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A well-known brain-healthy diet may help ward off cognitive decline and dementia by protecting arteries, a new study suggests.

People who followed the MIND diet had healthier blood vessels in their brains, which was associated with larger brains and better cognitive function, researchers report in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia.

"One of the most striking findings was that the relationship remained significant even after accounting for factors such as physical activity, body mass index, race and vascular disease," said lead researcher Puja Agarwal, an assistant professor of internal medicine at Rush University in Chicago.

"This suggests that diet may have an independent role in supporting brain health," she added in a news release.

For the new study, researchers asked more than 700 older adults without known dementia to fill out a diet questionnaire, take a battery of cognitive tests and undergo a brain MRI scan.

As its full name suggests, the MIND (Mediterranean–Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Disease) diet combines elements of two other well-known healthy diets, the Mediterranean and DASH diets.

The MIND diet focuses on foods that protect both brain and heart health, researchers said. It emphasizes:

Results showed that people whose eating patterns closely resembled the MIND diet had better scores on cognitive tests and healthier brains.

"We found that people who more closely followed the MIND diet had lower levels of cerebral small vessel disease and healthier brain structure," Agarwal said.

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