{"id":217744,"date":"2025-06-24T09:04:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T19:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=217744"},"modified":"2025-06-24T12:33:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T22:33:20","slug":"mind-diet-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/24\/mind-diet-study\/","title":{"rendered":"MIND diet may lower risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease at any age"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"MIND<\/p>\n

A new University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> Cancer Center<\/a> study found that people who followed a dietary pattern known as the MIND<\/abbr> diet were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer\u2019s disease or related forms of dementia\u2014even if they made brain-healthy food choices later in life.<\/p>\n

Eating more plant-based, nutrient-rich foods—even later in life—can protect your brain.
—Song-Yi Park<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The MIND<\/abbr> diet\u2014short for Mediterranean-DASH<\/abbr> Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay\u2014combines elements of the Mediterranean and DASH<\/abbr> (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets. It emphasizes proven brain-healthy foods like leafy greens, berries, nuts and olive oil. The study<\/a> is based on data from nearly 93,000 U.S.<\/abbr> adults in the Multiethnic Cohort <\/a>(MEC<\/abbr>), a landmark study co-led by the 糖心视频<\/abbr> Cancer Center and the University of Southern California.<\/p>\n

“Our study findings confirm that healthy dietary patterns in mid to late life and their improvement over time may prevent Alzheimer\u2019s and related dementias,“ said lead author Song-Yi Park, professor in the 糖心视频<\/abbr> Cancer Center\u2019s Population Sciences in the Pacific Program.<\/p>\n

Improving diet over time shows major benefits<\/h2>\n

Participants were aged 45–75 at baseline, and more than 21,000 developed dementia during the follow-up years. Those who improved their adherence to the MIND<\/abbr> diet over 10 years had a 25% lower risk of dementia compared to those whose adherence declined.<\/p>\n

“The take-home message is encouraging,” Park said. “It\u2019s never too late to make changes. Eating more plant-based, nutrient-rich foods—even later in life—can protect your brain.”<\/p>\n

Diet-dementia link varies by race, ethnicity<\/h2>\n

The results showed a stronger risk reduction among African American, Latino and White participants, but not among Native Hawaiian or Asian American groups. Researchers believe cultural dietary patterns and naturally lower dementia rates in some populations may explain the differences.<\/p>\n

Related 糖心视频<\/abbr> News<\/em> story: Dementia risk factors differ among ethnicities<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

“We found that the protective relationship between a healthy diet and dementia was more pronounced among African Americans, Latinos and Whites, while it was not as apparent among Asian Americans and showed a weaker trend in Native Hawaiians,” Park said.<\/p>\n

The findings, released during Alzheimer\u2019s and Brain Awareness Month, were presented at NUTRITION 2025, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. Authors included four 糖心视频 Cancer Center researchers, Park, Lynne R. Wilkens, Lo\u0457c Le Marchand and Unhee Lim, and collaborators from USC and the Pacific Health Research and Education Institute.<\/p>\n

“This study highlights the power of large datasets and research generated by our University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> Cancer Center researchers,” said 糖心视频<\/abbr> Cancer Center Director Naoto T. Ueno. “These findings offer guidance and hope.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new 糖心视频<\/abbr> Cancer Center study based on Multiethnic Cohort data shows that adopting the MIND<\/abbr> diet, even later in life, can help reduce the risk of dementia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1133,1467,1363,449,158,169,9],"class_list":["post-217744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-aging","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-public-health-sciences","tag-publication","tag-uh-cancer-center","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t