SPONSORED RESEARCH: Nourish the Mind: An Umbrella Review of Nutrients Supporting Brain Health Across the Lifespan

December 17, 2025 

Pictured Above: Berivan Ece, PhD

Read a Q&A Below 

Berivan Ece, PhD at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Medical Social Sciences (MSS) received a grant from The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) titled: "Nourish the Mind: An Umbrella Review of Nutrients Supporting Brain Health Across the Lifespan."  Corinne H. Miller, MLIS - Clinical Librarian at Northwestern University is co-investigator.

What are the aims of the project? 

We are conducting an umbrella review to synthesize evidence from systematic reviews published over the past decade on nutrients and bioactive food components (BFCs) that support brain health across the lifespan. Our first aim is to examine how brain health is defined and measured in literature. The second aim is to identify nutrient–brain health relationships and determine whether reported intake levels align with or exceed current Dietary Reference Intakes. The third aim is to integrate these findings to bridge the gap between deficiency-focused dietary guidelines and brain health–oriented nutritional needs. Through this work, we hope to generate actionable insights that can inform research priorities, translational guidance, and future evidence-based dietary recommendations, including contributions to the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

What are your next steps?

We have developed the search terms and search strategy and drafted the protocol manuscript. Our next steps include registering the protocol in PROSPERO, submitting the manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, and initiating the umbrella review process. Screening will follow the finalized search strategy and eligibility criteria, which were refined and confirmed with consultants experienced in nutrition and brain health.

What do you hope will come out of this funded research?

We hope this research will provide clear, actionable evidence on which nutrients and BFCs most strongly support brain health at different life stages. Our goal is to inform future dietary guidance, shape research priorities, and contribute to strategies that promote lifelong cognitive health. Ultimately, we aim for these findings to support evidence-based recommendations, guide policy decisions, and help researchers and practitioners implement nutrition strategies that benefit brain health across the human lifespan.