the way for brain cell damage and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, according to Schiff.
“High blood pressure can lead to damage in the vessels in the brain, and that can damage the brain cells,” she said. “So, we want to reduce our sodium intake, and we also want to reduce our saturated fat intake, which also can cause inflammation in the body.”
Both diets can essentially be combined to create a hybrid nutritional powerhouse known as the MIND diet, which stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay.
Those who follow this eating plan, which reduces saturated fat intake and adds a concentration on antioxidants, were “significantly less likely” to develop Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, according to the American Society for Nutrition.
And if you want to reap the benefits of any of the eating plans, Schiff says to “pay a little bit more attention to the dark, leafy greens like spinach, kale, broccoli rabe [and] Swiss chard” in addition to blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.
At the end of the day, Schiff notes that this study is promising for those who may think they’re too old to improve their memory, as the average age of participants was 44.
“It’s just such a wonderful thing to know that we have the ability to change via the way we eat, the way we think in our memory and to possibly stave off Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.
