By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
ZHENGZHOU, China — Older adults whose eating habits more closely followed the MIND diet scored significantly higher on cognitive assessments than those with lower adherence, according to a study involving 8,681 people in China’s Henan Province, providing additional evidence of a potential relationship between nutrition and healthy brain aging.
The study, published Oct. 28 in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Nutrition, found that stronger adherence to the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet was associated with better overall cognitive performance, particularly in areas involving memory, attention and information recall.
Researchers also investigated whether physical activity influenced the relationship between diet and cognition. Although participants reported varying levels of exercise, physical activity showed no statistically significant independent association with cognitive scores after researchers accounted for demographic, socioeconomic and health factors.
The findings were highlighted in an Oct. 30 report by mindbodygreen, which described the MIND diet as a dietary pattern designed to support brain health through foods commonly associated with Mediterranean and heart-healthy eating.
The MIND diet combines elements of the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, diet. It emphasizes leafy green vegetables, berries, whole grains, beans, nuts, olive oil and other nutrient-rich foods while limiting red meat, butter, fried foods, pastries and sweets.
Researchers examined information collected in 2023 from adults ages 60 and older living independently in 17 districts and counties of Henan Province.
Participants completed food-frequency questionnaires measuring adherence to 15 dietary categories associated with the MIND diet. Each category contributed to an overall score ranging from zero to 15, with higher scores indicating closer adherence.
Cognitive performance was measured using the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination, a widely used 30-point screening assessment evaluating orientation, memory, attention, calculation, language and other cognitive abilities.
The study found that each additional point on the MIND diet adherence scale was associated with an average increase of approximately 0.26 points on the cognitive examination after statistical adjustments.
The association remained significant after researchers considered age, sex, education, income, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index and several chronic health conditions.
Participants had an average MIND diet score of 3.9 out of 15, indicating relatively low adherence to the dietary pattern.
Their average cognitive examination score was 23.32 out of 30.
Approximately 53% of participants were women, 85% lived in rural areas and nearly half had no formal literacy skills.
These characteristics are relevant because education, socioeconomic circumstances and access to nutritious foods can influence both dietary habits and performance on cognitive screening tests.
The researchers used statistical models to account for those differences while examining the relationship between diet and cognition.
Higher MIND diet scores were associated with better performance in three specific cognitive domains: registration, which measures the ability to repeat and initially retain information; attention and calculation; and recall, which evaluates the ability to remember previously presented information.
The findings suggest that dietary patterns may be particularly relevant to cognitive processes involving learning and memory.
However, the research did not establish that adopting the MIND diet directly improves cognition or prevents dementia.
Because the investigation was cross-sectional, researchers evaluated dietary habits and cognitive performance at approximately the same point in time rather than following participants over several years.
That design cannot determine whether better nutrition contributed to stronger cognitive performance or whether people with better cognition were more capable of maintaining healthier eating habits.
Other factors not fully captured by the study could also influence the relationship.
The study additionally examined physical activity, using participants’ self-reported exercise frequency and duration during the preceding week.
After accounting for demographic and health differences, researchers did not identify a statistically significant independent relationship between exercise duration and overall cognitive performance.
They also found no consistent evidence that physical activity strengthened or weakened the association between the MIND diet and cognition.
Those results do not mean exercise provides no cognitive benefits.
Previous research has associated regular physical activity with improved cardiovascular health, better cerebral blood flow and a reduced risk of cognitive decline.
The authors acknowledged that differences in exercise measurement, population characteristics and study design could help explain their findings.
Physical activity was assessed through self-reported information, which may be affected by inaccurate recall or differences in how participants described their daily activities.
The results also differed from some earlier studies suggesting that diet and exercise may have complementary benefits for brain health.
Nutrition researchers have proposed several biological explanations for the potential relationship between the MIND diet and cognitive function.
Leafy green vegetables provide nutrients including folate and vitamin K, while berries contain polyphenols associated with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.
Nuts, beans and whole grains contribute fiber and other nutrients that support metabolic and cardiovascular health.
Olive oil provides unsaturated fats and plant compounds that may help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation.
Those mechanisms are considered relevant because cardiovascular and metabolic conditions, including hypertension and diabetes, can influence cognitive health over time.
However, the new study did not directly measure how individual nutrients affected the brain or determine which dietary components were responsible for the observed associations.
It examined overall eating patterns rather than testing specific foods or supplements.
The findings add to an expanding body of research investigating whether diet can help preserve cognitive abilities as populations age.
A separate 2026 study published in Frontiers in Nutrition followed 8,326 older Chinese adults using a culturally adapted version of the MIND diet and found that participants with stronger adherence had a lower observed risk of developing cognitive impairment.
That analysis reported an approximately 21% lower risk among participants with higher adherence than among those with lower adherence, although researchers acknowledged limitations in establishing causation.
Not all research has demonstrated the same benefits.
A three-year randomized clinical trial published in 2023 found no significant difference in cognitive performance or brain imaging changes between participants assigned to the MIND diet and those following a comparison diet involving calorie restriction.
The mixed findings underscore the need for additional long-term studies to determine whether dietary changes can directly prevent or delay cognitive decline.
For the Henan researchers, the latest results provide evidence that associations between MIND diet adherence and cognitive performance extend beyond Western populations, where much of the earlier research originated.
The authors concluded that closer adherence to the diet was independently associated with better cognitive function among older adults in central China.
They suggested that improving dietary quality could represent a practical component of strategies intended to promote healthy aging, while acknowledging the need for further research.
The study does not establish that the MIND diet can reverse memory loss, treat Alzheimer’s disease or replace established medical care.
Nevertheless, its findings reinforce interest in dietary patterns emphasizing vegetables, berries, legumes, nuts and whole grains as part of broader efforts to support cognitive health.
For older adults, the research suggests that everyday food choices may be associated with measurable differences in memory and attention, even as scientists continue investigating whether changing those choices can produce lasting improvements in brain function.
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