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Readers curious about the MIND diet often ask what not to put on their plate. According to CBS News and the researchers behind the plan, five foods stand out as items to avoid because of their links to cognitive decline.
Why Should You Avoid Red Meat on the MIND Diet?
Red meat is high in saturated fat, and researchers link processed varieties like bacon, hot dogs and sausage to a higher risk of dementia and faster cognitive aging.
A 2025 study published in Neurology followed 133,771 people with an average age of 49 for up to 43 years. Participants who ate 0.25 or more servings of processed red meat per day had a 13% higher risk of developing dementia than those who ate fewer than 0.10 servings, after adjusting for age, sex and other risk factors. A single serving is 3 ounces, about the size of a deck of cards.
“Red meat has been shown in previous studies to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which are both linked to reduced brain health,” said Dong Wang, MD, ScD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Wang added that swapping processed red meat for nuts, fish or poultry may reduce a person’s risk.
How Do Fast Food and Fried Food Affect Brain Health?
Ultra-processed and fried foods are tied to faster cognitive decline and can disrupt memory processing after just a few days, according to studies cited in the MIND diet research.
A 2022 study published in JAMA analyzed dietary data from 10,775 people in Brazil and concluded that “higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with a higher rate of global and executive function decline after a median follow-up of eight years.”
A separate 2025 study from UNC School of Medicine published in Neuron found that brain cells in the hippocampus called CCK interneurons become overly active after a high-fat diet resembling cheeseburgers and fries. The change disrupted memory in the short term.
“What surprised us most was how quickly these cells changed their activity in response to reduced glucose availability, and how this shift alone was enough to impair memory,” Dr. Juan Song of the UNC Neuroscience Center said.
Should You Eat Butter or Margarine on the MIND Diet?
The MIND diet recommends swapping butter and margarine for olive oil, which researchers connect to a lower risk of dying from dementia.
Findings presented at Nutrition 2023, the annual meeting of the American Society of Nutrition, showed that people who consumed more than half a tablespoon of olive oil per day had a 28% lower risk of dying from dementia compared with peers who never or rarely consumed it. Replacing just one teaspoon of margarine or commercial mayonnaise with olive oil was associated with an 8% to 14% lower risk of dying from dementia.
“Opting for olive oil, a natural product, instead of fats such as margarine and commercial mayonnaise is a safe choice and may reduce the risk of fatal dementia,” said Anne-Julie Tessier, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Is Cheese OK to Eat on the MIND Diet?
The MIND diet limits cheese because of its saturated fat, though newer research suggests the picture may be more nuanced. Several outlets suggest capping cheese at once a week.
Many cheeses contain saturated fat, which has been associated with higher LDL cholesterol. Because vascular health and brain health are closely connected, the MIND diet emphasizes foods lower in saturated fat.
A 25-year prospective cohort study published in Neurology found that higher consumption of regular-fat cheese was associated with a modestly lower risk of developing dementia, including vascular dementia. Low-fat cheese showed no significant association.
“Our study found that some high-fat dairy products may actually lower the risk of dementia, challenging some long-held assumptions about fat and brain health,” said study author Emily Sonestedt of Lund University in Sweden.
Because the study was observational, it cannot establish that eating cheese prevents dementia. The results are an association, not proof of cause and effect.
How Often Can You Eat Sweets on the MIND Diet?
The MIND diet recommends eating sweets and pastries less than five times a week, since higher sugar intake is tied to a greater dementia risk in older adults.
A 2024 study tracked 789 participants from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a community-based longitudinal cohort of older adults free of known dementia at enrollment. Over an average follow-up of 7.3 years, 118 participants developed dementia.
Those in the highest quintile of total sugar intake were roughly twice as likely to develop dementia as those in the lowest quintile, after adjusting for age, sex, education, APOE ε4 allele status, physical activity and diet score. In exploratory analyses, the highest versus lowest quintile of fructose was linked to a 2.8 times higher dementia risk, and sucrose to a 1.93 times higher risk.
According to the researchers, fructose sources include sweetened beverages, snacks and packaged desserts, while sucrose shows up in juices, desserts, candies and commercial cereals.
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