#NHLBI

[nihmedarts]

Cover illustration for the Journal of Molecular Biology. Image depicts alpha-synuclein fibrils which have been solved by cryo-electron microscopy which offers new molecular insights in amyloid diseases.

Illustration: Alan Hoofring

[mrglitterati]

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

[historyatnih]

Pop the square tubes and color disk into the back of this Hellige Comparator and stick it in your pocket to go test water in your swimming pool, stream, boiler, or laboratory. Once you fill the tube with water and your reagent (for chlorine, say), insert the tube into the comparator, turn the disk to find a color that matches the reagent, and then you will have your chlorine reading.  This kind of comparator is still sold today, although this particular one dates to circa 1958, and similar designs were available in the 1930s.  The scientists in the NHLBI Laboratory of Technical Development used this pocket comparator.

[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/immune-cells-play-unexpected-role-in-early-tuberculosis-infection/

Immune cells play unexpected role in early tuberculosis infection

Media Advisory

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

NIH-supported discovery may provide a new target for TB drugs, vaccines.

What

A class of immune cells called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) mediates the body’s initial defense against tuberculosis (TB), according to a report published online today in Nature. Boosting this response may provide a new approach to developing treatments and vaccines against TB, which causes more deaths worldwide than any other single infectious disease. The research was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health.  It was conducted by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in collaboration with scientists at the Africa Health Research Institute in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and other institutions.

Identified only in the past decade, ILCs can initiate quick, nonspecific responses against pathogens and also mount protective immune responses directed against specific pathogens. In this study, researchers observed that among people who were infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium that causes TB, a subset of ILCs moved from the blood to the lungs, where TB infections frequently take hold.

Investigators also tracked the activity of ILCs in several animal models. In mice with intact immune systems, ILCs homed to infected lung tissue and used messenger molecules to recruit the scavenger cells of the immune system, macrophages, to form protective granulomas, or small areas of inflammation, to suppress the infection. Mice without functioning ILCs, however, had low levels of macrophages in lung tissue and poor immune control over their TB. The human and animal data led investigators to conclude that ILCs play an early, pivotal and previously unappreciated role in TB immunity.

Increasingly, Mtb is resistant to conventional antibiotic treatments. While the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine can prevent Mtb infection in infants and young children, no vaccine is approved to prevent TB in older children and adults. Because ILCs seem to protect early in TB disease, investigators suggest that probing the newly described pathway may yield novel approaches to TB treatment and prevention.

Article

A Ardain et al. Group 3 innate lymphoid cells mediate early protective immunity against tuberculosis. Nature DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1276-2 (2019).

Who

Alison Deckhut-Augustine, Ph.D., chief of the Basic Immunology Branch in NIAID’s Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation, and Nancy Vazquez-Maldonado, Ph.D., a program officer in the same branch, are available for comment.

Contact

To schedule interviews, please contact Judith Lavelle, (301) 402-1663, niaidnews@niaid.nih.gov.

NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website. 

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

###

Source link

[bpod-bpod]

Disc Error

Studying life is often a matter of peeling back layers, revealing its workings piece by piece like a watchmaker with a pair of pliers. And when human tissues reveal something surprising, researchers often turn to simpler, similar organisms like fruit flies to fill in the gaps. Following their discovery of 'branches' between human sarcomeres – the short stretchy units that make up muscle fibres – a team of muscle biologists turns to the fly for answers. Yet they find altering the proteins involved also creates defects elsewhere in the muscle. Here they use 3D electron microscopy and artificial colours to highlight 'holes' in parts of the fly’s fibres called z-discs that the sarcomeres usually pull against to create tension. Revealing the delicate balances at play in muscle biology, the scientists are now looking for new ways to explore the role of branching in generating muscular forces.

Written by John Ankers

Video from work by Peter T. Ajayi and Prasanna Katti, and colleagues

Muscle Energetics Laboratory, NHLBI, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA

Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Nature Communications, May 2022

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[fasterwaystofatloss]

Faster ways to fat loss

It’s not just about aesthetics. Belly fat is linked to a host of terrible health problems. Learn more!

So you might wonder how to lose belly fat? Well, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: there’s no picking the region when it comes to weight loss. That is, you won’t lose belly fat, for example, without simultaneously eliminating fat from the buttocks or breasts.

Still, there is a certain concern about losing belly measurements that goes far beyond good looks. Visceral fat – a type of fat that is found inside your abdomen and surrounds your organs – is linked to a number of terrible health problems, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Even scarier: according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the risk of these health problems increases even more if your waist size is larger than 89 centimeters for women and 101.6 centimeters for men.

To read about more fitness-related articles visit Bicep Hustle

Here are some effective tips on Faster ways to fat loss

1. Move as much as you can

Running, cycling, or swimming-basically anything that improves your heart rate and makes you sweat-will help reduce visceral fat.

Noam Tamir, fitness trainer and founder of TS Fitness (USA), also says that metabolic resistance training and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) is a solid way to reduce fat, including belly fat.

“They help burn calories during practice and also give the post-workout effect,” he says. “In addition, they help change your body composition by increasing your muscle mass.”

Research points to the great fat loss benefits of HIIT. A 2017 meta-analysis in the journal Sports Medicine found that intense workouts followed by periods of rest – especially during running – reduced fat, including abdominal fat.

2. Eat more protein

You know you should eat more protein to lose weight, but you may not know exactly why. Well, it actually has to do with the way your body handles insulin. “Your body starts producing more insulin as you get older since your muscle and fat cells are not responding properly,” explains Louis Aronne, MD, director of the Cornell University (USA) obesity clinic.

This is known as insulin resistance. Basically, when your body doesn’t respond well to insulin, it actually produces more of it, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. And that can lead to fat storage, especially in the middle of the body. “That’s where protein comes in: a high-protein diet can protect you against insulin resistance,” Aronne says.

Zeratsky suggests choosing lean cuts of meat and opting for poultry and fish. An even better option: plant-based proteins, such as beans and lentils, which also serve up the fiber and healthy carbohydrates.

3. Add more (healthy) fats to your diet

Think olive oil (unsaturated fat) instead of butter (saturated fat). In addition to raising your cholesterol levels, saturated fats also contain more visceral fat than unsaturated fats, according to a 2014 study published in the journal Diabetes.

When subjects took in an extra 750 calories daily for seven weeks – in the form of palm oil (saturated) or sunflower oil (polyunsaturated) – the former gained more visceral fat, while the latter gained more muscle mass and less body fat. Polyunsaturated fats can be found in nuts, seeds, and fish.

In addition, “foods with fat are tasty, so you get satiety and enjoyment from the meal,” says Zeratsky.

4. Pay more attention to how well (and how much) you sleep

According to a 2017 study in the journal PLOS ONE, participants who slept six hours a night had a waistline that was, on average, three inches larger than those who slept nine hours.

Keeping a sleep schedule can also help reduce belly fat: women who wake up and go to bed at the same time every night have lower levels of body fat, according to a recent study from Brigham Young University.

And yet another study – from 2018, published in the American Journal of Physiology – found that just one night of little sleep can mess with your body’s metabolism. So even if you skip a night’s rest during the week, the weekend won’t make up for it.

5. Don’t skip on fiber

Both Tamir and Zeratsky suggest eating more soluble fiber to keep you satisfied longer. “Fiber-rich foods slow your digestion and can help you control hunger,”

In a 2012 study published in the journal Obesity, individuals who increased their intake of soluble fiber by 10 grams per day-equivalent to two small apples, one cup of peas, and half a cup of beans-reduced visceral fat by 3.7 percent after five years.

In addition, participants who also engaged in moderate physical activity had a 7.4 reduction in visceral fat during the same time period.

6. Remember to find some balance

Losing belly fat doesn’t mean strict dieting or deprivation. “Often people think you have to eat or avoid certain foods. In reality, it’s about eating more of a balanced diet that is portion and calorie-controlled,” says Zeratsky.

“This allows your body to have enough energy to do what it wants to do when managing weight.”

“When you think about changing your diet, don’t focus on the idea of restriction,” says Zeratsky. Instead, think about foods you can eat and how you can manage your hunger.

[scienceblogtumbler]

Biologic therapy for psoriasis may reduce heart disease

Patients with psoriasis treated with biologic therapy, which are protein-based infusions to suppress inflammation, had a significant reduction in high-risk plaque in heart arteries, over one-year, according to new research published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, an American Heart Association journal.

Chronic inflammation in people with psoriasis is associated with a higher risk of developing coronary artery disease. Biologic therapy medications are proteins that are given by injection or infusion and suppress the inflammation process by blocking the action of cytokines, which are proteins that promote systemic inflammation.

