I think we’re all concerned about protecting our brains from possible cognitive issues, stroke, dementia or Parkinson’s. A healthy diet is one way you can do this.

Avery Ashley our Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent has recently been
teaching classes at Senior Centers here in Brunswick County on the Correlation Between Nutrition and Brain Health. This class is part the on-going Better Brain Health series being offered by Brunswick Senior Resources, Inc. (BSRI).

Ashley’s presentation begins by sharing some known statistics showing how diet
correlates to brain health. He also shared details about specific diets that have been
shown to improve both overall health and this in-turn helps with brain health.

These diets include the Mediterranean Diet, DASH diet and MIND diet. All three have
similarities that emphasize healthy eating patterns that are low in saturated fats, low in sodium and include healthy fats, vegetables and whole grains. They also all avoid added sugars and processed foods.

The MIND diet is one I hadn’t heard much about before, but it’s a brain-healthy diet that stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. This diet combines both the DASH and Mediterranean and focuses on food groups that boost brain power and protect against age-related problems like Alzheimer’s disease,
dementia and cognitive decline. One study showed that older adults who strictly
followed the MIND diet lowered their chances of developing Alzheimer’s by 53%.

Here are Ashley’s overall recommendations for eating for brain health:

• Get your blood pressure down by following one of the recommended diets. This
  will help reduce your risk of stroke. Chronic high blood pressure causes 54% of
  strokes.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables. These contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant plant compounds that have been associated with a decrease in Parkinson’s risk.
• Exercise and move more. Ashley says “you can’t just nutrition your way out”. Eating right will help but you still need to exercise.
• Don’t think of individual nutrients, vitamins or supplements as “magic bullets”. All nutrients should be consumed as part of an overall healthy diet and are best gotten from a combination of whole foods—not pills or other supplements.
• Omega 3 fats have been strongly linked with brain health. The best way to get these is by eating high fat fish.
• Some nuts also are a good source of these omega 3 fatty acids. The DASH diet recommends five (1/3 cup) servings a week.
• Watch alcohol consumption. No more than one drink per day for women and two per day for men.
• Keep your weight under control. Obesity has been linked to diabetes and both have been linked to stroke. In one study, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes was reduced by 52% when eating a Mediterranean diet.
• Avoid highly processed foods. Many of these are high in sodium, saturated fats, sugars and lack fiber.

If you’d like to learn more about the Mediterranean diet, Ashley and the Family and
Consumer Science staff at our N.C. Cooperative Extension Office have several upcoming classes on the topic. We call them “Med Instead of Meds” (MIM). The name comes from the concept that eating the “Med way” can help reduce your need for medications.

These “Med Instead of Meds” (MIM) classes meet for four weeks and each will focus on how to incorporate eating the “Med way” into your lifestyle. There will be a recipe
demonstration each week.

Upcoming classes are:

For more information on MIM, contact Avery Ashley at the NC Cooperative
Extension—Brunswick County Center. Registrations for classes at libraries are done
through the local branches. All classes are free of charge.

For more information on the BSRI Brain Health Series contact the senior center near
you.

Syracuse is a Family and Consumer Science team member and can be reached at N.C. Cooperative Extension, Brunswick County Center 910-253-2610 or by email at
clsyracu@ncsu.edu