HSOS #37: Feed Your Brain: The MIND Diet and Menopause

Ever walked into a room, stood there like a question mark, and walked back out completely clueless about why you went in? Same, girl. Same. Kim is getting real about the brain fog, the name blanks, the grocery store disasters, and why so many women in menopause are quietly Googling "early onset Alzheimer's" at 2am. Spoiler: your brain isn't broken, it's just navigating a major hormonal shift and guess what? You have way more power over this than you think. In this episode, Kim breaks down the science behind menopausal brain fog, why women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer's, and introduces the MIND Diet, one of the most compelling, research-backed eating patterns specifically designed to protect your brain and slash your risk of cognitive decline. With a 53% reduction in Alzheimer's risk for those who follow it closely, this is one episode your future self will seriously thank you for listening to.

Let's talk.

Welcome to Her Season of Strength — where women over 40 reclaim their bodies, their energy, and their voices, without apologies. I'm Kim Duffy — registered dietitian, personal trainer, mom, and your biggest hype woman when it comes to aging like you mean it.

This show isn't about chasing skinny or counting wrinkles. It's about building real strength — physical, emotional, and hormonal. Each week, I'll share straight-talking nutrition tips, sustainable fitness strategies, and conversations that help you feel powerful in your skin once again.

Menopause is not an ending, it is only the beginning. This is your season of strength.

What I Cover in This Episode:

• Why walking into a room and forgetting everything is actually rooted in real biology, not just "getting older"
• The surprising role estrogen plays in memory, focus, and brain function — and what happens when it drops
• Why the hippocampus, your brain's memory center, takes a direct hit during menopause
• How poor sleep and chronic stress are quietly accelerating cognitive decline in ways most women don't connect
• Why women make up nearly two thirds of Alzheimer's diagnoses and what the hormonal link actually means for you
• What the MIND Diet is, where it came from, and the jaw-dropping research behind its 53% risk reduction (click here to read the article)
• The 10 brain-nourishing food groups that science says belong on your plate every single week and the 5 foods quietly fueling brain inflammation that are worth pulling back on (email me the word MIND to info@strengthinnutrition.com and I will send you the free MIND diet handout!)
• Why you don't have to eat perfectly to see real, measurable benefits for your brain
• Four simple swaps you can make starting this week to start feeding your brain like you mean it

Links & resources for this episode:

Fit After 50+ Program: 8-Week Nutrition Coaching & Strength Program for menopausal women.  Join the interest list today for the best discounts, bonuses and updates about the next program coming Fall of 2026!

Free cheat sheet: "20 Tips to Crushing Menopause"

Join my free weekly newsletter list and get a new high protein recipe sent to your inbox every Thursday. 

Find me on social media: Instagram I Facebook I Tiktok

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hi there, and welcome to Her Season of Strength, where women over 40 reclaim their bodies, their energy, and their voices, without apologies. I'm Kim Duffy, registered dietitian, personal trainer, mom, and your biggest hype woman. When it comes to aging like you mean it, this show isn't about chasing skinny or counting wrinkles.

[00:00:20] It's about building real strength, physical, emotional, and hormonal. Each week, I'll share straight talking, nutrition tips, sustainable fitness strategies. And conversations that help you feel powerful in your skin. Once again, menopause isn't an ending. It's only the beginning. This is your season of strength.

[00:00:39] Hello, hello, and welcome back to Her Season of Strength. It is already April, I cannot believe it. This episode will come out on April 9th.  I'm recording it here the week before. We're just heading into Easter in a couple days, and. I am really loving the sunshine. [00:01:00] This, this time of year is like my favorite.

[00:01:01] Just 'cause the weather's turning warmer, the snow is melting, and even if it does get really cold and it snows and stuff, you know it's not gonna be around for long. Ugh. I love it. Love it. So let's get down to some real talk here. So I fully admit. That I will walk into a room and know that I had a reason to be there and will stand there and I'll look around and I'll walk back out.

[00:01:32] I'll go back to where I was before and then all of a sudden it'll come back into my head of this is what I was gonna do when I was there. But it is amazing. How you can just completely blank out, you go, even if it's just oh, I was in the kitchen. I literally took less than 30 seconds to walk up the stairs, go into my room and completely forget while I was there.

[00:01:56] Now I can't say this didn't happen earlier in my life, but I sure [00:02:00] feel like it happens way more often since I hit menopause. And then those times when you know you're at the store or something and you see someone and you see their face and you're like, I know I should know their name. And it's, it could even be somebody that is, super familiar to you, you see all the time and you can't, for the life of you remember their name and it can be a little scary.

[00:02:27] I don't know about you, but it's like I immediately go to the worst of oh no, I'm starting to have early onset Alzheimer's, or I'm getting dementia or something's wrong because it's scary. You are like, what happened to my brain? But I want you to hear this because I think it can be, there can be so much relief come when you understand the biology of why we're seeing more of this postmenopausal.

[00:02:56] And also there's something that we can do about it, [00:03:00] right? So today I kind of wanna talk about. The why we see that more brain fog when it, as far as menopause, why some of us can start worrying. We go to that place of, Alzheimer's and dementia for the first time in our lives, especially, as we watch our parents aging.

[00:03:17] And then I also want to introduce you to one of the most researched, evidence backed eating patterns that's specifically tied to brain health and it's called the mind diet, MIND. And by the end of the episode, I hope you can understand exactly how food on your plate can either help to feed or fuel or starve your brain.

[00:03:40] Okay? So some things. I wanna start, first of all with kind of that estrogen connection, 'cause we always seem to be tying everything back to estrogen and menopause because you know what, that's what, that's who we are. That's what my focus is. That's what my passion is because I'm in the middle of it.

[00:03:57] And that's where, all of you guys are [00:04:00] too. Or the grand majority of people that are listening to this are women in perimenopause and menopause. So first of all. Estrogen isn't just this reproductive hormone for women. It plays a direct role in our brain function, in our memory, and in our cognitive performance.

[00:04:18] That's just how our brain functions and performs. Estrogen supports the production of a couple, sorry, big words, acetylcholine and serotonin. You've heard of serotonin before. I know that. And what those are neurotransmitters that can affect our memory, our mood, and our focus. And as our estrogen declines in perimenopause and menopause, the brain literally has to adjust to operating with less of this neuroprotective hormone.

[00:04:48] And. The hippocampus, it's part of your brain is directly affected, and it is the memory center and it is loaded with estrogen receptors. So when our [00:05:00] estrogen drops, the hippocampus becomes less efficient. And this is why, it's hard to retrieve those words. It's hard to, that short term memory is challenging and working memory are the first things that we're noticing that are slipping.

[00:05:16] But then we add in a little sleep deprivation because most of us were not sleeping as well as at night due to maybe night sweats, but also due to that hormonal disruption, 3:00 AM all of a sudden we're boo. We're wide awake. And sleep is so important. It's when our brain, clears all that metabolic waste and it consolidates memories and it repairs and heals itself.

[00:05:43] Poor sleep is, it's literally one of the most damaging things for our cognitive function. And, so many women are just running from point A to point B at this age, and they're running on fumed. Next is [00:06:00] inflammation and cortisol. So when we have that we start to see like that chronic low grade inflammation.

[00:06:06] We talked about this with cardiovascular health as well in, in a couple of the past two episodes, and that low grade inflammation naturally increases during menopause. We see elevated c cortisol from stress that can physically shrink our hippocampus, that part of our brain over time, and this is one of the key reasons why stress management it's not just this, oh, woowoo type idea.

[00:06:35] It's really a brain health strategy. So managing our stress, even though you may not necessarily go, oh, all of this stress is really affecting my body. You're like, I'm handling it just fine. People think that, they're go. It's all good. I'm fine.