Previous research has shown a clear link between psoriasis and the development of high-risk coronary plaque. This study provides characterization of a lipid-rich necrotic core, a dangerous type of coronary plaque made up of dead cells and cell debris that is prone to rupture. Ruptured plaque can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

“Having inflamed plaque that is prone to rupture increases the risk of heart attack five-fold within ten years,” said Nehal N. Mehta, M.D., M.S.C.E., FAHA, study senior author, a Lasker Senior Investigator and chief of the Lab of Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Diseases at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

“This is the first time an imaging study in humans has shown what one year of ongoing, untreated inflammation can do to arteries of the heart and that we can reverse this damage. Untreated inflammation is dangerous. You are just waiting for a heart attack or stroke to happen,” Mehta said.

The analysis involved 209 middle-aged patients (ages 37-62) with psoriasis who participated in the Psoriasis Atherosclerosis Cardiometabolic Initiative at the National Institutes of Health, an ongoing observational study. Of these participants, 124 received biologic therapy, and 85 were in the control group, treated only with topical creams and light therapy.

To measure the effects of biologic therapy on arteries of the heart, the researchers performed cardiac computed tomography (CT) scans on all study participants before they started therapy and one year later. The CT results between the two groups were then compared.

At the start of the study, participants with psoriasis had low cardiovascular risk by conventional cardiovascular risk scores, and severe psoriasis was associated with higher body mass index (BMI), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (a measure of systemic inflammation) and higher levels of coronary artery plaque.

After one year of treatment, patients who received biologic therapy were compared to the control group. Researchers found:

Biologic therapy was associated with an 8% reduction in coronary plaque. In contrast, those in the control group experienced slightly increased coronary plaque progression.

Even after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors and psoriasis severity, patients treated with biologic therapy had reduced coronary plaque.

“There is approximately 6-8% reduction in coronary plaque following therapy with statins. Similarly, our treatment with biologic therapy reduced coronary plaque by the same amount after one year. These findings suggest that biologic therapy to treat psoriasis may be just as beneficial as statin therapy on heart arteries,” Mehta said.

This study has implications for people with psoriasis and possibly for people with other chronic inflammatory conditions such as HIV, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, who also have increased risk of heart disease.

“We have never before been able to show healing of an inflamed plaque like this in humans. Biologic therapy reduces systemic inflammation and immune activation, and it has a favorable impact on improving overall vascular health,” Mehta said. “Imagine if we can treat both psoriasis and coronary heart disease with one therapy – that is the question to be asked in future studies.”

The study’s findings should be interpreted with caution because it was limited by a short follow-up period and a relatively small number of patients. Larger, randomized controlled studies are needed to better understand how changes in coronary plaque may lead to a reduction in heart attacks and strokes in people with psoriasis.

Co-authors are Harry Choi, M.D.; Domingo E. Uceda, B.S.; Amit K. Dey, M.D.; Khaled M. Abdelrahman, B.S.; Milena Aksentijevich, M.Sc.; Justin A. Rodante, PA-C; Youssef A. Elnabawi, M.D.; Aarthi Reddy, B.S.; Andrew Keel, R.N.; Julia Erb-Alvarez, M.P.H.; Heather Teague, Ph.D. Martin P. Playford, Ph.D.; Wunan Zhou, M.D., M.P.H.; Marcus Y. Chen, M.D.; Joel M. Gelfand, M.D., M.S.C.E; David A. Bluemke, M.D., Ph.D.; and Andrew Buckler, M.S. Author disclosures are in the manuscript.

This study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Intramural Research Program and the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program at the National Institutes of Health.

source https://scienceblog.com/518528/biologic-therapy-for-psoriasis-may-reduce-heart-disease/

[coolfacts-in-blog]

high cholesterol foods to avoid

The liver normally makes cholesterol, which at that point goes all through the body utilizing proteins in the circulatory system. Cholesterol is a fundamental structure obstruct for cell films.

It is likewise fundamental for creating hormones, nutrient D, and substances that work to process greasy nourishments.

In any case, an individual's way of life and hereditary qualities can make the body produce an excess of cholesterol. At the point when cholesterol develops in the corridors, it can square blood stream, which can prompt coronary illness, cardiovascular failure, or stroke.

Following a nutritious, adjusted eating regimen is one approach to help moderate cholesterol levels 

Cholesterol and fats

There are two sorts of cholesterol.

