Rally went to the grocery store without a shopping list — and things got ugly fast. Turns out, your brain deserves better food than you might think. Today, Rally breaks down the MIND diet — the powerful (and simple) eating plan researchers say could cut your Alzheimer’s risk by more than half. And the good news? There’s no calorie-counting, and you don’t have to be perfect to see real benefits.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
RALLY:
Hey there, Beautiful People.
How you doing today? Rally Preston here. And welcome back to the Silver Beast Podcast.
So I went grocery shopping the other day, and made a big mistake – I took my brain with me. Have you ever done that? Brought your brain along to the grocery store? Not smart, at least for me.
You know I remember there was this one time, I looked down, and I was wearing my house slippers in the grocery store. OK, so that’s embarrassing enough.
But showing up to the grocery store with your cranium intact is a whole other level of embarrassment!
Now here’s the problem: Usually I have a shopping list with me, right? I go to the grocery store, grab whatever’s on the list, and go. No need to think. Autopilot stuff, right?
I didn’t do that this trip. I was free-ranging it in the grocery store. No checklist. No guardrails. Just me and a shopping cart – and what could go wrong? Well a lot, apparently.
I won’t go into the sordid details – but this is why my wife does almost all the shopping.
So the moral of this story is this: your brain doesn’t always make the best decisions, especially when it comes to food. Little Debbies and Cheetos are not brain food. I’m pretty sure.
So today, we’re going to look at what to feed your brain to keep it as healthy as possible. My prefrontal cortex really needs to get in better shape. It’s not the brightest bulb in the tool shed.
So I looked into this…and your brain needs better food than you might think. I mean, we worry about our waistline, or our muscles, or hair vitamins, or whatever. And you know that’s all fine.
But we don’t think too much about what we’re feeding the machine upstairs.
So there’s been a lot of research on brain health. Obviously. And this is really important for us.
So my brain – I think of it like a ’55 Chevy Bel Air up there still trying to pull me through 2026. And it needs serious maintenance, right? You can’t just shine the chrome and call it good.
So today, we’re going to look at that.
Because if you want to protect your memory, keep your thinking sharp, and maybe even cut your risk of Alzheimer’s disease, well, what you eat is a really big deal for your cranium.
So today we’re looking at the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. What did he say?
That’s the diet that the experts say is best for your brain.
And funny thing, the short version of the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay just happens to spell out MIND. M-I-N-D. What a coincidence! You’d think they planned that!
So, the MIND diet – well here’s what it is, essentially:
Researchers took two healthy diets — the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet — and kind of smashed them together. Kind of like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, only healthier.
And like I said, the MIND diet is focused on one thing: your brain. Not about losing weight or lowering blood pressure. There’s no counting calories on this one either, so yay! The MIND diet is all about brain health.
And the results, I guess, can be pretty impressive.
So studies say that people who followed the MIND diet, closely – like, really stick to it – cut their risk of Alzheimer’s disease by around 53 percent. Now that’s amazing – cut it in half! Wow!
And even people who slacked a little bit, followed it moderately well — they still cut their risk of Alzheimer’s by about 35 percent. Still, that’s great!
So you don’t have to get obsessive about the MIND diet. Just do the best you can.
So I had never looked at this diet before, and I was surprised. It’s not that crazy.
So let me run through your choices on this one here. And you can find the MIND diet online, it’s everywhere, if you want to, you know, go in and take a closer look. I’m just going to hit the highlights real quick.
So here we go…
So get at least six servings a week of leafy green vegetables. You know, like spinach, Romaine lettuce, cabbage, collard greens, arugula. Now that one seems pretty easy.
Then one serving a day of some other vegetable. At least. So pick whatever veggie. And French fries I found out, don’t count, aww.
OK, next, two servings a week of berries. So blueberries, it says, especially – but blackberries, strawberries, raspberries – all of them count on the MIND diet.
Then three servings a day of whole grains. So, oatmeal, whole grain bread, wild rice, quinoa. Three times a day – ah, that’s gonna be tough for me, honestly. But ok, there’s that one.