[00:06:50] I'm dealing with it perfectly. It does have an effect on our body. And so we need to find those ways to help bring that stress down. Like with [00:07:00] meditation and breath work and movement exercise, getting outside just taking time for ourself. The dementia fear, it's real and it's valid.

[00:07:11] As we're seeing our parents age, many of our, many of us are watching Alzheimer's or dementia up close for the first time, and it's scary. And also women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer's. Nearly two thirds of those diagnosed with it are women, and that's even more scary. And this isn't a coincidence.

[00:07:35] Researchers actually believe that hormonal shifts of menopause can play a role in increasing our risk. But the good news is this is not inevitable and there is a significant body of research showing that lifestyle factors have a really powerful influence on our risk. And I just wanna take a [00:08:00] moment here, 'cause I know that this can really hit close to home for people.

[00:08:04] If you've watched a parent or a loved one go through Alzheimer's or dementia. The fear of that happening to you. It's real, it's heavy, and I hear you, and I want today's episode to feel like a little bit of hope because I truly believe that knowledge is power and you're not without options here.

[00:08:23] There are things that we can do. So now I wanna go into kind of the main part of what I wanna talk about today on the podcast, and that is the mind diet. It So Mind Diet stands for Mediterranean. We've we, I'm sure we've all heard about that slash DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay.

[00:08:48] That's a mouthful, right? And it was actually developed by a nutritional epidemiologist named Dr. Martha Claire Morris at Rush University Medical Center. [00:09:00] And it combines two super well-researched eating patterns, and that is the Mediterranean diet and the dash diet, but it specifically targets brain health and Alzheimer's prevention.

[00:09:14] It was published research in the Journal of Alzheimer's and Dementia, and it showed that the mind diet was associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline and a significantly reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. So in this research, the original study, it followed over 900 adults for an average of four and a half years.

[00:09:37] Those who followed the mind diet most closely had a 53% reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. That's big, 53%. It's a lot. And even those who followed it moderately not perfectly showed a 35% reduction in risk. That's not a small number. It's significant and it, it should really get your attention. [00:10:00] So how it differs from other diets.

[00:10:03] So the Mediterranean, the dash diets, they're generally healthy, but they're more broad, right? The mind diet gets real specific about the foods that have the most direct impact on the brain. It identifies 10. Brain healthy food groups to eat regularly and five food groups to limit or avoid. But this, just like this whole podcast, it is not about perfection.

[00:10:26] Even moderate adherence showed measurable benefit. So let's walk through these 10 brain healthy food groups. First one's, not surprisingly, leafy greens, we're shooting for six or more servings per week up. Excuse me. So what are those gonna include? Things like kale, spinach, collard greens, arugula, Swiss chard.

[00:10:54] And the reason why they're so good for us, they're rich in folate, they're rich in vitamin K, lutein, [00:11:00] betacarotene, and those are all linked with slower cognitive decline. So what can you do? Throw a handful of spinach into your smoothie or into your egg scramble in the morning. You barely notice it there, and it's amazing how you can throw, two or three cups of it in and it decreases down when you're cooking it or when you're chopping it up in the smoothie and you barely even realize it's there.

[00:11:23] Number two is other vegetables, at least one additional vegetable per day. Beyond those leafy greens and variety does matter. Colorful, you know the different colors of the rainbow. I'm sure you've heard people say that of eat the color. Eat the rainbow, right? So colorful vegetables, each of them provide different antioxidants that can combat that brain inflammation.

[00:11:47] So the, we have the dark green leafies and then we have the bright reds and orange and yellows. So just trying to try to get a little variety in there if you can. Berries. [00:12:00] Berries are so good and trying to get at least two servings per week. Now, that's not a huge amount, and blueberries and strawberries are the most studied and what are in those berries, they're called flavonoids, and they've been shown to improve that communication between our brain cells and decrease that oxidative stress.

[00:12:23] And this is one of the easiest swaps. Throw some berries into your yogurt, throw it into your smoothie, throw it into your oatmeal, or even just, add it in as a snack. Maybe you put a little protein with it. Those are an easy one, especially as we're coming into the spring and, they're gonna be coming into season and they taste so much better when they're in season versus in the wintertime.