These depend on the sort of protein that transports it through the circulatory system:

Low-thickness lipoproteins store one sort of cholesterol all through the body. As this sort of cholesterol is probably going to develop, individuals frequently allude to it as "terrible" cholesterol.

High-thickness lipoproteins (HDL) gather terrible cholesterol from the courses and take it back to the liver for removal. Thus, individuals allude to HDL cholesterol as "great" cholesterol.

While staying away from nourishments with elevated cholesterol substance might be gainful for a few, the American Heart Association (AHA), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concur that the best dietary way to deal with cutting blood cholesterol is picking food sources that contain unsaturated fats over those that contain soaked or trans fats.

Plan to eat an eating routine that advances low degrees of terrible cholesterol and elevated levels of good cholesterol. Fat admission influences this parity since unsaturated fats tie to liver cells and manage the creation of cholesterol.

Focus not exclusively to amounts of fat in the eating regimen, yet in addition to which types are entering the body. Each type of fat impacts cholesterol levels in an unexpected way:

Soaked fats: These generally happen in meat and dairy items. They train the liver to deliver all the more awful cholesterol.

Unsaturated fats: These are progressively basic in fish, plants, nuts, seeds, beans, and vegetable oils. Certain unsaturated fats can help increment the rate at which the liver reabsorbs and separates awful cholesterol.

Trans fats: These are hardened vegetable oils. Makers ordinarily utilize a fake procedure called hydrogenation to deliver them. Seared food, heated merchandise, and bundled nourishments frequently contain trans fats.

Trans fats

Trans fats increment levels of terrible cholesterol, however they likewise lower levels of good cholesterol. Hence, they are the most unsafe fats.

An examination paper that shows up in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition followed 344,696 members for 4–10 years after they changed which kinds of fats they ate.

The members who cut their immersed fat admission by 5 percent and supplanted it with polyunsaturated fats had altogether less rates of coronary disease or coronary-related passing.

It is ideal to remove trans fats of the eating regimen totally. In 2013, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that they no longer perceive mostly hydrogenated oils, the significant business wellspring of trans fats, as sheltered on account of their solid connects to coronary illness.

In 2018, the U.S. will experience a national prohibition on trans fats, and a few urban areas have just restricted them from use in eateries.

While across the country cardiovascular sickness rates have as of late fallen, the aftereffects of an ongoing report that shows up in JAMA Cardiology uncovered an extra 6.2 percent lessening of coronary episode and stroke in the New York regions where trans fats are banned.Foods to maintain a strategic distance from

The AHA exhort lessening immersed fat admission to close to 6 percent of the complete day by day calories. They recommend constraining the accompanying nourishments to accomplish this:

greasy meat

sheep

pork

poultry with skin

fat and shortening

dairy items produced using entire or diminished fat milk

soaked vegetable oils, for example, coconut oil, palm oil, and palm bit oil

Dodging trans fats is likewise significant. Nourishments to avoid include:

bundled treats, cakes, doughnuts, and cakes

potato chips and wafers

bundled icing

financially singed nourishments

pastry shop products that contain shortening

buttered popcorn

any items that contain somewhat hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oils

Cholesterol in nourishments

Just creature items contain cholesterol itself, as a liver is required for its creation. Be that as it may, cholesterol substance ought to be to a lesser extent a worry than fat substance.

The circulatory system retains gulped cholesterol ineffectively and has little impact on cholesterol levels following a few hours. It might ingest a portion of this cholesterol, be that as it may, and it may arrive at the courses. Restricting elevated cholesterol nourishments may even now be valuable.

Nourishments that contain cholesterol and might be best maintained a strategic distance from include:

red meat

frankfurter

bacon

organ meats, for example, kidney and liver.

[nihmedarts]

Cover illustration for Journal of Labelled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals. Article demonstrates a technique for the rapid synthesis of the radioisotope Fluorine-18, an important tracer used in PET scans.

Illustration: Dave Blum

[mrglitterati]

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

[blood-pressure-health-omni]

There are Many Benefits to Using A Normal Blood Pressure Chart

Normal Blood Pressure Chart

There is a rising incidence of deaths among Americans that are directly attributable to suffering from elevated blood pressure conditions. This means that today every American needs to understand what normal blood pressure levels are and how is it possible to achieve a state where their blood pressure does not exceed or fall below desired levels. 

