4. The MIND diet
The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet combines aspects of the Mediterranean and DASH diets to create an eating pattern that focuses on brain health.

How it works
Like the flexitarian diet, the MIND diet does not have a strict meal plan, but instead encourages eating 10 specific foods with brain health benefits.

Per week, MIND includes eating:

six or more servings of green, leafy vegetables
one serving of non-starchy vegetables
five or more servings of nuts
Other foods it encourages multiple times a week include:

berries
beans
olive oil
whole grains
fish
poultry
Health benefits
Research shows that the MIND diet may reduce a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and studies show that the MIND diet is superior to other plant-rich diets for improving cognition (20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source).

Research also shows that the MIND diet can help slow cognitive decline and improve resiliency in older adults (22Trusted Source).

It may also help delay the onset of the movement disorder Parkinson’s disease (23Trusted Source).

There is little research concerning the MIND diet and weight loss. Yet, since it is a combination of two diets that promote weight loss, the MIND diet may also help you lose weight.

One way it can help promote weight loss is that it encourages limiting your consumption of foods like:

butter
cheese
red meat
fried food
sweets
However, more research needs to be done concerning the MIND diet and weight loss.

Other benefits
By combining the best of two diets, the MIND diet has a lot to offer and offers some more flexibility than stricter diets.

While you can eat more than the 10 food groups it recommends, the closer you stick to the diet, the better your results may be.