How easy is the MIND Diet to follow?

The MIND Diet is ranked   #4 in Easiest Diets to Follow

With broad food group recommendations, and "permission" to stick to guidelines loosely, the MIND diet should be easy to follow.

Eating out on the MIND diet is doable. Also, alcohol is allowed in moderation.

Recipes for the MIND diet are increasingly available. “Diet for the MIND: The Latest Science on What to Eat to Prevent Alzheimer’s and Cognitive Decline” was written by Morris and includes recipes by her daughter, a chef. MIND diet cookbooks by Kristin Diversi, and registered dietitians Julie Andrews and Maggie Moon offer meal plans as well.

There aren’t any time-savers with the MIND diet unless you can enlist help planning, shopping for and preparing meals. Otherwise, you're on your own.

While not specific to the MIND diet, you could probably get and adapt tips from the Oldways website, which is geared toward the Mediterranean diet. Similarly, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute gives advice on healthy eating and is geared toward lowering blood pressure and the DASH diet.

With MIND's emphasis on green leafy veggies, which are rich in fibre, and no calorie-cutting requirement, you can feel as full as you like. Nutrition experts stress the importance of satiety – that feeling you've had enough to eat.

If you're used to dishes like veggies cooked in butter, your taste buds will soon adapt to olive oil flavour. The same goes for foods prepared by frying: You'll get used to baked or grilled versions instead.

How much should you exercise on the MIND Diet?

Exercise is not addressed in the MIND diet to date. However, physical activity may help protect the brain in people at higher risk for Alzheimer’s, suggest previous studies, such as a 2014 study in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

Government guidelines encourage adults to get at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity activity like brisk walking each week, along with a couple of days of muscle-strengthening activities.