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Interior and Cover Designer: Jami Spittler
Art Producer: Meg Baggott
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Photography 2020 Hlne Dujardin. Food styling by Anna Hampton.
courtesy of Kelli McGrane Nutrition LLC.
ISBN: Print 978-1-64739-818-7 | eBook 978-1-64739-493-6
R0
To my husband, Bryan McGrane. Thank you for always being my number-one supporter and recipe tester.
CONTENTS
For as long as I can remember, Ive always loved two things: food and learning. Although I was instilled with a passion for eating and cooking at a young age, it wasnt until I was older that I became increasingly interested in how the foods we eat can affect all aspects of our mental and physical health.
Since becoming a registered dietitian and working in both nutrition research and counseling, Ive gained an even deeper appreciation for how we can take control of our health by making more mindful food choices. Working with veterans at the VA, I had several patients who struggled with cognitive decline as they aged. Whether it was forgetting to take their nutritional supplements or not remembering how to prepare meals they used to make all the time, their gradual decline often meant that their nutrition suffered, as well. As their nutritional status worsened, I often noticed a further reduction in my patients mental functioning. After working with these patients, I became an even bigger believer in maintaining a healthy diet and weight as we age.
Developed around nutrient-rich foods studied for their roles in brain health, the MIND diet can be an effective way to support a healthy brain and guard against cognitive decline as we age. With that in mind, in this book youll find a clear explanation of what the MIND diet is and the science behind it, an easy-to-follow seven-day meal plan to help you get started, and simple, flavorful recipes to help you eat brain-healthy for the long term.
Whether youre caring for a family member who is suffering from brain disease or want to protect your own brain health, I wanted to create a resource to provide the knowledge and recipes you need to make a change and follow the MIND diet lifestyle. I hope you find it helpful!
What we eat affects nearly every aspect of our well-being, including our brain health. The MIND diet was developed by scientists based on research showing the protective effects of certain foods on the brain. It encourages eating foods that have been linked to better brain health, such as leafy greens and berries, while limiting those that may negatively affect our brains, such as fried foods and sweets.
Part 1 of this book will provide you with information about the MIND diet, as well as practical tools and tips to get you started on your brain health journey.
Welcome to your MIND diet journey! Whether youve heard about the MIND diet before and are looking to learn more or are just reading about it for the first time, this chapter will give you the basics of what you need to know about the diet.
In this chapter, I will explain the research behind the MIND diet, help you understand the connection between diet and brain health, and give you guidance on which foods to include regularly in your diet, as well as which ones to limit.
What Is the MIND Diet?
Martha Clare Morris, ScD, and her team from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago developed a diet pattern based on previous research on the role diet plays in brain health, which was first published in September 2015 in Alzheimers & Dementia . Now known as the MIND diet, this landmark study found that individuals with the highest MIND diet scores experienced a significantly slower decline in brain function over 4.7 years compared to those with the lowest MIND diet scores. In that same year, Morris and her team published a second study that found close adherence to the MIND diet was associated with a 52 percent reduced risk of developing Alzheimers disease over 4.5 years.
MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. As you might be able to tell by the name, the diet is a combination of two well-known eating patterns: the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet. The Mediterranean diet is inspired by the traditional eating habits of people in Mediterranean countries. It emphasizes eating healthy fats such as extra-virgin olive oil and nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains and legumes while limiting consumption of red meat and added sugars. Like the Mediterranean diet, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet centers around fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats. Because it was developed to treat hypertension, it also limits daily sodium intake.
