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MIND diet, the new way of thinking sharper for a lifetime

1/27/2016

 
Are you ever a little concerned for yourself or your loved ones in regards to Alzheimer's disease?  or just general cognitive decline over the lifespan?  I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be an inevitable fact of aging. There are specific actions you can embark on to protect your brain. Research is showing a diet similar to the mediterranean diet, titled the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) can help you accomplish just that. 

Here are the general guidelines for foods to include or avoid in the MIND diet:
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It tends to be true that what benefits the heart, benefits our brains since they work off the same principles, a steady flow of oxygenated blood and specific nutrient requirements for optimal functioning.  Since my expertise is in neuro-nutrition I would go a step further with this diet and add a few more principles to it: 
1. Exercise, move, get going...the more blood flow to our brains the better you will think and feel. 
2. Purchase organics when you are able to, many studies are showing correlation with pesticide residues in human bodies being linked with neuro decline over the age span.  DDT, glyphosphates, and many others are showing a linkage.  
3. Maintain steady blood sugar.  Eating with whole foods in mind at each meal with carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats combinations.  Diabetics are at a three-fold risk of cognitive impairment later in life and Alzheimer's has been called "type 3 diabetes" by several functional medicine practioner's as it seems failing neurons no longer respond appropriately to glucose, the brains main source of fuel.  

Have questions, I'd love to hear from you.  Please feel free to post a comment or e-mail.  


1.Martha Clare Morris, Christy C. Tangney, Yamin Wang, Frank M. Sacks, David A. Bennett, Neelum T. Aggarwal. MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2015; DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.009
2. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/studies-link-ddt-other-environmental-toxins-to-late-onset-alzheimers-disease/
3. Messier C, Tsiakas M, Gagnon M, Desrochers A, Awad N. Effect of age and glucoregulation on cognitive performance. Neurobiol Aging 2003;24: 985-1003.
4. Barbieri M, Rizzo MR, Manzella D, et al. Glucose regulation and oxidative stress in healthy centenarians. Exp Gerontol 2003;38:137-43.

Think you can indulge in high sugar, refined food choices on weekends, think again? 

1/23/2016

 
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In the journal of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research it has recently been reported, that eating healthy choices during the week and then indulging in some less than stellar food choices may in fact impact our health in the same manner as eating junk food consistently. Although this study involved subjects of the rat kind, it may be extrapolated to humans too. "The findings indicate that intermittent exposure to junk food three days a week is sufficient to extensively shift the gut microbiota towards the pattern seen in obese rats consuming the diet continuously," Professor Margaret Morris, the Head of Pharmacology at UNSW said (1).

The rats were given a diet of 3 choices for 16 weeks: 1. healthy diet 2. consistent diet of junk 3. cycled between the healthy diet with 4 days of this pattern, followed by 3 days of junk food diet.  You may be wondering what happened?  

​Well the negative effects observed in the cycled diet to the gut flora were the same changes seen in an all junk food diet, which was very different than in the first group that maintained a health diet daily. Also,  the less than stellar diet reduced the abundance of microbial species capable of metabolising flavonoids, which have been suggested to not only assist in weight loss but also exert neuro-protective functions within the brain. Lastly, the caloric intake of the cycled diet rats varied widely from those that maintained their healthy eating, by eating as much as 30% more energy.
What's the take home message on this:   choose wisely, even on weekends and vacation trips, your GI health will thank you. The best way to do this is to make selections from nutrient dense food groups, even if craving something sweet or salty.  For example, think about crunchy sea salt or curried baked garbanzo beans or sliced fruit topped with raspberry or lemon syrup.
  1. Nadeem O. Kaakoush, Sarah I. Martire, Mukesh Raipuria, Hazel M. Mitchell, Shaun Nielsen, R. Fred Westbrook, Margaret J. Morris.Alternating or continuous exposure to cafeteria diet leads to similar shifts in gut microbiota compared to chow diet. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2016; DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201500815

    Author

    Jaimie Cole, MS, RD, LD/N
    A lover of good food, good times, while being real about the time constraints of being a busy mom to 3 young children with special food allergy needs, entrepreneur, avid adventurer, researcher, and whole foods chef. Enjoy my take on nutrition news with the occasional recipe thrown in.

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Photos used under Creative Commons from Tony Webster, National Institutes of Health (NIH)