"Foods that are good for your heart and brain"... These foods kill two birds with one stone.

Information about brain foods, which are supposedly good for brain health, is common online and on social media. But can certain foods and diets actually prevent dementia? Professor Emeritus June Andrews, a dementia researcher and geriatric care expert at the University of Stirling's Centre for Dementia Service Development, says that while there's no diet that can prevent dementia, a heart-healthy diet is also beneficial for brain health.

Previous studies have shown that people with certain medical conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes, are more likely to experience cognitive decline as they age. Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that dietary changes can significantly reduce the risk of these conditions.

 

Among these, the Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet have been shown to be able to prevent cognitive decline to some extent. The Mediterranean diet is rich in olive oil, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains, and is low in saturated fat. The MIND diet combines the Mediterranean diet with the DASH diet, which helps prevent high blood pressure. Both diets generally recommend eating unprocessed foods, plant-based foods, nuts, and abstaining from or limiting alcohol consumption.

If you want to lower your risk of dementia as you age, Professor Andrews reveals some foods you should eat enough of, via the British daily Daily Mail.

 

Eat plenty of green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, and broccoli

 

It's difficult to say that any one food group is more important than another, as balance is key. However, fruits and vegetables, which provide antioxidants and vitamin C, are essential for the diet. A study published last year in Neurology, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that those who followed the MIND diet and consumed plenty of green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale had lower levels of a brain protein associated with Alzheimer's. The researchers explained that increasing green leafy vegetable intake itself was linked to lower levels of Alzheimer's disease-related symptoms in the brain.

 

Representative foods include beans and olive oil.

 

Whole grains and legumes like lentils and soybeans also benefit heart health and cognitive function. Furthermore, olive oil, recommended by the Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet, is closely linked to healthy cognitive aging. A 2022 study of over 92,000 American adults found that increasing olive oil intake was associated with a 29% lower risk of death from neurodegenerative diseases. Those with the highest olive oil intake also had an 8-34% lower overall mortality risk compared to those who consumed little or no olive oil.

 

If you could only do one thing, it would be to abstain from alcohol.

 

While eating brain-healthy foods is good, avoiding unhealthy foods is even better. If you only do one thing for brain health, it's to quit alcohol. Research shows that heavy drinkers are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease later in life. If you practice healthy eating and exercise throughout the week, only to binge drink on the weekend, your efforts will be in vain.

 

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These days, when I cook rice, I put in black lentils and red lentils together.

Maybe because it's soybean, I like the nutty flavor better.

It's good for your head. It's good for your heart.