MIND diet linked to better attentional control in schoolchildren, study finds

A study of schoolchildren found that children whose diets more closely resembled the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) performed better on a cognitive task measuring attentional control. In contrast, adherence to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index 2020, was not associated with cognitive performance. The paper was published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement.

Scientific research over the past several decades has highlighted many links between overall dietary patterns and various health and cognitive outcomes. This growing body of evidence has led researchers to propose specific dietary plans aimed at improving general health or reducing the risk of particular disorders.

One such diet is the MIND diet, short for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. It is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH diets (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), designed to support brain health and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The MIND diet emphasizes consuming leafy greens, berries, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, fish, and poultry while limiting red meat, butter, cheese, sweets, and fried food. Studies in adults suggest that even moderate adherence to the MIND diet is associated with slower cognitive decline. The diet is rich in antioxidants, fiber, and healthy fats thought to support vascular and neural function.

Another framework for assessing diet quality is the Healthy Eating Index 2020 (HEI-2020). This index is used to measure how well an individual’s diet aligns with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It includes 13 components, such as intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and added sugars. A higher HEI-2020 score indicates greater adherence to these national dietary recommendations.

The researchers aimed to explore whether adherence to the MIND diet was associated with better performance on a cognitive task designed to assess attentional inhibition in children. Attentional inhibition is the ability to suppress distracting or irrelevant information to focus on a task. For comparison, the study also evaluated whether performance was related to HEI-2020 scores.

Participants were 85 children between the ages of 6 and 12, recruited from East-Central Illinois. Their average age was 10 years, and 44 of the children were girls. The children consumed an average of 1,690 kilocalories per day.

With the help of their parents or legal guardians, children completed detailed seven-day food diaries, listing all foods and beverages consumed and estimating portion sizes. These records were analyzed using specialized nutrition software to calculate each child’s MIND diet score and Healthy Eating Index 2020 score.

Children also completed a modified Eriksen flanker task, a computer-based test of attentional inhibition. In this task, five arrows appear on the screen, and participants are instructed to press a button indicating the direction of the central arrow, ignoring the surrounding arrows. The task includes congruent trials (where all arrows point the same direction) and incongruent trials (where the central arrow points in the opposite direction of the flanking arrows).

After adjusting for age, sex, total caloric intake, and household income, the researchers found that children with higher MIND diet adherence were more accurate on both congruent and incongruent trials. However, MIND diet scores were not associated with faster reaction times. In contrast, the Healthy Eating Index 2020 was not significantly related to either accuracy or reaction time.

“In school-aged children, higher adherence to the MIND diet related to greater accuracy on our attentional inhibition task. This indicates potential benefits of the MIND diet are evident in childhood. Future MIND diet interventions are needed to inform dietary recommendations for optimal cognitive function in children,” the study authors concluded.

While these findings suggest a link between brain-healthy dietary patterns and attentional performance, the study’s cross-sectional design means it cannot establish causality. Other factors not included in the analysis—such as physical activity, sleep, pubertal status, or home environment—could also influence cognitive performance.

The study sample also lacked socioeconomic and racial diversity, with the majority of participants being White and from households earning over $81,000 per year. As such, the findings may not be generalizable to all populations. Additionally, the dietary data were self-reported, which can be subject to error. Future studies using biological markers of diet and more diverse populations will be important in verifying these results.

The paper, “MIND Diet Pattern Is Associated with Attentional Control in School‑Aged Children,” was authored by Shelby A. Keye, Tori A. Holthaus, Corinne N. Cannavale, Laura M. Rosok, Emma Lamblin, Lisa Renzi‑Hammond, Hannah D. Holscher, and Naiman A. Khan.