Martha Clare Lewis - Diet for the Mind: The Latest Science on What to Eat to Prevent Alzheimers and Cognitive Decline

I believe that some of the best contributions to the greater good begin with our passionsand this book is no different. In 2009, my daughter Laura and I began planning what would eventually become Diet for the MIND. At the time, Laura was a certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant, about to begin her training at the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver. She wanted to build on her already formidable skills in creating meals that were both delicious and nutritious. Simultaneously, I was establishing a new academic program in nutrition at Rush University in Chicago called Nutritional Medicine. The program was designed to teach practicing medical professionalsdoctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, physical therapists, and the likeabout the influence of nutrition on health and disease. Unfortunately, nutrition education is barely a footnote in medical training programs, yet its at the core of all matters in health and disease. This program was an attempt to bridge the gap in US medical education.

As part of the Nutritional Medicine program, I invited the leading experts in nutrition science to Chicago to lecture on different diseases. The courses were designed to take place in a two-day seminar series, three times a year. For each seminar, we flew in three or four distinguished guest lecturers from all over the country. Because of my doctoral training in nutritional epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health (recently renamed the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health), I was fortunate to have many mentors and college friends who were the best of the best with respect to nutrition and health. Among these famous guest lecturers were faculty of Harvard University and the Harvard studies on nutrition and health, including Walter Willett, Frank Sacks, JoAnn Manson, Michelle Williams, Eric Rimm, Susan Hankinson, and Alberto Ascherio; and faculty of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, including Irwin Rosenberg, Katherine Tucker, and Sarah Booth.

For each seminar, we invited all the lecturers to my home for a cozy gathering around a brain-healthy dinner. Laura created and prepared the meals, and each course was paired with a different craft beer created by my son-in-law Peter Crowley (husband of my older daughter, Clare), an international award-winning brewmaster and owner of Haymarket Pub & Brewery. Laura and I had many discussions around the planning of the meal courses so that they merged her dazzling skills with what we know about the science of nutrition and the brain. Once the meal plan was set, we enlisted Pete to pair each course with one of his craft beers to enhance the flavors and essence of the culinary experience.

As each dinner course was served, Laura and other members of our family described the food and beer contents, and their pairing flavors. We had such fun planning and executing these dinners, and our guests enjoyed the amazing talents of Chef Laura and Beer Maestro Pete. However, the star of these dinners, so lovingly prepared and delivered in honor of our celebrated guests, was my late husband, Jim. Jim had been diagnosed with head and neck cancer in February 2008. He was unable to eat or drink by mouth very early on in his four-and-a-half-year battle with the disease, and by 2011, he was barely able to talk. Despite his inability to enjoy the feast and participate in the lively conversation, Jimthe ultimate master of hospitalityparticipated in one of his favorite activities by assisting Laura as sous chef and serving each dinner course to the guests. Jim died in May 2012 and was not able to be part of the programs later dinners. Other family members stepped in to help, including my sister-in-law Louise and future daughter-in-law Rachel.

The discussions Laura and I had around the planning and preparation of these dinners were the seeds for this book. It is the culmination of our mutual passion for nutrition and health and, most of all, for the love of family and friends. Food is central to the expression of love. My passion for nutrition arose with my first pregnancy and grew with my desire to ensure that my children were as healthy as they could possibly be. My other passion is science, and I was able to marry the two during my doctoral training in nutritional epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

For the past twenty years, I have been at the forefront of research in an area with tremendous implications for public health: the link between Alzheimers disease, cognitive decline, and diet. In 2015 my team put all this research together to develop the MIND diet score, which we found was associated with reduced risk of Alzheimers disease and slower cognitive decline. It is this research that I describe in part I of the book. I am eager to share what Ive learned about this cutting-edge science as well as to share nutritious, easy-to-prepare recipes that support it. The eighty selections in part II of this book were created by Laura, who not only trained at a renowned culinary institute, but also grew up in a home where cooking and family meals were treasured and good nutrition was emphasized. Many of these recipes are family favorites for casual dinners or special occasions. Theyre quick and easy to make, budget friendly, and ideal for everyday living. Both delicious and satisfying, the meals can also be used as a template for daily or weekly food plans or, if you are an experienced cook, as a healthy base for your own dishes. Laura and I hope you will enjoy them while also reaping the benefits theyre bound to create.