[00:12:45] They don't always have lots of flavor, but I'm a big fan of getting them frozen and throwing 'em into my smoothies and stuff easy that way. Number four is nuts. We're shooting for five or more servings per week. No s [00:13:00] one serving is not a huge amount. It can be just a small handful, but those nuts give us those healthy fats.

[00:13:07] Vitamin E and also some really good anti-inflammatory compounds. And vitamin E in particular has been linked to reduced cognitive decline. Next is olive oil, and extra virgin olive oil. Using that as your primary cooking fat is ideal. It's enriched in something called. Oleocanthal, and that's a compound.

[00:13:30] It has powerful anti-inflammatory properties that can actually help clear something called amyloid plaques, which are the bla the plaques they see in your the, in the brain of those with Alzheimer's and they're, it's protein up. Okay? Next, are whole grains always three or more servings a day. One serving is typically between a third and a half cup, so it's not a lot, right?

[00:13:57] And we're gonna get those whole grains in like [00:14:00] our oats and our quinoa, our brown rice, whole grain breads. You could do anything that hasn't been overly processed. So it has some good fiber in it, and what it helps us do is support that steady blood sugar. And provide more consistent fuel to the brain because our brain needs carbohydrates.

[00:14:17] It runs on glucose and it loves consistency, meaning it doesn't want it, it doesn't enjoy the rollercoaster ride of blood sugar, highs and lows. Not to mention, we know that when we have those, that's gonna increase inflammation as well. So nice steady blood sugars and we've, I've talked about that so many different times just because that is a huge piece when it comes to supporting our hormones.

[00:14:41] Right and getting 'em off that rollercoaster is blood sugar management. The whole grain's got some great fiber in it. Next is fish. We're shooting for at least one serving per week. Fatty fish is gonna be preferred, so things like salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout, because specifically Omega-3 fatty [00:15:00] acids or I should say specifically, one is called DHA.

[00:15:04] Those are essential for our brain cell structure and our and function. Once serving a week, that's not a big deal. A fish, you could do that right next are beans and legumes, and we're shooting for four or more servings per week. And they have amazing fiber. They're gonna promote good gut health, which we also know can be, when we don't have good gut health, can increase inflammation in our body.

[00:15:31] All this kind of like works together. It's not like it, it's like one, one way that it helps us. It's gonna be helping us in lots of ways. Those beans and legumes, they have fiber, they have B vitamins and they have some good plant-based protein and it helps to support our gut and i, the gut brain connection is like a whole nother episode that we can talk about. And you know what, maybe I'll write that down and it's fascinating. It really is. People don't realize that, that [00:16:00] our gut and our brain are communicating, right? So when one is not healthy. It's the other's, gonna be hurting as well.

[00:16:08] So next are poultry. Poultry. We're shooting for at least two servings a week. And that, that's just a matter of lean protein sources help to support our neurotransmitter production. And the last one, which that is an optional one and with current research, we are not, I think we're moving a little bit more away from.

[00:16:32] Alcohol. But I'm gonna, I'm gonna say it, so the mind diet actually includes a moderate wine intake up to one glass per day which, you know, seven per week's kind of a lot. I would say that, it, it can show you know, that there is a possible antioxidant benefit from that resveratrol in the red wine.

[00:16:54] But if you don't drink, don't start for this reason. The benefit is very modest and the [00:17:00] rest of the diet carries more of the weight. So this is just a little side piece and like I said there's a lot more research currently that's we're leaning away from alcohol intake and moving more towards the approach that none is better.

[00:17:19] I actually did another episode on, on, it's called Wine Nut. I will link that episode in the show note if you want, show notes, if you want to listen in on that one. But now I wanna move on to the five foods that we should be limiting when it comes to the mind diet. And I'm, not trying to preach this does not mean you can never have these things.

[00:17:41] This is just, these are the foods that they see can. Increase inflammation that aren't as good for us. And I'll talk a little bit about why. So number one is red meat. And we are, the goal is to sh limit to fewer than four servings per week. And what I find really funny is [00:18:00] that I think what they say is less than 18 ounces a week, which to me seems like a lot.

[00:18:07] It seems like a lot. So that would probably be, it's gonna be four. Four ounce plus servings per week. I would probably limit it to maybe two or three four ounce servings a week. And the only reason is the saturated fat can help promote inflammation, and that can also increase risk of cardiovascular disease and that is linked to cognitive decline.

[00:18:29] Next is butter and margarine. We're shooting for less than one tablespoon a day. And margarine's like I would. I would probably more recommend butter than I would margarine, especially if margarine has the trans fats. 'cause we don't want trans fats, so just replacing those with olive oil, were possible.

[00:18:48] Three is cheese. Sorry, I love cheese. That's a hard one for me. And we're shooting for less than one serving per week. That would be a challenge. But the reasoning [00:19:00] is it's higher in saturated fat, right? So you can go with maybe the more soft cheeses. So even like the white cheeses might be a little bit lower in saturated fat as compared to the yellow cheeses.

[00:19:14] Something to think about. Number four is pastries and sweets shooter for less than five servings a week, which I think still allows you to enjoy your sweetss because that refined sugar drives inflammation and it can also promote those blood sugar spikes, which are hard on the brain. And this doesn't mean never, it just means we're being more mindful.

[00:19:37] We're being more intentional. And then the last one is fried or fast food, and we're shooting for less than one serving a week because of the trans fats. And those inflammatory oil oils can be particularly damaging to brain tissue. And once again, I just wanna say that this isn't about eating perfectly.

[00:19:57] The research actually showed that [00:20:00] benefits even with moderate adherence, not perfect adherence. It's about shifting that pattern over time. Not, that overnight transformation because those small, consistent changes can really, compound into larger results. And this is exactly what this whole podcast is all about.

[00:20:22] So pulling all this together, we talked a little bit about why brain frog in menopause is not in your head and technically it is in your head, but it's real, it's biological and it's driven largely by. That decrease in estrogen and its impact on your brain memory centers, your sleep, and your inflamm inflammation levels.

[00:20:44] We talked about why women in their forties and fifties are starting to, think more about Alzheimer's and dementia in a way that we never did before and why it's actually worth paying attention to. And then we went over the mind diet. It, and I wanna say you, you [00:21:00] look into it, read about it, it's super interesting.

[00:21:02] But it, it is a specific research backed eating pattern that's been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by up to 53% and those who follow it closely. And it's just build around those 10 food groups that support and protect our brain health. As well as decreasing on those five food groups that are gonna be more to, they're gonna be promoting the inflammation and the damage that can accelerate cognitive decline.

[00:21:28] So what can you do starting this week? Think about how can I add one additional serving of those leafy greens to your day's intake? Swapping out maybe your candy bar or your other snack for a handful of blueberries and walnuts. Switching to olive oil, as your go-to cooking fat and adding one serving of fatty fish to your weekly meal plan.

[00:21:56] These aren't dramatic changes. They're just small kind of strategic [00:22:00] shifts that are telling your brain, I'm gonna take care of you and next week I am going to. Go into how exercise strength training, how that affect affects brain health, because I think that's another really important piece.

[00:22:17] Okay. So stay tuned. Listen in. Next week for that one. It's so interesting. It really is. And if today's episode it's, opened your eyes a little bit to that connection between, what we're eating, how our brain functions, I want you to share it, send it to a girlfriend, who, who has been joking around about.

[00:22:36] Losing her memory because I promise she needs to hear this. And if you haven't followed the PA podcast yet, please do that right now, because next week we're coming back for part two and. I just, you don't wanna miss that one. And remember, this is about progress over perfection.

[00:22:53] We're in this for the long haul, and this is your season of strength. Have an amazing [00:23:00] day.