【Dementia】The MIND Diet helps maintain brain health. US research shows it can slow brain degeneration
Currently, about 1 in 10 elderly people in Hong Kong suffer from dementia. The medical community has been working hard to find ways to prevent cognitive impairment. Studies from local and foreign universities have pointed out that the risk of brain degeneration is related to daily eating habits.
Dr. Chan Wai-chi, honorary consultant of psychiatry at Queen Mary Hospital, said that a study led by the Department of Psychiatry of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2017 showed that the elderly who ate 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit a day had a 25% lower risk of developing dementia than others. In 2015, a study published by the RUSH University Medical Center in the United States found that the MIND Diet (Chinese name: MIND Diet or Mind Diet) effectively slowed down the rate of brain degeneration and cognitive decline, and could reduce the risk of dementia by 53%.
The MIND Diet is a combination of two dietary methods that are beneficial to cardiovascular health. The first is the Mediterranean Diet, which recommends eating lots of fruits and vegetables, moderate amounts of fish, dairy products and red wine, small amounts of meat and desserts, and using olive oil as the main cooking oil. The second is the DASH Diet, which is mainly used to combat high blood pressure. It is low in salt, fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, and recommends eating more foods high in magnesium, potassium, calcium, protein and dietary fiber.
Dr. Chen Weizhi explained: "MIND Diet focuses more on maintaining brain health than the Mediterranean Diet and DASH Diet. It integrates 10 brain-benefiting foods and 5 brain-damaging foods, and the guidelines on portion sizes are clearer than the first two diets. The menu contains many antioxidant foods, while reducing the intake of saturated fat, which helps reduce the chance of vascular embolism."
Source: Apple Daily
