ByDaniella Gray
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A blood test could predict who responds best to a brain-healthy diet, researchers found
Researchers analyzed data from the MIND clinical trial and found that the cognitive effects of the MIND diet appeared to differ depending on participants’ levels of Alzheimer’s-related biomarkers in their blood before starting the intervention
The MIND diet—a combination of elements from the Mediterranean and DASH diets—was developed to support brain health and has been linked in previous studies to a lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia
The new analysis, published in theJournal of Alzheimer’s Disease, focused on two blood biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease: amyloid-β40 and phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181). These proteins are linked to the amyloid plaques and tau tangles that are hallmarks of the disease
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Using data from 602 adults ages 65 to 84 who participated in the three-year MIND trial, researchers examined whether baseline biomarker levels influenced how cognition changed over time
Participants entered the study without cognitive impairment and were randomly assigned either to follow the MIND diet or a control diet. The researchers found that levels of amyloid-β40 and p-tau181 modified the relationship between the diet and cognitive outcomes
People with higher levels of these Alzheimer’s-related biomarkers experienced greater improvements in cognitive scores when assigned to the MIND diet compared with those in the control group. The same effect was not seen for another commonly studied biomarker, the amyloid-β42/40 ratio
Lead author Dr. Klodian Dhana, an associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, said the findings raise the possibility that the MIND diet may be particularly helpful for individuals showing early biological signs of Alzheimer’s disease
“In our analysis of data from the MIND trial, we found that the association between the dietary intervention and cognition varied by how much beta-amyloid and phosphorylated tau individuals had in the blood at the start of the study,” Dhana said
He said that the results suggest the diet “may be more beneficial for individuals with higher levels of these blood biomarkers.”
The findings add a new layer to results from the original MIND trial, which were published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2023. That study found that cognition improved in both the MIND diet and control groups over three years, with only a slightly greater improvement in the MIND group overall
According to the researchers, blood-based Alzheimer’s biomarkers could eventually help personalize dietary interventions by identifying people most likely to respond
However, they cautioned that the current analysis was conducted after the original trial data had been collected and was designed to uncover patterns rather than prove cause and effect
While more research is needed, the study highlights the growing potential of blood tests not only to detect Alzheimer’s-related changes in the body but also to guide prevention strategies long before symptoms appear
Reference
Dhana, K., Aggarwal, N.T., Arfanakis, K., Sacks, F.M. and Barnes, L.L. (2026). Dietary intervention and cognition across Alzheimer’s disease biomarker levels: The MIND clinical trial. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 111(3), pp.1301–1308. doi:10.1177/13872877261442856
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kara Dolman and Sam Wilson
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