Healthier diet could boost memory and delay dementia

Eating more leafy greens, berries, nuts, and olive oil may help keep memory sharp. A new analysis shows that adults who closely followed the MIND diet were markedly less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia than those with less brain-friendly eating patterns.

The findings come from the long-running Multiethnic Cohort Study, which began in the 1990s and follows volunteers in California and Hawaii.

Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa examined diet questionnaires from nearly 93,000 adults aged 45-75, then tracked medical records to see who later received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or a related type of dementia.

Diet shields brain health

Participants who scored highest for MIND adherence at the outset showed a nine percent lower risk of dementia during decades of follow-up.

The advantage appeared regardless of whether a person adopted the diet in midlife or after age 60, suggesting the protective effect can begin at any stage.

The research team also discovered that people who improved their MIND scores the most over roughly ten years enjoyed the greatest benefit. Their risk fell by about one-quarter compared with peers whose diet quality slipped.

Diet change aids memory

“Our study findings confirm that healthy dietary patterns in mid to late life and their improvement over time may prevent Alzheimer’s and related dementias,” said Song-Yi Park, an associate professor at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. “This suggests that it is never too late to adopt a healthy diet to prevent dementia.”

The MIND approach blends staples of the Mediterranean and DASH diets – fish, whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and olive oil. It also places extra emphasis on leafy greens and berries, two food groups repeatedly linked to slower cognitive decline.

Different groups, different benefits

The protective pattern did not look identical in every community. Overall, those identifying as African American, Latino, or White saw the largest drop in risk, about thirteen percent among top scorers.

Native Hawaiian volunteers showed a more modest trend, and the link did not reach statistical significance among Asian American participants.

Thus, as Park put it, “a tailored approach may be needed when evaluating different subpopulations’ diet quality.”

Investigators speculate that customary dishes, seasoning practices, and staple foods could influence how a Mediterranean-style diet translates across cultures.

They also noted that Asian Americans generally experience lower dementia rates, which might mask incremental gains from MIND guidelines or highlight advantages of other traditional eating patterns not captured by the scoring system.

Small steps help memory

One of the most encouraging signals came from people who began the study with middling MIND scores but later made measurable progress.

Raising a score – by adding an extra handful of berries each week, choosing olive oil over butter, or swapping processed snacks for nuts – correlated with a 25 percent drop in dementia incidence.

The effect held steady after accounting for smoking, education, exercise and other lifestyle factors. Even modest shifts in the right direction, the authors argue, can translate into meaningful protection at the population level.

Limitations and future directions

Because the investigation relies on observational data, it cannot definitively prove cause and effect. People who commit to healthier diets may also practice other brain-benefiting behaviors, from regular walks to social engagement.

The team plans to study biological samples to see whether markers of inflammation, cholesterol, or gut microbes mediate the diet dementia link. Controlled trials that actively assign dietary changes could offer firmer answers.

Diet plan to fight dementia

For now, experts say the message is straightforward. Filling half the plate with vegetables – especially dark leafy greens – choosing berries as dessert, cooking with olive oil, reaching for nuts instead of packaged sweets, and making fish a regular entrée all align with advice for heart health. These diet choices now appear to nurture the brain as well.

While no single menu can guarantee lifelong cognitive fitness, the MIND template provides a clear, flexible framework. It steers eaters toward foods that support blood vessels, quell inflammation, and supply antioxidants, all of which are thought to protect vulnerable neurons.

The number of Americans living with dementia is projected to double by mid-century. Even a modest postponement of onset could spare millions of families from heart-wrenching loss and ease pressure on health care systems.

The new evidence suggests that such a delay may be as close as the kitchen, and that adopting smarter food choices today could benefit minds well into tomorrow.

The study was presented at NUTRITION 2025, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition

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