Many different methods have been tried out by, among others, the American Heart Association and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute or NHLBI of the National Institutes of Health or NIH to defeat this silent killer of a disease and the level of awareness regarding blood pressure (normal, high and low) too has also increased. Identifying a blood pressure problem has become much easier today which is certainly good news for everyone.

Find Out About Different Blood Pressure Levels

An important factor in combating high blood pressure and even low blood pressure problems is to make use of a normal blood pressure chart that elucidates the different levels of blood pressure that a person may have at any given point of time in the day or even at any point of time in their lives. There are certainly several important benefits to be had by consulting a normal blood pressure chart.

First of all, the normal blood pressure chart helps you to understand all the facts related to the different kinds of blood pressure readings and this chart also helps to show the different ranges of normal, high and low blood pressure and this means learning about what normal range is and also when you are vulnerable to diseases and also when the blood pressure readings point to imminent danger to your health.

There are generally four separate blood pressure readings shown by a normal blood pressure chart that include normal blood pressure and also stage-2 elevated blood pressure. In addition, the normal blood pressure chart can also reveal cases of hypertension as well as hypotension and furthermore a normal blood pressure chart can also help you know what to do when the readings reveal a case of high or even low blood pressure levels.

If you consult the normal blood pressure chart and you see readings of systolic blood pressure at 120 mm Hg accompanied by diastolic blood pressure reading of 80 or less, then your blood pressure is normal. On the other hand, a systolic reading of between 120 and 139 mm Hg and diastolic reading of between eighty and eighty-nine mm Hg reveals a pre-hypertension problem.

Readings of systolic 140 – 159 mm Hg and diastolic 90 – 99 mm Hg shows that you are suffering from stage 1 hypertension while readings above 160 mm Hg (systolic) and above 100 mm Hg (diastolic) show a stage 2 hypertension case for which immediate and serious remedies need to be found.

When studying normal blood pressure for kids, it is necessary to be sure to understand that the readings for children need to be interpreted differently than when studying readings for adults. It means that parents must understand that the readings related to their kids’ blood pressure tend to be lower than for adults and that this fact should be understood in order to properly assess their kids’ blood pressure levels.

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[ismeew]

Spent the afternoon with pediatric cardiologists, neurologists, psychologists, anesthesiologists, surgeons, quality of life outcomes specialists, nurses and parent and patient advocates all gathered to identify research gaps in our understanding of neurodevelopmental outcomes in babies born with heart defects. We powered through the afternoon in small groups synthesizing preliminary work we’d completed over the past three months. More to come tomorrow when we regroup to present our summary points. I’m so honored to be able to be a part of this important multidisciplinary effort. Thank you to the #NIH and #NHLBI for supporting us! #chd #research #outcomes #neurodevelopment #congenitalheartdefect #kansascity (at Kansas City, Missouri)

[scitechman]

Cellular Barcoding Helps Scientists Understand the Behavior of Stem Cells

By tagging bone marrow cells of mice with a genetic label, or barcode, researchers were able to track and describe the family tree of individual blood cells as they form in their natural environment. The scientists discovered that these cells regenerate differently than their counterparts do after a blood cell transplant, according to a study published Jan. 3 in Natureand funded by the National…

[davidrussellschilling]

Cut-And-Paste Attack Technology

C O N T E N T S:

KEY TOPICS

Cyber-enabled economic warfare is a “hostile strategy involving attack(s) against a nation using cyber technology with the intent to weaken its economy and thereby reduce its political and military power.”(More…)

ESG spoke with 200 IT security professionals who hold purchase decision-making authority or influence for data security technology products and services.(More…

[selflife-hacks-blog]

MIND Diet For Brain Health And Memory

The MIND diet is a hybrid of Mediterranean and DASH diets with its goal to reduce dementia and the decline in brain health that usually occurs as we go on to age.

Only a few epidemiological studies have been published on the MIND diet, with their main findings showing that adherence to the MIND diet is associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Basics of the MIND Diet

For many years, the researchers have examined the relationship between foods we eat and their effects on our health.

In 2015, the researchers began to specifically examine the relationship between certain foods and their effect on brain health with intention of slowing the decline of brain health as we age and also reducing the risk of the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, the “MIND” diet was created.

The MIND diet stands for the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for the Neurodegenerative Delay. This diet also combines principles from two other well-known diets: the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet.

