Tag Archives: MIND diet

Am I consuming enough Olive Oil on the MIND diet?

Olive Oil, The MIND Diet,
How much olive oil is the MIND diet recommending?

The MIND diet lists use of olive oil as the primary oil as one of 10 brain-healthy diet EVOOcomponents. I have been working at doing that. However, my approach has been mostly replacing fats that I have already been using with olive oil. Because I have been eating a fairly low-fat diet, I am wondering if that is enough. Many articles say that olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties. Maybe I need to eat more olive oil to benefit from these properties.

The diet that is based on the MIND diet study (Morris et al., 2015) is based on the results of previous research on the DASH and Mediterranean diets. One of the frustrating aspects of the information published about the MIND diet is that serving sizes are not included, and, in the case of olive oil, not even a recommended amount.

This was the only mention in the Morris et al. article of a specific study on the effect of olive oil on brain health:

“Mediterranean diet interventions supplemented with either nuts or extra-virgin olive oil were effective in maintaining higher cognitive scores compared with a low-fat diet in a substudy of PREDIMED [6], a randomized trial designed to test diet effects on cardiovascular outcomes among Spaniards at high cardiovascular risk.”

I decided to find the study that Morris et al. cited and other reports of the PREDIMED study to see if they gave more specific information about the amount of olive oil needed. The Martinez-Lapiscina et al. (2013) article stated that the participants in the group that did best on cognitive tests received training on the Mediterranean Diet (which includes using olive oil instead of butter) plus they received 1 liter of olive oil per week.

My reaction was “Yikes! that’s a lot of olive oil.”  I did a little math and figured out that 1 liter is about 67 tablespoons per week or 9.57 tablespoons per day. At 120 calories per tablespoon, that adds up to 1148 calories per day! Surely, the participants were not expected to consume that much.

In a previous post, I described my struggle with keeping my weight down and the MIND diet and my worries about increasing amounts of whole grains, nuts, beans, and wine suggested as brain-healthy foods by the MIND diet would be a problem for me because I gain weight if I eat over 1200 calories per day.  I didn’t even consider the olive oil because I was originally just replacing what I had been consuming in oil.  If I am going to increase my olive oil, I will have a weight problem.

My assumption is that the 1 liter of olive oil the study participants received was for the whole family.  So, I looked further.  I finally found another article about the same study that gave me a more definitive answer. In a 2010 article, Martínez-González et al. described the design and methods of the PREDIMED study. They included a short questionnaire that they used to assess compliance with the Mediterranean diet plus extra olive oil. These are the two questions relevant to olive oil:

1. Do you use olive oil as main culinary fat?    Criteria to receive 1 point = Yes
2. How much olive oil do you consume in a given day (including oil used for frying,
salads, out-of-house meals, etc.)?   Criteria to receive 1 point  =  4 Tablespoons or more.

So, I guess I have my answer. 4 Tablespoons!  480 calories!  It seems unbelievable but this amount was repeated in a more recent New England Journal of Medicine article by Estruch et al. (2013).

Amazingly, Martínez-González et al. followed the participants’ weight for 3 months on this augmented olive oil diet and there was no change.  In spite of this, I am fairly sure that my consumption of 4 TBSP of olive oil per day would lead to a weight gain.  I don’t want to do that for a lot of reasons, but the most relevant one is that obesity has also been cited as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s

How might I be different than the people in this study who didn’t gain weight when consuming 4 TBSP of olive oil per day?
The study showed that their average age (67 at the start of the study) and BMI (about 30) were close to mine.  Perhaps they were more active. I am still struggling to get in 7,500 steps per day. Or, perhaps the 4 TBSP was just to replace the amount of oil their diets usually contained.  I have a feeling I eat more meat than they did.  Or, maybe it’s a genetic difference. If I were ambitious, I would repeat that study here in the USA.

My decision:

After all that analysis, here is my decision. I am going to try to consume at least 1 TBSP of olive oil per day without increasing my calories.  I think that will be a slight increase in olive oil consumption.  The main way that I will keep my calories in line will be to decrease portion sizes, especially of meat.

I will track my olive oil consumption and weight for a while. If I haven’t gained, I will try increasing more — a little bit at a time.

How much olive oil do I consume at present?

Breakfast:  ranges from 0 (cereal, milk, and fruit) to ¾ TBSP (Pecan Cinnamon Scone)  – average  ½ tsp

Lunch  ?   usually none

Dinner: salad dressing  (my current light balsamic dressing has about ½ tsp); sautéing vegetables or meats about 1 tsp

Total:  Rough estimate = 2 teaspoons/day.  So, I have to add 1 teaspoon to reach my goal of 1 Tablespoon per day. 

Enough for today.  I can see that my next task is to figure out how to add a little more olive oil. I have lots of ideas for this, but I have been reading that cooking with olive oil (or any oil?) is not such a good idea.  I don’t know how research-based this is, so I am going to spend some time figuring it out before I go too wild with cooking.

Any ideas? I would love to hear them.

Am I consuming enough Olive Oil on the MIND diet?

References:

Estruch, R., Ros, E.;, Salas-Salvadó, J., Covas, M.-I., Corella, D., Arós, F., . . . Martínez-González, M.A. (2013).   Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet. New England Journal of Medicine, 368, 1279-1290. Whole article available at http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa1200303

Martínez-González, M.Á., Corella, D., Salas-Salvadó, J., Ros, E., Covas, M.I., Fiol, M., . . . Estruch R.  (2012). Cohort profile: Design and methods of the PREDIMED study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 41, 377-385. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyq250. Summary at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21172932

Martinez-Lapiscina E.H., Clavero P., Toledo E., Estruch R., Salas-Salvadó J., San Julián B., . . .  . . Martinez-Gonzalez M. Á. (2013). Mediterranean diet improves cognition: the PREDIMED-NAVARRA randomised trial. Journal of  Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 84, 1318–1325.  Summary at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23670794

Morris, M. C., Tangney, C. C., Wang, Y., Sacks, F. M., Barnes, L. L., Bennett, D. A., & Aggarwal, N. T. (2015). Mediterranean-dietary approach to systolic hypertension diet intervention for neurodegenerative delay diet slows cognitive decline with aging. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011

Not-so-white white sauce for the MIND diet

HOW TO, Recipes, The MIND Diet, ,

White sauce made with butter and white flour are not so good for the MIND diet. However, a few changes can make it healthier.  I set out today to make a white sauce with whole wheat flour and olive oil in place of the butter and white flour.

The first thing I did was search the web to see if anyone had done this. I found these 3 pages that at least used olive oil instead of butter:

The techniques were quite different, though. I decided to go with the “classic French sauce” because it is actually closest to the white sauce I have made in the past.

Not-so-white White Saucenot-so-white-sauce

  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 tsp onion flakes – or raw onion if you prefer – or omit
  • 2 TBSP white whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups 1% milk
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper

Heat the oil. I put about a tsp onion flakes in the oil to rehydrate while it heats. Whisk in the white whole wheat flour and let it cook over medium heat a couple of minutes.  Add the milk all at once and whisk until all mixed.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer about 10 minutes, stirring and wiping down sides frequently.  Add the salt and pepper and any herbs you like.

PDF version to print

This makes a quite thin sauce, but it does finally thicken up a bit after simmering for 10 minutes. I was about ready to add some “Wondra,” but I knew that would not be the best for the MIND diet principles.  I might try using 1 ¾ cup milk next time.

If you use this for 4 servings, the calorie count is 125 calories per serving. You could cut that by using 1 cup milk and 1 cup chicken broth. I kind of wish I had.

Creamed Turkey
I was making white sauce today because I have some left-over turkey I want to use for supper. With 9 oz (about 2 cups) chopped, cooked turkey breast, this makes a little over 2 cups.  I will probably eat half of it, which comes to 391 calories.

MIND diet score for my meal:

  • 1 for primary use of olive oil
  • 1 for whole grain -the little bit in the sauce plus the whole wheat bread I will eat the creamed turkey on  ( did have two other servings of whole grain today)
  • 1 for poultry
  • 1 for the “other vegetable” -peas that I will be serving with the creamed turkey
  • 1 for the glass of wine that I will drink with it.

I had some baby spinach for lunch and almonds for a snack. No fish or beans today but I will make up for that another day this week. I will eat a dish of strawberries for a bedtime snack.  I am feeling good about sticking to the MIND diet today.

Salads are Natural for the MIND diet

Leafy Vegetables, Recipes,

It’s really hot here in the midlands so not much cooking going on. It’s good weather for salads, though.  I have found several that seem like they are naturals for the MIND diet. Some need a bit of modification like switching to olive oil or omitting the cheese.  The salads below all contain 3 or 4 of the recommended MIND diet foods.

The first one that comes to mind is one of my favorites:

Mixed greens salad with strawberries and candied almonds
http://www.pickycook.com/soupandsalad/mixedgreenssaladwithstrawberriesandcandiedalmonds.aspx
I’m not going to repeat the recipes on this page. I will point out the foods recommended on the MIND diet and, in a few recipes, foods to avoid. These are the recommended MIND diet foods in the

  • Green, leafy vegetable
  • Berries
  • Nuts
  • Olive oil

This recipe is “just about perfect” for the MIND diet except for the sugar on the almonds.  I love them that way, but not sure if that might count as a pastry/sweet that is listed as a food to avoid on the MIND diet. Actually, the recommendation is to eat pastries/sweets less than 5 times a week. So, if you use the sugar, you might want to count against that. On the other hand, this salad is just about as good if you don’t sugar the almonds.

Bell Pepper, Tomato, Cucumber, and Grilled Bread Salad
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bell-pepper-tomato-cucumber-grilled-bread-salad

  • whole grain (if you use whole wheat bread)
  • other vegetable
  • olive oil

I haven’t tried this one yet. It looks like the kind of recipe you can add a bit of chicken breast to and have a whole meal. The chicken would add a 4th MIND diet recommended food.

Bulgur Salad with Edamame and Cherry Tomatoes Recipe
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bulgur-salad-with-edamame-cherry-tomatoes

  • beans
  • other vegetable
  • whole grain
  • olive oil

Another good way to get some whole grain in to a salad.

Black Bean and Corn Salad Recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/black-bean-and-corn-salad-recipe.html

  • beans
  • other vegetable
  • whole grain (corn)
  • olive oil

I love this one. I usually use a little bit of red pepper instead of hot sauce, and sometimes a few jalapeños.   I always add some cilantro.

Spinach, Apple and Pecan Salad
http://www.food.com/recipe/spinach-apple-and-pecan-salad-29765

  • green, leafy vegetable
  • nuts
  • olive oil

Cabbage & Carrot Crunch Salad
http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/cabbage-and-carrot-crunch-salad?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=native&utm_campaign=ob%20articles

  • green, leafy vegetable
  • other vegetable
  • nuts
  • olive oil

Wild Rice and Celery Salad
http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/wild-rice-and-celery-salad

    • whole grain
    • other vegetable
    • berries (if you use the cranberries)
    • olive oil

Strawberry and Spinach Salad
http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/strawberry-and-spinach-salad

  • berries (strawberry vinegar sounds interesting)
  • green leafy vegetable
  • olive oil
  • omit the cheese for MIND diet (or use as “<1 per week”)

Three bean salad
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/86229/three-bean-salad/

  • beans
  • other vegetable
  • olive oil

Of course, you don’ t have to stick to 3 types of beans, or these exact ones. I have made this most often with green beans, yellow beans, and pinto beans.  I usually add more sugar or sweetener or agave than this recipe includes.  So, add more to taste.

Well, that is a pretty good collection.  It’s so nice to find recipes that already follow the MIND diet without having to make a lot of changes. If you have a favorite to add, please make a comment.

 

Trouble keeping calories down on MIND diet

The MIND Diet, Weight Loss,

Four of the ten foods that are recommended on the MIND diet are ones I have tended to limit due to their calorie content:

  • Whole Grains
  • Beans
  • Nuts
  • Wine

Now, I am trying to eat more of them to meet the MIND diet requirements.  However, that increase is wreaking havoc with my attempt to lose weight.  I am trying to eat about 1000 calories per day. If I eat more than 1200 calories, I gain weight.

So, I decided to see how many calories those 4 recommended foods are costing me:

recommended
per week		 average cal/
serving		 average cal/
per week		 based on these foods and serving sizes
Wine 7 120 840 Franzia Moscato 5 oz
Beans 4 55 220 1/4 cup black beans
Nuts 5 191 955 1/4 cup walnuts
Whole grains 21 90 1890 oroweat whole grain bread
weekly total= 3905
average total
per day:
557.86

This analysis shows that these 4 foods constitute over half of my desired calorie limit every day. That doesn’t leave many calories for other foods. Let’s see how much they add up to.

This is based on what I think I should be eating. The additional fruit and the low-fat dairy are not mentioned on the MIND diet, but they are in other health-related articles. I hate to give them up.  The MIND diet does not mention an amount of olive oil, just that it should be the primary oil used. I think 1/2 TBSP per day is about a minimum for salad dressing and spreads.  Note that I am including only 3 oz of meat, fish, and poultry.  I think I am getting pretty close to a “plant-based” diet. Maybe that is the plan.

my target
per week		 average cal/
serving		 average cal/
per week		 based on:
Green leafy vegetables 7 10 70 red leaf lettuce
Other vegetables 7 30 210 average of gr beans and peas
2 Fruit, including berries 14 60 840 average of strawberries & orange
olive oil 1/2 TBSP 7 50 350 1/2 TBSP olive oil
2 low-fat dairy 14 90 1260 8 oz 1% milk & 1 light yogurt
3 oz beef, chicken, fish 7 150 1050 average of lean beef, chicken, salmon, etc.
weekly total= 3780
average total
per day:
540

That about tells the story.  558 + 540 = 1098 calories.  No wonder I can’t hit all these and my desired calorie intake of 1000 calories. I think I am going to have to adjust either number of servings or serving size. The MIND diet is presented as “one size fits all” and doesn’t really give serving sizes. I have been trying to figure out what average serving sizes are, but I think I need to focus on serving size for someone my size and age.

I am also going to figure out the most low-calorie foods that meet the MIND diet recommendations. There is a big difference between the 90 calorie Oroweat bread that I listed and 1 cup of breakfast cereal with the same amount of whole grains.

I know that activity level is a factor here also and important for preventing/stalling Alzheimers. I have been trying to hit 5,000 steps per day with 30 minutes of active exercise.  I think before I cut back on the recommended foods that I will increase my goal to 7,500 steps per day.

 

 

Success! Beans and Rice Lunch for the MIND diet

Recipes, The MIND Diet, , ,

The other day I tried to make beans and rice for lunch and failed.  The outcome was too hot to eat!  See the sad tale here.  I didn’t think I would be ready to try it again, but today the black beans sitting in my refrigerator got to me and I decided to try again.

I was very cautious this time and added the spices a little bit at a time and then tasted.  At first, it was too bland. I kept adding more and finally made it to my taste.  It reminded me of Goldilocks’ experience–too hot, too cold, and eventually just right.  I learned a lot about adapting recipes, especially for single servings.

This is the final product:

Black Beans and Rice  1 serving                               PDF version

  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup red pepper (or green, if that is what you have)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
  • 1/2 tsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained (or pinto beans or whatever)
  • 1/4 cup cooked brown rice
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder (or to your taste)
  • 1/8 tsp cumin
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Sauté the onion, celery, and red pepper in the olive oil about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute longer. Add the beans to heat and then the rice. Season to taste. The listed spices suited me, but I was still being cautious. Probably could have used a little more.

Enjoy.  I ate mine with 1/4 of an avocado, which added up to about a 300 calorie lunch.

A whole grain, a serving of black beans and rice
beans, a serving of ‘other vegetables,’ all cooked in olive oil. Seems like a win for the MIND diet and met my goal for a filling, low-calorie lunch, too.

 

 

 

Nutrition info calculated in MyFitnessPal.comblack beans and rice nutrition

Failed recipe for the MIND diet

Recipes, The MIND Diet, Uncategorized, , ,

I tried to make Red Beans and Rice for my lunch today, but it wasn’t very edible. I got through about half of it but then threw it out. I won’t be able to face it again for a while, so I thought I would post it in hopes that someone else would refine it.

I started with this recipe for inspiration: Authentic Louisiana Red Beans and Rice.

My plan was to make a single-serving because, if I really didn’t like it, I didn’t want more than one. Unfortunately, it is something my husband would eat.

The problem started with the rice. I had Uncle Ben’s Instant Brown Rice, which I usually use successfully to make 4 servings using the stove top method. I wanted to make just one serving so I used the microwave method.  I divided the 4 serving amounts by 4 and ended up with 2 TBSP of the dry rice and 1/4 cup of low sodium chicken broth.  I scaled back the cooking times as I thought appropriate: 5 minutes on high, then 5 minutes on medium, then let it stand for 5 minutes. My microwave is only about 700 watts so not too high. But, this didn’t work. It looked ok after the first 5 minutes but after the second 5 minutes and standing time, it was all brown (browner than brown rice should be) and hard. I tried again and just cooked it 5 minutes on high and then let it stand 5 minutes. Better, but not very fluffy.  The box does say that the stove-top method is preferred and now I see why. Next time, I will cook 4 servings on the stove and just use what I need. Or, use left-over rice because I usually do have a bit when I make 4 servings.

I used 1/4 cup each of onion, red pepper, and celery and 1 clove garlic. I sautéed the veggies in 1/2 tsp olive oil.  That all worked well and smelled great.

I went to add 1/4 cup of pinto beans, but found out I didn’t have any. I used black beans and they seemed like a good substitution.

The biggest problem, though, was the scaling down of the spices.  I thought I did the math right, but somehow the result was HOT.  I like Hot, but this was too HOT. One of the reasons was that I didn’t have the Cajun Seasoning that was called for. So, I looked up a substitute on Allrecipes.

These were my seasonings

  • 1/8 tsp thyme
  • 1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/16 tsp sage
  • ½ tsp dried parsley
  • 1/8 tsp Cajun seasoning (I used the spices listed below for a substitute)
    • 1/8 tsp salt
    • 1/8 tsp oregano
    • 1/8 tsp paprika
    • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper – I only used 1/8 tsp of this mixture so not much
    • 1/8 tsp black pepper

Anyway, that was too much cayenne for me. I found that trying to scale down spices to one serving was a challenge.

If you compare my recipe to the inspiration recipe, you might wonder what happened to the sausage.  For the lunch I was making, I decided to omit it. I still think this would be fine without it. If I were making it for dinner, I might add some chicken sausage.

Since this was so HOT, I couldn’t taste much else. But, I did like the texture of the veggies and beans – not the rice.  I wasn’t sure if I liked the other spices in this recipe. I like them all in other recipes, but here not so much. I am thinking the next time I try this, I might use chili powder and cumin.  With some avocado slices and cilantro, I think that is more my style.

 

 

 

 

Nice MIND Diet poster

The MIND Diet,

Prevention.com has a nice MIND Diet poster. You can save it as an image from http://www.prevention.com/health/cut-alzheimer-risk . It fits nicely on an 8.5 by 11 sheet to print out and put on your refrigerator.

MIND diet poster
MIND diet poster

Review it carefully, though. Here are a couple of things to be aware of.

  • There are only 9 images for  recommended foods instead of 10. Olive oil is mentioned in the line below the images.
  • It looks like there are only 4 foods to avoid. That is because they lumped cheese with fast food and fried food.
  • Beans are listed as 3 recommended per week, but the research article says ‘more than 3.’
  • Red meat is listed as “4 times a week or less” but the research article says “less than 4 times per week”

But, the images and format are nice for a reminder, so I think it’s good to use – just edit it a bit.

Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins – MIND diet Makeover

Berries, Recipes, Whole Grains, ,

I found a recipe for Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins with Blueberries at a site called Making Healthier Decisions.  It just needed a few tweaks to make it optimal for the MIND diet.

I substituted olive oil for the vegetable oil, used all whole wheat flour instead of half white flour, and added a whole cup of blueberries (fresh, not frozen)  instead of half a cup. I also used old-fashioned oatmeal instead of quick-cooking, just because that is what I had on hand.

Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins                     PDF Version

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 cup oatmeal, instant or old-fashioned
  • 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 12 cup muffin tin

Mix the oil, brown sugar, applesauce and egg.  Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and oatmeal.  Combine the two very gently, as little as possible. Blend in the blueberries very carefully.dipping

Use a heaping 1/4 cup ice cream  type scoop to divide the batter into the 12 muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

These are good muffins. The major change I made was using all whole wheat flour. I see that lots of recipes use the half and half way, but omitting the while flour seemed to work fine in this recipe.

The calorie count came out at 171 calories, so I can eat one for breakfast along with some additional fruit or cottage cheese. I believe I can count it as 1 of my 3 whole grain products for the day. There is only 1/12 of a cup of blueberries in each muffin, though, so I won’t be counting it as one of my berries for the week. Using olive oil will contribute to being able to say I use olive oil as my primary oil.

I do feel a little bad about the brown sugar. I hope that does not put these muffins in the Pastries and Sweets category. I guess that wouldn’t be a big problem because up to 5 of those are allowed per week.

 

How MIND diet compares to other diets

The MIND Diet, , , ,

The MIND diet is based in part on the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet. The TLC diet is another healthy diet that is aimed specifically at lowering cholesterol.

This is a comparison of the components of these four diets.

MIND diet* Mediterranean** DASH*** TLC****
Green, leafy veg >6 /week Eat vegetables at every meal 3-4 vegetables/day Vegetables/ Dry Beans/Peas
3–5/day
Other veg >1/day
Nuts >5/week Eat small amounts Nuts, seeds, and legumes   3/week  
Berries >2/week Eat fruit at every meal All Fruits 3-4/day All fruits
2-4/day
Beans >3/week Eat frequently With nuts  
Whole grains >3/day Eat frequently 4-5/day 6 or more/day
Fish >1/week > 2/week Meat, fish, and poultry  3 oz. or less/day Meat/poultry, and fish <5 oz/day
Poultry >2/week Moderate amounts
Olive oil primary oil primary oil/fat Fats & oils: 1/day Unsaturated oils and nuts
Wine 1/day < 1/day, usually red Not mentioned Not mentioned
Red meat < 4/week <2/mo Lean meats with fish & poultry Lean meat included with fish & poultry
Butter & stick margarine < TBSP/day Use olive oil or canola oil instead Fats and oils limited to 1/day Unsaturated oils and nuts
Cheese < 1/week Eat small amounts Low fat Included in low fat dairy
Pastries and sweets <5/week Only occasionally <3 /week  
Fried foods & fast food  < 1/week  Not mentioned Low fat and lean  emphasized  
       
Low-fat Dairy  Not mentioned  Moderate amounts  2-3/day  2-3/day low fat
Salt  Not mentioned  Replace with herbs  and spices  2300 mg  Sodium/day  
Eggs  Not mentioned  < 2 yolks/week

MIND diet info from this article:

Morris, M. C., Tangney, C. C., Wang, Y., Sacks, F. M., Barnes, L. L., Bennett, D. A., & Aggarwal, N. T. (2015). Mediterranean-dietary approach to systolic hypertension diet intervention for neurodegenerative delay diet slows cognitive decline with aging. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011

**Mediterranean Diet info from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801

***DASH diet info from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/dash/followdash  based on 1200 cal diet

****TLC diet info from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/chol_tlc.pdf  pp. 34-35

MIND diet tracker

HOW TO, , ,

Keeping track of how you are doing with 10 recommended foods and 5 foods to avoid can be tricky. I have been working on an Excel file to use as a tracker. I am not sure if I will print it out and put it on my refrigerator or try to remember to add to it on my computer.

Actually, I am pretty good at tracking what I eat at MyFitnessPal, so I am going to try to do it electronically. I added calculations where I could to cut down on what has to be done by hand.  Working with Excel formulas is one of those things that helps keep my brain active. The foods for which the basis of the points are all expressed by the week were fairly easy, but I am still struggling with the ones that are expressed by the day or the month or even less specific.

Eventually, I would like to make this into a web-based and iPhone app.

Here is v1:  MIND diet tracker  

If you use the tracker, please let me know how this works for you and send me suggestions, if you have them.