Is The MIND Diet Helpful To You After Bariatric Surgery?

April 24, 2023

Really, a diet for your mind? Here we go again. One more diet and one more miracle promise. I don’t blame you if this is exactly what you’re saying to yourself. I am right there with you. Most of the time you would be spot on as diet after diet promises the moon and actually delivers very little. This time is different and the MIND diet is different. The benefits to you after weight loss surgery are real. Here’s what you need to know.

DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension)

Think of the MIND diet as a hybrid diet of the well known and well studied Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet. DASH stands for “dietary approach to stop hypertension” or rather how to lower your blood pressure naturally with food. The MIND diet zeroes in on brain-healthy foods that quality research has shown to be beneficial for better cognitive or brain function.

What is it about the MIND diet that works? How does it help your brain function? And, most importantly, is the diet in line with the bariatric lifestyle and eating plan that are so important for your successful transformation and journey after surgery? Researchers think that these MIND foods are both anti-inflammatory and neuro-protective or protective to your brain. This results in what’s called brain resilience, especially as you age, which happens every day.

Remember that inflammation in your body can be a good thing or a not so good thing. Inflammation is good if it’s short-term, such as when you cut yourself and your immune system sends in white blood cells to jump start the healing process. Inflammation is not so good when it becomes chronic or on-going inflammation in your body. This type of inflammation, which is invisible to your eye, gets all the media attention because it’s been implicated as an underlying cause of many common diseases from heart disease and autoimmune illness like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis to some cancers, diabetes, and even stroke. Chronic inflammation can damage your blood vessels, which increases your risk for heart problems.

In cancer, inflammation can damage your genes or increase the development of blood vessels that allows cancer cells to spread and grow.

Did you know that chronic inflammation and obesity are linked too? What kind of link is it? Recent studies have shown that obesity may be causing chronic inflammation, which in-turn causes insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that helps your cells take up sugar. If your body becomes resistant to insulin, your blood glucose or blood sugar remains high. Insulin resistance could be a factor in both diabetes and weight gain. These effects make obesity and inflammation like a case of the chicken and the egg…which comes first? Obesity causes inflammation and chronic inflammation can eventually lead to obesity.

A diet which includes a lot of anti-inflammatory foods helps prevent these health problems related to inflammation as well as be neuro-protective or protect your brain.

Let’s look more closely at these brain healthy foods that the MIND diet highlights as protective. Notice that they all fit into a bariatric-friendly lifestyle after you have progressed back to eating regular food.

Brain Protective, Bariatric-Friendly Foods

More to the point as it relates to your weight loss surgery, the MIND diet has at least three benefits:

Bariatric surgery is stressful with a lot of changes before, during and after your procedure. Protecting your brain health and your cognitive function helps you to live the life you want to live now and in the future.

This one may surprise you. Did you know that fiber ranks as one of the most anti-inflammatory food components? Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that is not absorbed by your body, so it helps to keep you full without adding extra calories. And today’s special…a serving of science 101… beans and whole grains contain fermentable fiber, which may be particularly helpful to the microbiota of the colon. This fermentable fiber produces butyrate, a fatty acid that assists in maintaining the intestinal wall and protects it from substances that could increase inflammation. Choosing smart fiber foods such as beans and whole grains which are anti-inflammatory can make a difference in your health after weight loss surgery.

Think about the foods we just listed. Veggies, berries, nuts, whole grains and beans all contain fiber, which help you reach your goal of adding fiber to your diet after surgery, feeling full, preventing constipation all while protecting your brain function. Sounds like a win-win all the way around. Less constipation, more brain power…what’s not to love?

This is powerful. Numerous foods are touted to single-handedly fight inflammation. But that’s just not how it works. For your diet to have an anti-inflammatory effect, the key is not to focus on a single food or food component. The ultimate success of the anti-inflammatory diet approach, as well as the MIND diet or neuro protective approach, is based on synergy. Think of your favorite team…basketball, soccer, football, whatever it is. To win and to continue to win, the team must work closely together. In the same way, the synergistic effect of nutrients and bioactive compounds consumed together from a variety of these foods we just talked about provides the best brain protective outcome.

The bottom line benefit is better brain function. By the way, a short side note. If someone you love is showing signs of age-related brain decline or Alzheimer’s disease, the MIND diet is also potentially helpful.

As you think about what you’ll eat today and this week, remember to include some of these foods: green leafy vegetables and other vegetables, berries, nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fish, beans and poultry. You’ll protect your brain while benefiting your bariatric surgery. It’s never too late to get started. You’re worth it.

Registered dietitian nutritionist Dr. Susan Mitchell is host of the podcast Bariatric Surgery Success

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bariatric dietitian Dr. Susan Mitchell is host of the podcast Bariatric Surgery Success. Selected as one of the Best 35 Dietitian Podcasts, Bariatric Surgery Success was chosen from thousands of podcasts on the web ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority, and freshness. With a focus on nutrition before and after bariatric surgery, I help you eat for success while you conquer cravings, emotional eating, and weight regain.

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