The Mediterranean diet is inspired by the traditional eating habits of those in the Mediterranean countries. The DASH diet was developed as a result of the clinical trials funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

This diet reduces dementia and also declines in brain health that usually occurs as we age. Specifically, MIND diet differs from the Mediterranean and the DASH diets in a few ways like:

It emphasizes the berries, due to their antioxidant properties, over other fruits and also recommends eating fish at least once per week.

also highlights the difference between the green, leafy vegetables, which are rich in many nutrients and thought to reduce the risk of CVD and also cognitive decline

The MIND diet argues that both the green leafy vegetables and other vegetables are essential.

MIND Diet and Health

Both the Mediterranean and the DASH diets have been researched thoroughly and are also associated with lower blood pressure, a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

In contrast, there are only a handful of epidemiological studies examining the MIND diet’s effect on brain health and cognitive function. So far, the results have shown the MIND diet to be associated with the slowing cognitive decline and a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Additionally, because the MIND diet is a combination of the both Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, it’s thought to have a similar effect on improving heart health and reducing the risk of CVD and diabetes, both of which are risk factors for the Alzheimer’s disease.

Although  MIND diet – in conjunction with other good health habits like the regular exercise, not smoking and getting adequate sleep may have an effect on the cognition, many other factors impact the development of Alzheimer’s disease (source)

Research on the MIND Diet and Brain Health

The first official paper on this diet was published in 2015. So it’s no surprise that there’s not much research investigating its effects. However, the two observational studies on the MIND diet have shown very promising results also.

In one more study of 923 older adults, the people who followed the MIND diet has the closest to 53% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease than the people who followed it the least

Interestingly, the people who followed the MIND diet only moderately still had seemed to benefit from it, and cut their risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 35%, on average.

The second study also found that people who followed the MIND diet has the closest experience of a slower decline in brain function compared to the people who followed the diet the least

According to MIND diet pioneers, an ischemic stroke causes the brain to age 3.6 years for every hour that the stroke symptoms go untreated. This likely explains why the stroke survivors have a double rate of dementia than the general public, and almost 20 percent of the stroke survivors develop dementia.

However, note that both these studies were purely observational, meaning they can’t prove the cause and effect. They can only detect the associations.

A study done by healthy Chicago-area residents found that those who had tended to follow the MIND diet functioned as if they were 7.5 years younger than those subjects who were the least adherent to the diet.

A study comparing the Mediterranean, the DASH and MIND diets in octogenarians who had suffered from the stroke was presented at the International Stroke Conference. This study has found a 20-year difference in the cognitive functioning between those who were most and least adherent to the MIND diet.

How the MIND diet is unique

All three diets encourage eating lean meats, fish, whole grains, fresh produce, and olive oil and discourage the salt. But they have important differences.

The MIND diet deviates from Mediterranean and DASH diets in that it restricts the type and amount of fruits and vegetables to be consumed. The MIND diet also specifies eating the berries, but not other fruits, as the other diets do. Nor does for eating dairy products, the potatoes or more than one meal of fish a week.

The MIND diet suggests that by consuming green, leafy vegetables plus one other vegetable every day, while the Mediterranean and the DASH diets encourage loading up on fruits and vegetables of all kinds.

When coming to dairy, the MIND diet discusses limiting only the cheese and butter. The Mediterranean diet encourages consuming dairy products in moderation and allows the eggs.

The MIND diet specifies the elimination of foods with an unhealthy effect on the brain. These include red meat, and processed meats, fried fast foods, sweets and pastries, butter, stick margarine, etc.

Foods to be included and avoided in the MIND diet

Green leafy vegetables

The MIND diet recommends the frequent servings of green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, broccoli, collards and other greens as they are packed with vitamins A and C and other nutrients.

At least about two servings a week can help, and the researchers found six or more servings a week to provide the greatest brain benefits. The Mediterranean and the DASH diets do not specifically recommend these types of vegetables, but the MIND diet study found that including the greens in addition to other veggies made a difference in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s.

The MIND diet emphasizes the importance of vegetables for brain health. The researchers recommend the eating of a salad and at least one other vegetable every day to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Nuts

Nuts are a good snacks for brain health, according to MIND diet study. Nuts contain good amounts of healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants, and other studies have also found they can help lower bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. The MIND diet recommends eating nuts at least five times a week.

