Keep Your Brain and Body Healthy by MINDing What You Eat

Healthy eating doesn’t need to be hard. You don’t have to spend a lot of time tracking your daily calories or buy special diet products. Just find a healthy approach to what you eat. One easy-to-follow eating plan — the MIND diet — steers you toward delicious, simple, wholesome foods. It can help your brain, heart and gut health.

MINDful Eating

The ideas behind the MIND diet are not new. It’s based on two diets that have been around for decades. Studies have shown they’re healthy, effective diet plans.

MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. Simply put, it is a mix of the  DASH diet  and the Mediterranean diet. Both are known for their focus on not just heart health but also brain health. A healthy heart is important for a healthy brain.  

All of the diets highlight plant-based foods and limit animal fats and foods high in saturated fats. The MIND diet recommends foods that are especially helpful for brain health. Plant-based foods like whole grains, beans, nuts, berries and vegetables are the main focus for the MIND diet.  It also limits animal-based foods that are high in saturated fats and foods with added sugars. While MIND encourages portion control, the emphasis is not on weight loss.

Research shows that the MIND diet can improve brain health and lower your odds of developing issues like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Researchers who developed the MIND diet found  a 54 percent lower rate of Alzheimer’s disease for people who most closely followed the MIND diet over 10 years.

This approach to eating can also improve the health of your digestive system. Our bodies are loaded with trillions of bacteria that help break down food and play a big role in total health. These bacteria live throughout your body, but the ones in your digestive system may have the biggest impact on your health and well-being. They affect everything from your metabolism to your mood to your immune system. Research suggests that your gut bacteria are tied to your risk for health issues like diabetes, obesity, depression and colon cancer.

The MIND Basics

The MIND plan is not complicated. It’s made up of simple foods that are easy to find. It’s a healthy eating plan for most people.

To follow the MIND plan:

• Aim for three or more servings of whole grains each day.
• Eat leafy greens plus two other vegetables each day.
• Pick fruits over pastries. Berries are especially helpful for brain health.
• Have four or more servings of beans per week.
• Try for one or more servings of poultry and fish each week.
• Snack on nuts and berries.
• Choose olive oil as a healthy source of fat to use in recipes and for cooking.
• Eat meats and dairy sparingly, less than four times a week. Swap protein-packed beans and legumes for meat.
• Foods high in saturated fats and added sugars, like butter, margarine, cheese, red meat, fried foods, sweet treats and sugary drinks, should mostly be avoided.

You can have a glass of wine each day. Studies show that small amounts of wine can be beneficial. But you can skip it if you aren’t already a wine drinker. Other types of alcohol should be limited or avoided.

The Bottom Line on MIND

The paybacks of the MIND diet are many. It may help slow brain aging and lower your risk for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. But it doesn’t just help your brain. It also helps your heart. The high fiber and low saturated fat and sugar can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

It also helps improve your digestive health, which boosts your metabolism, mood, immune system and more. Better gut health can lower your risk for health issues like diabetes, obesity, depression and colon cancer.

Improving what you eat can boost your brain and body. Talk to your doctor before you start a new eating plan to find out what changes are best for you.

Sources: DASH Eating Plan,  National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, 2025; What Is the Mediterranean Diet?,  American Heart Association, 2024; Diet Review: MIND Diet.  The Nutrition Source, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, 2023;   What Your Gut Bacteria Say About You,  WebMD, 2024

Originally published 5/23/2022; Revised 2025