Alzheimer’s patients require proper diet
While eating healthy is important at any age, seniors with Alzheimer’s disease may slow down their cognitive decline if they watch what they eat.
Nancy Graves, RDN, CHE, a consulting dietitian for Belmont Village Senior Assisted Living, said those with Alzheimer’s should follow the Mediterranean — DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, or MIND diet, which focuses on fresh vegetables, berries and nuts and avoiding excessive amounts of fried food and pastries.
“The MIND diet is associated with reducing the incidence of Alzheimer’s,” said Graves, an associate professor at University of Houston’s Hilton College.
The MIND diet is a combination of the principles of the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets, both which help reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
While the Mediterranean diet limits red meat and sugar, and increases fiber, produce and nuts, the DASH diet limits sodium and looks for foods that increase potassium such as beans and calcium such as low-fat milk or yogurt.
To slow brain degeneration, the MIND diet emphasizes green, leafy vegetables, beans, whole grains, berries, nuts, fish, poultry, and other vegetables.
Olive oil is also the main cooking oil in the MIND diet, and one glass of wine a day is encouraged. On the other hand, foods that are considered harmful to the brain and should be limited are butter or margarine, cheese, red meat, fried food, and pastries and sweets.
At Belmont Village, residents have a daily selection of 22 “always available” food items for their meals, and Graves said residents on special diets will always have a leafy salad available every lunch and dinner. The “Out of the Garden” menu features five salad options: Caesar, pear and brie, Southwestern, shrimp and avocado, and Cobb. Entree menu items include grilled or poached salmon, a chicken terikyaki wrap, or a stuffed baked potato, and all entrees include a starch and vegetable of the day. For dessert, berries and sugar-free desserts are available as a healthier alternative to other sweets.
While less healthy items such as burgers, steaks and pastries are also available, Graves said there are standards for portion sizes.
Brownies, for example, are cut into 3-inch squares. Belmont residents, however, are not under any rules or regulations when it comes to their diets.
“It’s all self-choice,” Graves said. “My main role is educating residents about making the best nutritional choices for their particular needs.”
Graves holds nutrition education seminars at Belmont several times a year and spoke about the MIND diet and its benefits in April.
The MIND diet was developed in 2015 by nutritional epidemiologist Martha Clare Morris from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Morris studied the eating habits of a group of 923 volunteers from 1997 to 2013, and results showed that those who combined the Mediterranean and DASH diets slowed the cognitive decline of participants by as much as 53 percent.
According to the American Alzheimer’s Association, there are currently 5.2 million seniors living with Alzheimer’s, a brain disease that affects memory, thought patterns and behavior. This population is expected to triple by 2050.
The MIND diet is a combination of the principles of the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets, both which help reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke.