Following the MIND diet can improve cognitive functioning and enable healthy weight management.
To say there are a million different diets out there to try might be understating the scope of the market. In response to the obesity crisis in the United States, there have been an incredible number of diets created by countless different people and businesses – and to the average person, the whole landscape can be a bit overwhelming. Plenty of people would like to lose weight but don’t really know where to start. One thing that is interesting about the diet landscape is that not all diets are necessarily aimed specifically at weight loss. Overall well-being can be the target of a diet plan, which likely includes maintaining a healthy weight but not necessarily triggering extreme weight loss. Such is the story with the MIND diet, an option that has gained significant popularity in recent times.
The MIND diet actually brings together two of the most popular modern diets – the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet. Those are two of the most respected diet options on the market today, and the MIND diet brings in the addition of some foods that are thought to help promote brain function.
While the specifics of the MIND diet can vary depending on how it is implemented, there are a few core components. Each day, dieters would be expected to consume three servings of whole grains, along with a serving of vegetables. In addition, each week the individual would consume at least six servings of leafy green vegetables.
Like with any diet, it’s possible to make some mistakes that will undermine the success that is able to be found on the MIND diet. Those errors could include the following:
- Sudden change. Even if someone is committed to eating healthier, that probably isn’t going to happen overnight. Instead, gradual changes tend to be more effective than trying to do it all at once.
- Being too strict. Yes, it’s important to follow a diet accurately, but everyone makes mistakes or gets off track from time to time. When people aren’t willing to allow themselves to make a few mistakes along the way, they might fall off track entirely and go back to their previous habits.
- Thinking only of subtracting. It’s easy to focus on what is being taken out of a diet when making this kind of change, but it might be more productive to simply focus at the start on what is being added. Then, in time, those new additions can gradually crowd out the things that aren’t so healthy.
Given the abundance and availability of unhealthy foods, it is important for people to have an eating plan in mind when making daily choices. Without such a plan, it’s easy to get swept up into eating whatever is easy and convenient – and those selections are rarely ideal for health. Using something like the MIND diet, as long as it is used correctly, can be a big help in not only keeping body weight in a healthy range, but also in terms of heart health, brain function, and many other factors.
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