MIND Diet and Patient Empowerment

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“I feel like no matter what I do, nothing really changes. How are you going to fix me?”

A patient told me this recently and it was a powerful reminder that our patients often feel powerless in the distress of a mental health journey. In their perceived loss of agency and control, they often turn to professionals to be “fixed.” Part of our role is to restore the balance of power to the patient themselves and remind them that they, in fact, have a great deal of control over their own health. We can empower them with the right tools to make that impact.

One of those tools is the food we all eat. In a recent study, the MIND Diet, which is a combination of the Mediterranean diet and DASH diet, looked at the impact of these dietary changes over time in preventing cognitive decline. The study looked at over 14,000 patients over 10 years and concluded that close adherence to this diet—which consists of green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and fish—showed a clinically significant difference in reducing the risk of cognitive decline.

This year, the American Psychiatric Association President, Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, DrMedSc, has outlined a theme for lifestyle and mental health. Perhaps the single most refreshing element of this theme to patients is the empowerment. I am not a passive spectator of my health and not simply a product of the genetic lottery that produced me. Rather, my choices have impact on my own health and the health of others.

During the incredibly difficult experience of COVID-19 pandemic, we developed an awareness of our collective public health. With the food we eat and the choices we make with our friends and family, a study like one on the MIND Diet reminds us that we are able to make collective choices to impact the health of those around us. Dietary changes often have a greater likelihood of being sustained with encouragement.

Part of this power balance restoration involves a less paternalistic approach from those who typically hold it in a patient-doctor dynamic. The more we can “step down” to the level of a patient and align ourselves with them on their journey, the more they will feel empowered to make their own choices. As we guide them along that journey, we likely discover what we instantly knew all along: that we really never had the power to change them to begin with.

Dr Mirhom is the immediate past president of the New York County Psychiatric Society, an assistant professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, codirector of the PPF Express Program, and the Chief Wellbeing Officer at Athletes for Hope.

Reference

Sawyer RP, Blair J, Shatz R, et al. Association of adherence to a MIND-style diet with the risk of cognitive impairment and decline in the REGARDS cohort. Neurology. 2024;103(8):e209817.