How The MIND Diet Protects Aging Brains

A well-known brain-healthy diet appears to ward off decline and dementia by protecting a person’s arteries, a new study says.

People who followed the MIND diet had healthier blood vessels in their brains, contributing to larger brain sizes and better cognitive function, researchers report in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

“One of the most striking findings was that the relationship remained significant even after accounting for factors such as physical activity, body mass index, race and vascular disease,” said lead researcher Puja Agarwal, an assistant professor of internal medicine at Rush University in Chicago.

“This suggests that diet may have an independent role in supporting brain health,” she added in a news release.

For the new study, researchers asked more than 700 seniors without known dementia to fill out a diet questionnaire, undergo a battery of cognitive tests and receive an MRI brain scan.

As its full name suggests, the MIND (Mediterranean–Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Disease) diet mixes parts of two other well-known healthy diets, the Mediterranean and DASH diets.

The MIND diet focuses on foods that protect both brain and heart health, researchers said. It emphasizes:

• Eating more leafy green vegetables

• Increasing berry consumption

• Choosing whole grains, nuts, olive oil, beans and legumes

• Limiting fried foods

• Reducing butter consumption

• Cutting back on sweets, pastries and processed red meat

Results showed that people whose eating patterns closely resembled the MIND diet had better scores on cognitive tests and healthier brains.

“We found that people who more closely followed the MIND diet had lower levels of cerebral small vessel disease and healthier brain structure,” Agarwal said. “These factors appeared to help explain why better diet quality is associated with better cognitive function.”

People sticking to the MIND diet had less hardening and narrowing of the small blood vessels in their brain, MRI scans revealed. They also had larger brains and fewer signs of white matter scars that are associated with dementia.

“This study helps show a possible underlying mechanism for how diet may affect the brain,” Agarwal said. “This adds to a body of evidence that shows diet not only affects overall health, but also the structure and vascular health of the brain.”

Researchers said that people can help their brain health even if they gradually adopt parts of the MIND diet.

“People don’t necessarily need to make dramatic changes overnight,” Agarwal said. “Increasing foods encouraged on the MIND diet, such as leafy greens and berries, while reducing foods like fried items, butter and pastries, may contribute to better long-term brain health.”

More information

The Cleveland Clinic has more on the MIND diet.

SOURCE: Rush University, news release, Sept. 22, 2026