Berries

Berries are only fruit that specifically recommended in the MIND diet. Blueberries are one food that are having more potent foods in terms of protecting the brain

Strawberries have also shown the benefits in past studies looking at the effect of food on the cognitive function. The MIND diet recommends eating a good amount of berries at least twice a week.

Beans

If beans aren’t the regular part of your diet, they should be. High in fiber and proteins, and low in calories and fat, they also help to keep your mind sharp as part of the MIND diet. The researchers also recommend eating beans at least three times a week to help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Whole grains

Whole grains are a key component of the MIND diet. It recommends at least about three servings a day.

Fish

MIND diet study found that eating fish at least once a week helps in protecting brain function. However, there’s no need to go overboard; unlike the Mediterranean diet, which recommends eating the fish almost every day, the MIND diet says about once a week is enough.

Poultry

Poultry is another part of a good brain-healthy eating plan, according to the MIND diet. It recommends two or more servings a week at least.

Olive oil

Olive oil beat out other forms of the cooking oil and fats in the MIND diet. The researchers found that the people who used olive oil as their primary oil at home saw greater protection against cognitive decline as years gone.

Wine

Raise a toast to MIND diet: it recommends a glass of wine every day. Just one! Wine rounds out of the list of brain-healthy food groups that help to protect against Alzheimer’s: like green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, etc Now here are five food groups it says you should avoid reducing your risk of developing dementia…

Red meat

Red meat isn’t banned in the MIND diet, but researchers say that you should limit the consumption to no more than four servings a week to help the protection of brain health. That’s more generous than the Mediterranean diet, which restricts the red meat to just one serving a week.

Butter and stick margarine

Butter and the stick margarine should be limited to less than a single tablespoon per day on the MIND diet. Brain-healthy olive oil can often be used instead of it.

Cheese

Cheese may be so delicious but it doesn’t do your brain any good favors, according to MIND diet study. Eating cheese no more than once a week if you want to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Pastries and sweets

You already know that they’re not so good for your waistline, and it turns out that the pastries and other sweets could have a negative effect on brain health as well. The MIND diet recommends limiting yourself to about no more than five of these treats per week.

Fried foods and fast food

Fried foods and the fast-food round out MIND diet’s list of unhealthy food groups. Limit your indulgence in the fried food to no more than once a week for optimal brain health. But even if you slip up on the diet from time to time, the researchers say that it can still have benefits. Even the modest adherence to  MIND diet measurably reduced a person’s chances of developing the Alzheimer’s disease, and longer you stick with it, the greater the benefits would be(source)

A Sample Meal Plan

Breakfast: Greek yogurt with raspberries, with topped with sliced almonds. Lunch: The Mediterranean salad with olive-oil-based dressing, the grilled chicken, whole-wheat pita. Dinner: The Burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, a good amount of fajita vegetables, the grilled chicken, salsa and guacamole.

Breakfast: A Wheat toast with almond butter, and scrambled eggs. Lunch: A Grilled chicken sandwich, blackberries, carrots. Dinner: A Grilled salmon, along with side salad with olive-oil-based dressing, brown rice.

Breakfast: A Steel-cut oatmeal with strawberries, hard-boiled eggs. Lunch: The Mexican-style salad with some mixed greens, black beans, red onion, boiled corn, grilled chicken and olive-oil-based dressing. Dinner: Chicken with vegetable stir-fry, brown rice.

Breakfast: The Greek yogurt with peanut butter and banana. Lunch: The Baked trout, collard greens, black-eyed peas. Dinner: Whole-wheat spaghetti with some turkey meatballs and marinara sauce, with a side salad

Indian sample MIND diet

Breakfast- Start your day with a big bowl of oats with some berries or yogurt topped with the berries and some nuts Mid-meal snack- Unsalted nuts, about 1/3 cup Lunch- A 1-2 medium-sized multi-grain or the whole-wheat flatbread (roti) + 1 portion of green leafy vegetables such as the spinach, fenugreek, kale, mustard greens and broccoli + 1 portion of chicken (2 pieces, non-fried) or 1 portion of beans or whole pulses The entire meal should always be cooked in olive oil, herbs, and spices such as turmeric, cinnamon, and pepper should be used. The use of salt should be limited strictly. Mid-meal snack- A fruit Dinner- 1 portion of quinoa or wheat cracks with stir-fry vegetables such as the tomato, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli.