The MIND diet score is associated with lower likelihood of small vessel arteriosclerosis, lower white matter hyperintensities, and higher total brain volume, with cerebrovascular health partially mediating the diet-cognition link among older adults.
Higher MIND diet scores were associated with lower arteriolosclerosis scores (ARTS) in community-dwelling older adults.
Higher MIND diet scores were associated with lower white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume.
Higher MIND diet scores were associated with greater total brain volume (TBV).
The association between MIND diet and global cognition was statistically significant and partially mediated by arteriolosclerosis score.
Total brain volume partially mediated the association between MIND diet score and global cognition.
This research suggests that older adults who more closely follow the MIND diet — a dietary pattern emphasizing foods like leafy greens, berries, nuts, fish, and olive oil while limiting red meat and processed foods — tend to have healthier brain blood vessels and more preserved brain tissue. Specifically, higher adherence to the MIND diet was linked to less damage to small blood vessels in the brain (measured by a new MRI-based tool called ARTS), fewer white matter lesions (bright spots on brain scans that indicate vascular injury), and greater overall brain volume. These associations held even after accounting for age, sex, education, and other lifestyle factors. The study also found that the well-known link between diet and cognitive performance is not solely direct — part of it appears to be explained by the health of the brain's blood vessels and the preservation of brain volume. Specifically, arteriolosclerosis accounted for about 8.5% of the diet-cognition relationship, and total brain volume accounted for about 9%, suggesting these are meaningful but not complete pathways. The study used a fully automated MRI-based measure of arteriolosclerosis in living people, which is a relatively novel approach for assessing small vessel disease without requiring autopsy tissue. This research matters because it provides evidence for a biological pathway — brain vascular health — through which diet may influence cognitive aging. The sample of 713 older adults (average age 81) is relatively large for this type of neuroimaging study, and the use of objective MRI measures strengthens the findings. However, because the study is observational, it cannot prove that the MIND diet causes better brain health or slower cognitive decline, only that they are associated.
Agarwal P, Lamar M, Kapasi A, Wagner M, Evia A, Aggarwal N, et al.. (2026). MIND diet, cerebrovascular health, and cognition among community-dwelling older adults.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71772