Every meal does more than fill you up. It feeds the trillions of processes running inside your body, most of them working to keep your brain going. Dr Lizette Kuhn, a PhD-qualified registered dietitian with close to twenty years in private practice, has built her career on that connection.
She joined Sonya Girnat-Hallett on the You’ve Earned It Hub Conversation Series to explain the MIND diet: where it comes from, and how she adapted it for South African plates and South African budgets.
If the video doesn’t appear, you can watch it directly on YouTube here.
Key Takeaways from the Webinar
Food shapes your brain through your gut
The gut holds seventy percent of your immune system. When the gut lining weakens, half-digested particles slip into the bloodstream, and the body reads them as invaders. The resulting inflammation is one of the mechanisms linked to cognitive decline. Dr Kuhn’s underlying message: the body works as one connected system, so supporting gut health supports the brain too.
The MIND diet blends two proven eating plans
American researcher Professor Martha Clare Morris built the MIND diet by merging the Mediterranean diet with the DASH diet, developed to control high blood pressure, then added foods research flagged as protective for the brain. The result targets cognitive function specifically, rather than weight loss.
It works when adapted for South Africa
Two-thirds of people living with dementia live in developing countries, yet most dementia research comes out of wealthy ones. Registered dietitian Dr Lizette Kuhn adapted the MIND diet using foods that are affordable and already familiar on South African tables, then tested it in her own research. The outcome: measurable improvement in cognition among the group who followed her adapted plan, most notably among those who added fish. Dr Kuhn walks through exactly which foods she swapped in, and why, in the full webinar recording.
Balance beats elimination
People chasing fast results often cut out a whole food group, but this removes its benefits along with whatever they were trying to avoid. Weight lost this way often includes muscle, not only fat, and muscle mass already declines naturally from around age thirty. Dr Kuhn’s advice: stick to a balanced diet, cook from scratch as often as possible, and cut back on processed food rather than whole food groups.
Check with a healthcare provider first
No diet suits everyone in the same way. Some MIND diet staples interact with medication: daily green leafy vegetables, for example, affect certain blood thinning medications, and high-fibre foods are unsuitable for people with digestive conditions such as diverticulitis. Dr Kuhn’s advice is clear: speak to a healthcare provider before changing your diet, particularly if you take medication for a chronic condition.
It is never too late to start
The brain appears most vulnerable before age five, and again between forty and sixty. But Dr Kuhn’s own study included participants aged fifty-nine to eighty-nine, and still recorded an overall improvement in cognition across the group. Diet works alongside movement and social connection too, not instead of them. It is one part of a larger picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the MIND diet?
The MIND diet combines the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet with a short list of foods research links to brain health. Researchers in the United States built it to support cognitive function specifically, rather than for weight loss.
Does diet affect dementia risk?
Diet is one of several modifiable factors linked to dementia risk. No single diet removes that risk entirely, but eating patterns like the MIND diet target inflammation and gut health, two mechanisms researchers connect to cognitive decline.
Is the MIND diet expensive to follow?
No, not when it is adapted with local ingredients. South African dietitian Dr Lizette Kuhn built and tested a version of the MIND diet using foods already common and affordable in South African households.
Is it too late to start eating for brain health later in life?
No age is too late to start. Research on the MIND diet includes participants into their eighties, and still shows a positive effect on cognition.
How does gut health affect the brain?
Around seventy percent of the immune system sits in the gut. When the gut lining weakens, undigested particles enter the bloodstream and trigger inflammation, a process researchers link directly to cognitive decline.
What foods does the MIND diet focus on?
The MIND diet centres on vegetables, especially green leafy ones, along with fish, while limiting red meat and processed food. Dr Kuhn’s South African adaptation builds this around foods that are already familiar and within reach.
Should I speak to a doctor before starting the MIND diet?
Yes. Some components of the MIND diet interact with medication. Daily green leafy vegetables, for example, affect certain blood thinning medications. Speak to a healthcare provider before changing your diet, especially if you take medication for a chronic condition.
Research Mentioned
The MIND Diet Studies
The original research behind the MIND diet, combining the Mediterranean and DASH diets with additional brain-protective foods, and establishing the scoring system used to measure how closely someone follows the plan.
Dr Lizette Kuhn’s South African MIND Diet Adaptation
Independent South African research adapting the MIND diet for local affordability and availability, and testing its effect on cognition among South African participants. Full details feature in the webinar recording.
The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care
A leading report identifying modifiable risk factors linked to dementia risk, referenced during the webinar to place diet within the wider picture of prevention.
South African Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (Department of Health)
The national guidance Dr Kuhn uses as a reference point with her own patients for portion sizes and food group balance.
Resources and Support
If this conversation raised questions about your own diet, or about a loved one’s risk of dementia, these organisations offer further guidance.
South African Resources
- Association for Dietetics in South Africa (ADSA), to find a registered dietitian near you
- South African Food-Based Dietary Guidelines, Department of Health
- Dementia SA
- South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG)
International Resources
You can find Dr Lizette Kuhn’s practice at https://lizettekuhndietetics.co.za/ contact her for more on nutrition and brain health.