Then once a week, have some fish. Salmon, tuna, whatever you like. Your brain loves healthy fats, so that’s the hook for fish here, I’m sure.
Next, poultry. Go for at least twice a week on the MIND diet. So, chicken, turkey – and I bet most of us are already doing this without really trying.
And we’ve got at least four times a week for beans. So, black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, green beans. Again, pretty much a slam dunk for most of us.
And next is five servings a week of nuts. So almonds, walnuts, pistachios, whatever you like. That’s a great snack, and you know, I think I eat too many of these already – so me, I would actually have to cut back on the MIND diet. But I can do that.
And finally, extra virgin olive oil. Two tablespoons a day. Cook with it. Drizzle it on stuff. This one’s been proven to reduce dementia risk – so EVOO is a go. And that’s great.
So that’s pretty much your menu on the MIND diet.
Now you might have noticed a few things were suspiciously absent…
So yeah, the MIND diet says to limit: Red meat. Pastries and sweets. Butter and margarine. Fast food and fried food. And cheese.
Yeah, well, meat – that would be tough for me. I mean, red meat especially, steak, burgers – but you know I get it, I really do. It’s high in saturated fats, and your gut breaks it down into tau proteins, and those can wiggle up to your brain and mess things up, up there. So yeah, I get it. And there’s lots of evidence out there on that, so I should really cut back. And I’m pretty sure I can.
Alright, now let me tell you a couple of other reasons the MIND diet might be worth sticking to.
So we talked about how it really lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s — so that’s, right there, huge.
But studies show the MIND might also mean less brain shrinkage as you age. So, less loss in the thinking, processing, and remembering departments is essentially what that means. So, important for sure, especially for me. I don’t want to go from a small brain to a extra-small brain, right?
So it looks like your brain stays younger, just from sticking pretty close to the MIND diet.
Oh, and bonus here: MIND diet research says it benefits your heart, your blood sugar, and your overall longevity. So your whole body really benefits from this one.
And one more thing I should mention. Some of you might be thinking, well, I’ve been eating however I want for 70 plus years – is it too late to bother?
And the answer is no, nope, it’s not.
The research says that even modest changes now can still benefit your brain health. That’s the cool thing about the brain – it’s very adaptable.
Alright, so that’s your quick overview of the MIND diet.
Now let’s see if we can make it easy to work this one into our regular eating routine.
Alright, here’s your Silver Beast Action Steps…
First: Pick two brain foods to add to your plate this week.
So maybe that’s just a handful of nuts in the afternoon. Maybe it’s blueberries on your oatmeal. Add a veggie to dinner. I mean just simple adds like that – just start right there. Very easy.
Next: Make olive oil your go-to fat.
So swap out that butter for extra virgin olive oil when you’re cooking. Sauté your vegetables in it. Drizzle it on the whole-grain bread. Mmm. Just lean into olive oil more.
Alright next, now this is a harder one: Limit the not-so-good foods.
So just try and cut back this week on red meat, fast food, fried food, pastries, butter, cheese. Just start going easier on those.
And finally, add one leafy green to start.
Now, one serving of leafy greens a day. Just one. A small salad at lunch. That’s my go-to anyway. So very, very simple.
Alright, Silver Beasties. Let’s wrap this MIND diet episode up.
Look, you’ve counted on your brain your whole life, right? I mean 24/7.
I think it’s a reasonable ask to feed it better, right? Just get yourself closer to this MIND diet. Make better choices for your brain. I think it’s so worth it, especially now, because we’re older adults.
And just keep in mind, for the MIND diet, even a modest go at this will probably pay off. You don’t have to be OCD about it – small changes still work. And you can just ramp it up over time.
And, oh, and just a quick note here. Not giving you medical advice…this is just stuff I’ve researched that seems like it could help us. As always, check with your doc or a registered dietitian before making any big changes to what you eat.
Alright, this is Rally Preston. Hey, feed that brain something good today, and I’ll catch you next time right here on the Silver Beast Podcast. Take care!